Scratch

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery...

In general the Scratch Team tries to encourage remixing and designed the Terms of Use to suggest that people give each other credit for their ideas (whether they contributed a little or a lot to our own posts).  It does seem unfair if someone claims that a reposted project is their own; and (agreeing with Geckofreak) that does sound like a valid reason for flagging.

But it is not always easy to tell the difference between remixing and copying.

So what is remixing all about? 

One inspiration behind Scratch is that so much culture builds upon ideas that we've inherited over time.  Most of what we learn in schools - stories we read, science, math, events that have led to historic change have come from the ideas of many people that have been shared and remixed.   

It is interesting how in schools we are asked to do our own work, but then how in many professions we work in teams and  success becomes a group effort.  Though this is not always the case.  Many artists, authors, inventors, and stars seem to be known for their individual contributions, still, even then their work ultimately influences others (unless it is lost).  A complicated question that comes out of this, is whether or not it is okay to withhold ideas from others?

This is a tough question, and we would love to hear what you think!

beandude202 wrote:

Can I flag a project that is just a cheap copy of someone else's? Or is that not a good reason? My second-latest project is about that.

how the heck is it a cheap copy
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! grrrrr 

beandude202 wrote:

Can I flag a project that is just a cheap copy of someone else's? Or is that not a good reason? My second-latest project is about that.

My tribute to white_kitty_red_hair (who has quit) has been remixed and the user remixed used MY backround that i made, copied my unique idea that made it specail AND recoloured one of my most precious of characters.Is.That.Copying?

In the Scratch culture, remixing is allowed and encouraged.  I understand that when someone has worked hard and is proud of their project, they want to have some say about how it might be re-used.  In the commercial world this is in fact how things work. Someone makes something, copyrights it, and controls it for a long time. But Scratch turns things upside-down where remixing is okay and encouraged (as long as the original author is given credit.)

Have you noticed the little icons next to the words "Some rights reserved" that appear under every Scratch project on the web site?  Those are links to the Creative Commons license that gives people the right to remix and redistribute the work as long as they credit the author and to apply the same kind of license to what they distribute.

I would not blame anyone for not reading the fine print.  I usually don’t read fine print.  You may not have wanted to work so hard on something if you had known that you would not have control over how it was used.  This is perhaps one of the drivers that causes people to leave Scratch and invest their talents in other areas.

I don’t know why the Scratch team decided to put all Scratch projects and support materials under the CC license.  However, it seems to me that this is a good fit for the educational goals of Scratch. 

If someone has used your work in a Scratch project without giving you credit then I suggest you first add a nice comment on their project asking them to please give you credit for your work.  It may have been an honest mistake and something that is easily dealt with.

Last edited by Digimath (2008-11-09 06:27:00)