Scratch

Sorry this is off topic, but thanks for picking my project chaddargirl for your sig! But cold you change it to the 20 level version proejct, it's been updated...

You can get to that project with the banner in my sig.

cheddargirl wrote:

benjamin2 wrote:

Sorry this is off topic, but thanks for picking my project chaddargirl for your sig! But cold you change it to the 20 level version proejct, it's been updated...

You can get to that project with the banner in my sig.

Done. ^^

Thanks!

I might make Level 21 today. They're getting harder and harder to design as they get harder to solve and they get bigger and there are more items and the Scratch file is getting bigger and Bigger and BIGGER.

It's already 2.09 MB, so I might have to put the last, maybe, 20-30 levels on a different version.

Thanks for sharing!  I admire your work and efforts!

Yes! I agree the friend system needs help. 
I need more experience with different friend systems, though dA's looks well thought out.  I like the idea for separate "friend" and "watch".

My thinking for improving collaboration in Scratch had been to:
1. Put people people that want help/attention now, together.
2. Improve the grouping of similar projects/scratchers by tags/topic, and that those become centers for public collaboration.  (New projects in groups/tags get some attention; projects the community thinks deserve to be there rise to the top.  Also tags can be combined for smaller, focused groups. (eg: "simple+card+game" , "military+dressup", or "cute+cats+rainbows) ) So scratchers with similar interests can find and help each other.
3. Special group tags can also be for private membership (replacing galleries) for 'companies, or teams; only members can add projects and discuss there.

I think these would be more inclusive and dynamic than 'friends'.  People can find others with similar interests, and new people can join in or leave. 


But I do like a friend system as a way to bookmark and follow certain scratchers that I know make stuff I like or that I know will help/respond.  ...along with ways for those with similar interests to get together, so we can find new friends easier.

Last edited by JTxt (2010-10-26 17:38:33)

Ace idea cheddergirl.

Bump.

Again, thanks for bringing this up.  Great thinking!


There's many ways to make a friend system.  I think we should try to consider as many ways as we can.

So let's list and compare:
---------------
Scratch's "friend" + follow system (as it is now):
How to "friend" someone: Go to a user's page by clicking their name, then click "Add to friends".
What happens:
1. On your user page, the new "friend's" icon and name as a link to their user page, is put to the top of "5 recent friends".  (Older friends are bumped to "See More") 
2. On your front page, "My Friends' Latest Projects" shows the latest project from 3 friends. You can click "See more", to see the rest.  This is how you can "watch" your "friend's" projects.
3. The user is notified "Username added you as a friend." with a link to their user-page, so they can easily check you out and friend in return.
Pros: You can see newest projects from "Friends" (although a less noticable feature compared to other systems.) Your list of "friends" is like a address list of friends.
Cons: No list of people that friended you.  Recent friends get all the attention, no "best friends".  The lable "Friend" suggests a relationship statas, rather than follow.  One may feel obligated to friend someone in return as a sign of friendship/not offend, and sacrifice the ability to help you follow users that make things you like.

---------------
Twitter's "follow" (recently updated version):
How to "Follow" someone:  Click someone's name to go to their user page, then press the [+ follow].  Also on your user page, Twitter suggests users you may follow.
What happens:
1. On your user page, the new friend's recent posts (projects) shows with the posts of others you follow.
2. Your "following" count increases by 1.  (You can also click this number to see a list of all followers.)
3. The user's icon with link to their profile is shown in your "Following", sorted by most recent.
4. The user receives an email that you are following them and links to your page.  (similar to scratch's notification)
5. On their page, their "followers" increases by 1. (and you show on that linked page.)
Pros: Timeline of updates by people you follow is big and easy to find.  Numbers to show how many friends you have and how many have friended you.  Recent updates by friends are easy to find, so response can be realtime.
Cons: ?
Notes: Perhaps not a perfect model for scratch, because Twitter's updates are smaller than Scratch projects; timeline may be too noisy...  Suggested people to follow/friend may be nice for Scratch. 

---------------
Facebook:
(fill me in)

---------------
DeviantART:
(fill me in)

---------------
...

Please add to this and change where you disagree.


Current suggestions for improving Scratch's friend system:
1. chedargirl, coolstuff "have a separate Follow and Friend like dA." 
2. As nikk29 suggested, list people that have friended you. (like facebook, twitter...)
3. jackrulez suggested: 'organize your Friends List with customizable categories (e.g. "Friends" "Acquaintances" "Family") and it would be changed to "Users I like".'  chedargirl agreed and added that dA has something like that.
4. JTxt: A. Backup and figure out what we're trying to accomplish with a friend system.  We may figure out better ways to do the same thing.  Parts of the site may be redundant, or could be made to work together better. (eg. private galleries for groups and 'companies' are similar to 'friends'...)
B. Look over other friend/follow systems, and in detail (every part influences how we use it) so we can make Scratch's friend system even better.


TL;DR: Great thinking and suggestions so far, but I don't think we're done.  How can we make this help to make Scratch better?

Last edited by JTxt (2010-11-01 18:55:15)

JTxt wrote:

Facebook:
(fill me in)

The facebook friend system lets you go onto a user's page and request a friendship. That user will then get a message saying "Username" wants to add you as a friend" with options to accept, decline or report. If you click accept, the person who sent the request will get a message saying you accepted, then they will be on your friend list and visa vera. If you click decline the request is deleted, no message is sent to the requestee notifying them of your rejection. The report button is just there in case someone keeps trying to add you and is harassing you. There is also, once decline is clicked, the option to mark that person as one you don't know, though I don't think that would apply on scratch. I really like this system.

The closest thing Facebook has to "watching" would probably be groups, posts and activities of groups appear in your home page, though friends comments and activities do this also.

I think people should be able to watch users if they don't want to be friends with them but want to be able to see the projects they make (though make sure a message is sent to the watched person that tells them Username is watching them (though that sounds a bit creepy    )

I agree that there needs to be a difference between "friends" and "watching". Do you guys have ideas of how this could be integrated into the current Scratch site? I'm thinking of adding this type of system to the Clutter site.

I would encourage you to make mock-ups. Show what the user would click to add as a user as friend or just watch. Are there other types of options that should be added?

cheddargirl wrote:

paulmedwal wrote:

I agree that there needs to be a difference between "friends" and "watching". Do you guys have ideas of how this could be integrated into the current Scratch site? I'm thinking of adding this type of system to the Clutter site.

I would encourage you to make mock-ups. Show what the user would click to add as a user as friend or just watch. Are there other types of options that should be added?

Mock-up time! 

Given the current Scratch friend system, I was thinking that the best way to integrate a friend/watch system could be to have two lists (one friend list, one watch list), with options on the user's pages add to friend list or add to watch list (or both!). [NOTE: The changes are boxed in red]:
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm47 … ockUp1.png

This can be integrated into the front page like this, with friend channel being eliminated and replaced with a channel comprising of only projects of Scratchers that a user watches. [NOTE: The changes are boxed in red]:
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm47 … kUp2-1.png

"Who I watch" seems a little creepy but the concept is great.

what-the wrote:

cheddargirl wrote:

paulmedwal wrote:

I agree that there needs to be a difference between "friends" and "watching". Do you guys have ideas of how this could be integrated into the current Scratch site? I'm thinking of adding this type of system to the Clutter site.

I would encourage you to make mock-ups. Show what the user would click to add as a user as friend or just watch. Are there other types of options that should be added?

Mock-up time! 

Given the current Scratch friend system, I was thinking that the best way to integrate a friend/watch system could be to have two lists (one friend list, one watch list), with options on the user's pages add to friend list or add to watch list (or both!). [NOTE: The changes are boxed in red]:
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm47 … ockUp1.png

This can be integrated into the front page like this, with friend channel being eliminated and replaced with a channel comprising of only projects of Scratchers that a user watches. [NOTE: The changes are boxed in red]:
http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm47 … kUp2-1.png

"Who I watch" seems a little creepy but the concept is great.

Yeah, I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it at the time. Maybe "My Fan List" sounds less creepy.

Chrischb wrote:

THIS MUST NOT DIE   

THEN KEEP IT ALIVE! 

Speaking of which, how do you feel about my proposed mock-up for a friend/watch system on Scratch?

BUMP. More feedback, please. 

Lovely mockups. 

BTW: Does DA use asynchronous friend system like Scratch does, where you can friend someone regardless of whether or not they friend you? Sometimes I think we should just go with what seems like the standard these days - where both people must confirm in order to be friends.

My question is: How would having a "watched" list and a "friend" list change the meaning of friends on Scratch?  Would it be more meaningful to be friends with someone knowing that you could have just "watched" them to see their new projects?