Hi there,

My daughters (aged 9 & 10) have scratch accounts, but I find that they spend a massive amount of time using the ‘comments’ section, under the projects.

They use it to message online ‘friends’ and it seems to work like a min Facebook <shudder!>.

Is there any way to disable access to this functionality? I'd prefer them to spend their time learning to code, rather that to waste it messaging others.

I know that there's a checkbox under the share section of each project, but that doesn't stop them using the comments section of other users projects to have their little conversations…

Are there any specific URLs or scripts that are used to enable the messaging/comments functionality that I could disable from within my browser?

Cheers,

Mike.

rolands50 wrote:

Hi there,

My daughters (aged 9 & 10) have scratch accounts, but I find that they spend a massive amount of time using the ‘comments’ section, under the projects.

They use it to message online ‘friends’ and it seems to work like a min Facebook <shudder!>.

Is there any way to disable access to this functionality? I'd prefer them to spend their time learning to code, rather that to waste it messaging others.

I know that there's a checkbox under the share section of each project, but that doesn't stop them using the comments section of other users projects to have their little conversations…

Are there any specific URLs or scripts that are used to enable the messaging/comments functionality that I could disable from within my browser?

Cheers,

Mike.

Here's my take on this topic…

Don't force your daughters to be Mini Mikes! If Scratch is fun for them then they will learn more than if it is not. The commenting entertains them. All you have to do is set goals for what they need to learn and then don't worry about how they get there. Part of growing up is learning how to learn.


And I don't know of any way to prevent myself from seeing comments on other projects other than willpower.

Hi, you could disconnect the internet and get a deal with your daughters to make use of the offline editor.

You might try giving them new accounts and simply not verifying the emails. Without verified emails, they won't be able to make forum posts, leave comments or share projects.

I can totally understand why your children having friends online would make you uncomfortable, and I don't intend to argue with that. The internet is a scary place, and every parent has a different level of trust in their children.

However, if you simply want to remove the commenting because you want them to focus on coding, I'd encourage you to let them run with it. Scratch takes an incredibly long time to learn well, and I never would have stuck with it long enough if I hadn't made friends here. There's this kind of pressure to make projects- and it isn't a bad kind of pressure. But just being here, you start thinking about projects you could make, and how you would do this or that. Before you know it, you've made projects, and with every one you make you learn a little more.

Yes, you could take commenting away, and your kids would probably learn faster than if you left it. However, without commenting there's no pressure. There's no desire for them to learn it because there's no reward for them if they do. If they're anything like me, they'll probably resent having to learn it.

However, if you leave it and just have patience, I can almost promise that they'll end up learning how to code. Yes, it might take a little (or a lot) longer, but they'll love the process and they probably won't even realize that they were learning until later.

Sorry that got so long, but I appreciate your willingness to read it.

There is no way to turn off commenting, but if your daughters read comments, they will might new people and see projects that could help them improve programming skills. If you are really desperate, get the offline editor and look up books with simple Scratch tutorials. Plus, your children could make friends. The good people outweigh the bad on the Internet, and mean users can get their accounts blocked. Maybe set a time limit for commenting, and the rest of the time on Scratch would be only coding for the rest of the day. I hope you find a way to even out.

Also, if you are looking for a good Scratch book, “scratch for kids for dummies” is a good one that covers all difficulty levels. As a bonus, you don't have to be a dummy to enjoy it

I don't think that's possible. Also, I don't think it's a big deal that they have friends on Scratch and they are making a lot of comments. Scratch is a safe site so things like swearing and otherwise mature (as in "inappropriate) language isn't allowed. I also joined Scratch when I was 10 (I'm actually 12 and a half now) and my parents never really had any concerns about the website. If you don't want them commenting, try talking to them about it and try to negotiate a solution. Or monitor them to make sure they're not doing anything inappropriate.
Also, Scratch helped me make lots of friends over the nearly 2 years I've been on it. Making internet friends is okay, but make sure they're not sharing personal info with any of them, and either one of your daughters or her friend aren't trying to agree to meet up IRL (unless it really is one of their friends IRL that has a Scratch account, but still) and just generally aren't trying to break the CG of the site.
However, Scratch has a lot of features, and I'm sure that if they're somewhat new to Scratch they might focus on the commenting first (I did, and I still do this often) and eventually they'll start learning how to code and make projects.
In short, don't worry too much about Scratch being a problem. It's safe for pretty much all ages and in fact Scratch is directed towards ages 8-16. If you're really worried, like I said earlier, try talking with your daughters about a solution.

I wish there was a way, but unfortunately there isn't.

As other people have suggested, the offline editor is the best and easiest solution to the problem.

However…

Scratch has a very supportive and helpful community and I reckon they'd learn a LOT faster with online capabilities.

If this is a big problem, have you considered that it might just be a lack of interest in coding? Talk to them about it. They know themselves best, after all.

I guess this is just a summary of what everyone has said already.

Its not a mini facebook. The entire website is moderated by the Scratch Team. So you can't just say anything like you probably can in Facebook.