1. Use Scratch for a while!
   
   If you want a suggestion, just try using Scratch! See what new features you think would help you. You shouldn't necessarily decide to suggest, then decide what to suggest. It should be the other way around. Just use Scratch, and if you get an idea, suggest it!
   
   
2. Keep in mind what Scratch is
   
   Scratch isn't social media. Don't suggest things that may make Scratch seem more like that than it already is. Scratch is supposed to be a programming language. Make sure your suggestions keep it that way. And, Scratch doesn't always have to be super simple, and, for that matter, shouldn't be. For example, if you suggested a “physics” block, which made a sprite follow the laws of physics, this would probably be rejected. Why? It would certainly be useful! The problem is (beyond the difficulties in making such a block) that it makes Scratch too easy. It is kind of taking the “program” out of “Imagine, program, share”. We don't want to be able to make anything in five minutes; that ruins the point of programming, having fun, and putting effort into your projects. However, you can always feel free to make your own physics tutorial, and share it with the community, so that those who don't know how to program physics could learn to program physics.

1. Make sure your suggestion is appropriate
   
   Don't make a suggestion that's discriminatory against a particular fandom, book, movie, etc. Always take into consideration things like: Scratch's motto (Imagine, Program, Share), the Community Guidelines, etc. You want to be very careful about what you're posting; some things are just unethical. Make sure that your suggestions are for features related to Scratch that would benefit not just you, but the whole community (or at least a large portion of it), and no specific group would be discriminated against if your suggestion was implemented.
   
   
2. Read the stickies
   
   The stickies list has directories of suggestions that have already been suggested, so it is very helpful in order to prevent duplicates. If you are able to find a thread which already suggests your idea, do not post the idea in another thread. However, as long as the suggestion hasn't been accepted or rejected already, and as long as you contribute new information, it is perfectly fine to post in the older thread, no matter how old the thread is. Here is what @harakou says about posting on old threads:
   
   

   harakou wrote:

   If you believe you have something to add to the subject that no one else has mentioned, and the topic is still relevant or unresolved, you can give your input; it may spark new discussion! However, do some searching and make sure the subject hasn't been resolved or continued on somewhere else since then.

   
   If you are replying to somebody else's suggestion, the stickies will also teach you how to post a constructive reply! Or, if you wish to make a suggestion for a block, but find that it has been rejected, one of the stickies may offer you a method for using existing blocks to function as the block for which you wish.
   
   Here are some links to the stickies:
   
   LIST OF REJECTED SUGGESTIONS (READ BEFORE SUGGESTING ANYTHING)
   Constructive Recommendations On How to Respond to and Make Suggestions
   Ultimate List of Workarounds And More
   ☂ Idea Emporium ☂ | The Suggestions Directory
   How to give helpful suggestions about Scratch: Scratch Design Goals
   
   
3. Think about the pros and cons of the suggestion
   
   All suggestions that people post have advantages to them; otherwise, nobody would post them. However, it will help make your post more convincing if you list these advantages, and why they're important. Also, consider the bad things. If you were suggesting to remove the 60 second rule, you could talk about how if you were a fast typist and found quite a few forum posts around the same time, you'd run into issues which may be annoying. But, at the same time, you have to mention that this would allow for spam in the forums (which is why it exists, and why suggestions about this are rejected). Before you suggest something, make sure that the benefits outweigh the risk, or maybe adapt your suggestion to try to eliminate or weaken the risk. Also, try to explain why your suggestions wouldn't make a negative impact. For example, if you were suggesting more emojis (which has already been done, and has not been accepted/rejected yet), some people may think that this would cause spam. Mentioning that because emojis already exist, the potential for spam already exists, and more emojis wouldn't have much of an impact, would leave you much more likely to get support.
   
   I understand that not everybody supports what I said about the emoji suggestion; somebody suggesting more emojis probably would. I'm not saying that's my opinion, but it is likely theirs.
   
   
4. Make sure that the suggestion doesn't already exist
   
   This one seems obvious, but I have seen a few threads suggesting an already existing feature. For example, don't suggest a top loved row on the front page - that already exists!
   
   
5. Titling the post
   
   If you title your suggestion with “suggestion”, or “Scratch Team, please look”, chances are few people will look at it and read it. You should make sure that, from the title of your suggestion alone, somebody could get some idea of what you are suggesting. For example, if you were suggestion more fonts (I believe that suggestion already exists), “More fonts” would be a much better title than “Scratch Team, we really want this feature”. From the first one, somebody could tell what you're suggesting from the title; from the second one, nobody could unless they read it. The first title would also allow people to find your thread more easily, so you would get more posts, and there would be less duplicates.
   
   
6. Write a good first post
   
   Obviously, your first post is what everyone will read before they decide whether they support or not. Sure, there might be comments about why other users support, and that may convince users, but it is mostly the first post, so make sure it is good! Clearly explain what you're suggesting, talk about why it would be a great idea for Scratch to implement, address the cons, and try to explain why you don't think that they will really have a negative impact, or that the benefits outweigh the risks. Make sure that everything is clearly explained.
   
   
7. Maintain the post
   
   Make sure to keep your post updated. If somebody gives you a reason why they don't support, you can always quote them, and tell them why you disagree with their reasoning. Always keep it polite and make sure to report flame wars if you see them (and definitely don't get into one yourself!), but, it is fine to politely debate opinions. Just make sure to respect the opinions of others, even if they do not coincide with yours. Maybe update your post if somebody else gives a good idea. For example, if you were suggesting (I already suggested this, so don't suggest it again) that FPCs be able to curate 10 projects at a time, and somebody doesn't support that because it wouldn't be fair that only five of the ten projects would actually be seen, and they think that, to fix the problem, the projects should appear in a random order (so the five visible projects change). You would decide whether you agree with them or not. If you do agree, edit your original post, and add their suggestion in. Now you have an even better suggestion! If you disagree, again, you could politely explain why you don't think that problem would matter. Just make sure to keep the post updated, add new ideas, and politely debate ideas that you don't agree with.
   

Deerleg wrote:

You may want to delete the last part because it's already covered in the guide to constructive replies.

But otherwise it's pretty good!

Deerleg wrote:

You may want to delete the last part because it's already covered in the guide to constructive replies.

But otherwise it's pretty good!

TheAwesomeMaster wrote:

Deerleg wrote:

You may want to delete the last part because it's already covered in the guide to constructive replies.

But otherwise it's pretty good!

^^
I agree with this.

But this is a really nice guide anyways. I'm thinking it will most likely be iTopic'd.

DaSpudLord wrote:

Unless you can find an existing sticky that should be removed, I don't think it will be stickied. I saw Paddle turn down another sticky-worthy thread because they already had a lot of stickies.

ItchyCatIII wrote:

DaSpudLord wrote:

Unless you can find an existing sticky that should be removed, I don't think it will be stickied. I saw Paddle turn down another sticky-worthy thread because they already had a lot of stickies.

Where? Because some other forums have more stickies than the suggestions forum, so why accept so many there, but less here?

Paddle2See wrote:

This is a good idea to have a checklist-type approach to Suggestions! A couple of things to keep in mind though:

• Let's also keep in mind that we can only sticky a few topics to the top of the section before it becomes over-crowded and difficult to use. If we are going to add a new sticky, we may have to retire an older one to free up a space. Is there one that is out-of-date or no longer being maintained? Maybe there is a message in one that can be incorporated in the new one you are proposing - perhaps in a better way?
  

DaSpudLord wrote:

ItchyCatIII wrote:

DaSpudLord wrote:

Unless you can find an existing sticky that should be removed, I don't think it will be stickied. I saw Paddle turn down another sticky-worthy thread because they already had a lot of stickies.

Where? Because some other forums have more stickies than the suggestions forum, so why accept so many there, but less here?

Here's the post-

Paddle2See wrote:

This is a good idea to have a checklist-type approach to Suggestions! A couple of things to keep in mind though:

• Let's also keep in mind that we can only sticky a few topics to the top of the section before it becomes over-crowded and difficult to use. If we are going to add a new sticky, we may have to retire an older one to free up a space. Is there one that is out-of-date or no longer being maintained? Maybe there is a message in one that can be incorporated in the new one you are proposing - perhaps in a better way?
  

ChocoBox wrote:

You put an extra slash in the suggestions directory link so it woudn't work

higzlepic9000 wrote:

Suggestions never get added to scratch

Zekrom01 wrote:

Nice guide!

Scratcher1002 wrote:

Please add a step that says to search your suggestion before suggesting. Congrats on the sticky btw!

ItchyCatIII wrote:

Read the stickies

The stickies list has directories of suggestions that have already been suggested… so it is very helpful in order to prevent duplicates. Also, you can always try the search bar. Just search for what you think someone would name the thread, or some key words. See if anything comes up! If it does, make sure it isn't a duplicate before you post it. If you find that there is another thread, even if it is old, you can post it there. Assuming the suggestion hasn't been accepted or rejected already, as long as you contribute new information, it is perfectly fine to post and start up a new discussion.Here is what @harakou says about posting on old threads.
harakou wrote:
If you believe you have something to add to the subject that no one else has mentioned, and the topic is still relevant or unresolved, you can give your input; it may spark new discussion! However, do some searching and make sure the subject hasn't been resolved or continued on somewhere else since then.

Upstreet wrote:

Awesome guide

(exclude[hello]in[hello world])

jjdas wrote:

(exclude[hello]in[hello world])

Hello scratch team, i think you should make an operator simaler to this