Hello to the community new scratchers! We love that you have decided to do scratch . you are welcome here. if you have any questions here are the answers:

★what is scratch and how to use it?
Scratch is a programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations – and share your creations with others around the world. In the process of designing and programming Scratch projects, young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. To learn more about Scratch, check out the About Scratch page

★who created scratch?
Scratch is developed and maintained by the scratch team at the MIT media lab.

★who are the ST?
The Scratch Team (often abbreviated ST) is the group of people who work on Scratch that develop the Scratch program and moderate the Scratch website.

★what is a remix?
When a Scratcher makes a copy of someone else’s project and modifies it to add their own ideas (for example, by changing scripts or costumes), the resulting project is called a “remix.” Every project shared to the Scratch website can be remixed. We consider even a minor change to be a valid remix, as long as credit is given to the original project creator and others who made significant contributions to the remix

★what happens when a user is blocked?
When an account is blocked, the owner can no longer access it, or use it to create projects or comments. When they login, they see a page that explains why the account was blocked with a web form they can use to request to be unblocked. If the owner can show that they understand why their account was blocked, and promises to follow the community guidelines in the future, the Scratch Team will review their case. Accounts will only be unblocked in cases where the account owner’s word can be trusted. Otherwise, the account (and most likely other accounts owned or created by that person) may be blocked permanently.

★what is cloud data?
Cloud data is a feature in Scratch 2 that allows for data from a project to be saved and shared online. You can use cloud data to make surveys and other projects that store numbers over time.

★is scratch free?
Yes! Scratch is available free of charge. You can use it in your school, and you can teach a course about it (even a course that costs money). You don't need to buy a license - it's free.

★what do I do if I see inappropriate stuff?
if you see inappropriate stuff that does not follow the scratch community guidelines, report it by hovering the mouse pointer till you reach the top-right corner of the comment . you will see the ‘report’ button . press it to let the scratch team know.
if you want to report a user , you will see the ‘report user’ button. then a page will open showing what you feel inappropriate about the user. if you want to report something else about the user, use the ‘contact us’ button which is in the report page too.

★how do I make a project?
Check out the help page to see lots of ways to get started with Scratch. Or just go to the project editor.

★how do I record a video?
Yes, you can record a video of your Scratch project up to 60 seconds. In the Scratch editor, from the File menu, select “Record Project Video.” (You need to be signed in to see this option.) You can choose additional recording options (such as recording sound and mouse clicks) through the “More Options” menu. Then, run your project however you'd like. Once the recording is done, follow the instructions to download the file to your computer. Depending on what kind of computer you have, you may need to download another program like the VLC Media Player to play the file. This file will run on YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook, but may need to be converted for other websites like Twitter or Tumblr.

★does scratch cost money?
scratch is and always will be free.

★can I have a account with multiple people?
This is discouraged, because the website and project editor can easily get confused when more than one person is logged into the same account.

★what are the scratch community guidelines?

We need everyone’s help to keep Scratch a friendly and creative community where people with different backgrounds and interests feel welcome.

★Be respectful. When sharing projects or posting comments, remember that people of many different ages and backgrounds will see what you’ve shared.
★Be constructive. When commenting on others' projects, say something you like about it and offer suggestions.
★Share. You are free to remix projects, ideas, images, or anything else you find on Scratch – and anyone can use anything that you share. Be sure to give credit when you remix.
★Keep personal info private. For safety reasons, don't use real names or post contact info like phone numbers or addresses.
★Be honest. Don’t try to impersonate other Scratchers, spread rumors, or otherwise try to trick the community.
★Help keep the site friendly. If you think a project or comment is mean, insulting, too violent, or otherwise inappropriate, click “Report” to let us know about it.

Scratch welcomes people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities.

★how to advertise a project?
go to the Show and tell forum or studios where you can add and advertise.

★what is the scratch wiki?
The scratch wiki is a free, collaboratively-written wiki that provides information about the Scratch programming language and its website, history, and phenomena surrounding it. The wiki is supported by the Scratch Team, but is primarily written by Scratchers. The Scratch Wiki is a popular source of information for scripts and tutorials, and it continues to grow as Scratchers use it as their primary source of information

★how do I become a scratcher?
be active for 2 - 3 weeks , comment on other projects , make projects , love and favourite projects. In few weeks , you will get a notification asking you to become a scratcher . read the whole thing and you will become a scratcher.

★what is the discuss page?
the ‘discuss’ page is a page where you ask and answer questions and advertise your projects and give suggestions and also get announcements from the ST.

★what is a signature?
A signature is a small piece of text that is attached to your posts. In it, you can enter just about anything you like. Perhaps you would like to enter your favourite quote or your star sign. It's up to you! In your signature you can use BBCode if it is allowed in this particular forum. You can see the features that are allowed/enabled listed below whenever you edit your signature.

★what is a studio?
A studio is a place where users can put multiple projects into an accessible group. Prior to Scratch 2.0, they were called galleries, and had some different features.

★what is the offline editor?
the ‘offline’ editor is by making projects without the internet. You can install the Scratch 2.0 editor to work on projects without an internet connection. This version will work on Mac, Windows, and some versions of Linux (32 bit).

★how to feature a project?
there is a topic called Itopic - propose projects to be featured in the show and tell forum . you can go there and ask a project to be featured but remember to read the first post :

paddle2see wrote:
The Scratch Team wants to feature new projects that have not gotten enough attention. We are looking for your help. At this point we only want proposals from people who have full Scratcher accounts (not New Scratcher). Also, please no proposals from family members. Thanks

Please note that proposing a project does not mean we will feature it, we are only looking for suggestions.

These are the kind of things we're looking for:
1. simple projects
2. complex projects
3. projects that show an innovative use of Scratch
4. project that promote collaboration and remixing
5. projects that show the diversity in our community (gender, age, culture, country, interests, etc)
6. project that different kinds of people would find enjoyable
7. projects that inspire

A project CANNOT be submitted if it…
1. was created by you. This means that you CANNOT submit your project.
2. was created by someone whose project(s) have been on the front page already in the last two months (excluding Newest projects or Design Studio)
3. has received more than 100 love its already.
4. has violence including weapons, hurting animals or people
5. contains language inappropriate for all ages
6. is a copy of a commercial game or story, it's OK if it is inspired by though
7. has been on the front page already (excluding Newest projects or Design Studio)
8. doesn't work well online

Thanks!

By the way, if you would like to suggest any studios for featuring, you can do that here too. Unlike project suggestions, you ARE allowed to suggest your own studios.

Thanks again!

★what is the new scratcher status?

jvvg wrote:
When you joined the website, you may have noticed that your user profile says “New Scratcher”. If you haven't, it looks like this:


Anyway, you may find this annoying, because it has a few restrictions. Before making a topic asking how to get rid of it, please read this brief post about it.

Restrictions

• Can't use cloud data
  
• Have to wait longer between posts
  
• Can't edit posts after leaving the page
  
• Can't post links to any non-Scratch site on the forums
  
• Have to wait 30 seconds between comments
  
• Can't post images
  

Why it's here
The short answer is to prevent spam.
The longer answer is that this arose out of an actual situation that occurred. A while ago, a bunch of trolls created disposable accounts that posted inappropriate images all over the Scratch forums. In order to prevent that from happening again, the Scratch Team decided to create the “New Scratcher” status, so that in order to have the privileges that could lend themselves to trolling or spamming, users would actually have to show that they use the site for real and wait around a little bit. Unless a troll were extremely dedicated (which is exceedingly rare), he or she would get bored and move on before being able to cause any significant damage

How to get rid of it
I knew the criteria on the old website, and it involved the amount of time you were registered, the number of projects you had, the number of comments you had, and the last time you visited the forums. In order to prevent this information from being abused, I am not going to list the exact numbers for each. On this website, I think the criteria are very similar, but may have a few changes.
Just be active, post constructive comments on peoples' projects, make projects, and generally be helpful around the site, and you will eventually find a link on your profile that says “Become a Scratcher”. Click it, and you will be promoted.

★How do I delete my account?
Log in to Scratch, and then click your username in the top right-hand corner. Select “Account Settings,” then click the “I want to delete my account” link at the bottom of the page.it will ask you if you want to delete your account. if not press the “back” button.

★can I change my username?
sorry, but you can't change your username because scratch is made like that. if you want to change the username , delete the account and again join scratch.

★can I share anything on my profile like addresses, email , contacts or birthdates?
please don't do that otherwise someone may get you contact and call you outside scratch,

★why can't I share my password?
it's not good to share your password with others or they may take your password and log in to your account and get your account banned.

★what is ScratchJR?
scratchJR (junior) is a scratch website specially made for children who are too young to use scratch. (ages: 4-6)

★what is ScratchED
scratchED (education) is a scratch website specially made for educators who teach children to use scratch.

★what are custom blocks?
custom blocks are used to create your own block like for example:

define wait random (secs)
wait (pick random (secs) to (secs)) secs

Thanks for reading! ( not yet complete. adding more still. )

pen down

very good guide! should be stickied!

thanks pussycat675 for reading this!

pen down

pussycat675 wrote:

very good guide! should be stickied!

thanks!

pen down

Very nice “one stop shopping” for answers! I added it to the Welcome topic so Scratchers can find it more easily. Thanks for making this

Paddle2See wrote:

Very nice “one stop shopping” for answers! I added it to the Welcome topic so Scratchers can find it more easily. Thanks for making this

thanks very much!

pen down

thanks for reading this topic everyone!

pen down

Nice guide!