Make Collaboration Easier | 5 Supporters, 1 Against

purplebook163

Make Collaboration Easier
*The images in this post were made with inspect element, screenshots, and Microsoft paint.

Collaboration isn't very easy to do on Scratch. The ST doesn't like it when collab accounts are used, and repeatedly remixing is often annoying and confusing. If one person combines all parts of the project and shares it on their account (even with credit) it's not fair that the project doesn't show up on the other creator's profiles.

So, I think making collaboration easier and more friendly is a big priority.

The easiest way for Scratchers would probably be to add “authors” to a project, though I'm not sure how easy that would be on the ST's side of things.

Anyway, when you go to my stuff, it would look like this:

Notice the link that reads “Authors” under the “See Inside” button.

When you click the link, you would be brought to a page that looked somewhat like this:

Here you can see that the collab project is called “Monopoly Cards”. It was created by purplebook163, and purplebook163 invited Scratcher2 to be an author. Scratcher2 then invited Scratcher3 to be an author. Scratcher3 invited Scratcher4 to be an author about an hour ago, but he hasn't accepted yet.

These invitations would show up in your messages like invites to studios. Once they accept an invite to be an author, the project is added to their My Stuff page.

When you click the “Revision History” button (located under the project thumbnail) you would come to a page like this:

Here you can see when who edited the project, and a short description of what they changed. This description is written by the author upon saving, and is required.

When an author saves the project, a message (just like the ones listed in the Revision History) is added to all author's messages, just like a comment or curator invitation.

So that multiple authors can't edit at once, if a Scratcher tries to edit a project that someone is currently editing, they get some sort of pop up message, sort of like this: “Scratcher3 is currently editing Monopoly Cards. Please wait until they are finished to edit this project.”

When the project is finished, an author can share it, and it will be added to ALL author's projects on their profile.

Granted, many features are missing from these images such as the way to invite/remove an author, but you get the idea.

If you would like to make some mock ups of what this would look like, please do! I can add them to this post.

Supporters

purplebook163
stickfiregames
Cream_E_Cookie
Junk_Collector
Scratcher1002

Semi-Supporters

DaSpudLord

Non Supporters

Cubit

Last edited by purplebook163 (Sept. 21, 2015 01:20:52)

stickfiregames

This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

purplebook163

stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

Sorry, didn't know it was a duplicate.

Cream_E_Cookie

Support!

Junk_Collector

I support this! I totally agree with your reason about the credit.

Scratcher1002

Support! I love this idea! This WOULD be used PMing, so just public like stickfiregames suggested.

Cubit

While this sounds like a good idea, I give no support.

Why?

This is breaking the rules of no PMing(private messaging).

This could also lead to many more problems, some uncontrollable, such as stealing, harrasment, bullying, etc etc.

Since it is private, there is no way to monitor it, or if there is a way to monitor it, it would be hard to keep up and would cost Scratch more.

purplebook163

A lot of you are worried about PMing, which I respect. This could probably be prevented by making all projects with multiple authors public source code, even when unshared.

DaSpudLord

stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

Semi-support. I agree with this too, but the problem is, the scratch program would require a huge rewrite to allow multiple people to edit at once- otherwise it could cause the project to get messed up and someone's work could be deleted because someone else is working at the same time.

purplebook163

DaSpudLord wrote:
stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.
Semi-support. I agree with this too, but the problem is, the scratch program would require a huge rewrite to allow multiple people to edit at once- otherwise it could cause the project to get messed up and someone's work could be deleted because someone else is working at the same time.

Which is why there's a preventive system so that only one person an edit at a time.

purplebook163 wrote:
So that multiple authors can't edit at once, if a Scratcher tries to edit a project that someone is currently editing, they get some sort of pop up message, sort of like this: “Scratcher3 is currently editing Monopoly Cards. Please wait until they are finished to edit this project.”

Deadlycringe

stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

The ST could just make it so the project HAS to be shared in order to collab

DrKat123

i support. but not for private messaging.

rollercoasterfan

stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

This exactly. If someone loved the finished project on Scratcher1's profile, would the finshed project on Scratcher2's profile get loved too?

ChocolatePi

DaSpudLord wrote:
stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.
Semi-support. I agree with this too, but the problem is, the scratch program would require a huge rewrite to allow multiple people to edit at once- otherwise it could cause the project to get messed up and someone's work could be deleted because someone else is working at the same time.

Never assume that anything requires a full rewrite unless you know exactly how the code works

But yes, I do share the same opinion with DaSpudLord.

purplebook163

rollercoasterfan wrote:
stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.
This exactly. If someone loved the finished project on Scratcher1's profile, would the finshed project on Scratcher2's profile get loved too?

It would be the same project listing, with all author names listed on the same project, same remixes, studios; all data is attached to one project listed under all authors' profiles.

julianandwill

Support!

Jonathan50

Semi-support, this would be a great addition (although reverting commits may require lots more server space, maybe there could be a Git repository that Scratch commits to behind the scenes when a project is saved…? The git repo would store the assets the same way they are currently stored on the server. In case you didn't know, Scratch 2.0 projects aren't saved on the Scratch servers as sb2s but rather as individual files. A sb2 file is a ZIP archive with a different extension that contents a ‘project.json’ file, costumes and sounds. These files are saved individually on the server at projects.scratch.mit.edu. When you download an sb2 the sb2 is generated right then by Flash.)

Blaze349

Duplicate

Jonathan50

Blaze349 wrote:
Duplicate

You haven't shared the link

Zekrom01

stickfiregames wrote:
This has been suggested so many times before.

I support, but it would only be allowed for projects that are already shared, otherwise it could be used for private messaging which is rejected.

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