Hello, I don't think this exists yet! Correct me if I'm wrong on any of the content in the following post, I just wanted to make something helpful. Maybe this should go in the New Scratcher's forum? I'm not really sure. Anyway, the aim of this post is to document the Scratch forum slang to make a helpful guide for anyone not understanding a particular term. This guide is really for people with some experience on the forums, but not expertise on technical language, or general slang. Finally, the list is in alphabetical order and the Trivia section can be found at the bottom. Without further ado,

❁'+1'❁
A +1, or support, is used on the suggestions section of the forum. This does what it says on the tin - it's a short way of saying that you support a given idea. This saves you from writing out a full explanation if all of your points have already been mentioned above, but some posts will say:
'Support because…'
And then give a reason
You can also say ‘No support’ and ‘Semi-support’, but please give a reason, even if it is just ‘No support for reasons above.’ I got an alert for just putting ‘No support’.
But yeah, it suggests against just saying ‘Support’ in the stickies, since it decreases the quality of arguments and suggestions in general.

❁'60 Second Rule'❁
Okay this isn't slang, this is just a part of the forums, but I'll put it on regardless. So, the 60 second rule is a sort of spam filter put in place to stop people from making multiple posts in a short frame of time. For New Scratchers this rule is extended to a 120 second rule. This may seem annoying, but it's an effective spam filter

❁'Abbreviations'❁
A common thing on the forums is abbreviations. Most of these are found in text slang as well, but @asivi has posted a list of them, which can be found here. But here are some useful ones I see people using the most:
❁ tl;dr: Too long; didn't read ❁ IMO: In my opinion / IMHO: In my honest/humble opinion ❁ BTW: By the way ❁ FYI: For your information ❁ JK: Just kidding ❁ thx / yw: Thanks / You're welcome ❁ TIA: Thanks in Advance ❁ IIRC: If I recall correctly ❁ ST: Scratch Team ❁

❁'AT/ATer'
AT is a term that isn't used too commonly, but it's a short way of saying ‘Advanced Topics’. Advanced topics is one of the forum sections. ATer is a way of saying somebody who frequently visits the Advanced Topics section of the Forums. I decided to combine these two since they are very similar

❁'Bump'❁
A bump is a comment on a thread used to send the topic to the top of the topic list. This happens whenever you post on a topic, it's just that ‘bump’ is a phrase that has caught on. These posts generally contain just the word ‘Bump’. It is common courtesy on the forums that a post isn't bumped until the following conditions are met:

• 24 hours have passed since the last post on the topic
  
• The topic is no longer on the first page
  

❁'Collab'❁
Collab is short for collaboration, where 2 or more Scratchers work together to make a project, whether it be an animation, game, work of art, or something else

❁'Dupe or Duplicate'❁
This one is quite self explanatory - it's a topic which discusses the same problem or topic as another topic. These posts can be reported to keep discussion in one place, and are not really allowed

❁'Evil Kumquat'❁
*see trivia

❁'Flame War'❁
According to the Scratch Wiki, a flamewar is: ‘an unfriendly argument between two or more users on the forums or main site and also a common type of cyberbullying.’ Quite obviously, flamewars aren't allowed, as ‘they cause a disruption in the community, are disrespectful, and can harm people emotionally.’
Upon seeing a flamewar, don't get involved, just report it. To stop one from starting, don't retaliate to somebody being rude, just report them, or in extreme cases, contact the ST with the ‘Contact us’ button. All this information and more can be found on the Wiki page about this topic

❁'ITopic'❁
The ITopic (short for index topic) system was created to combat certain forums having too many stickies. ITopics are useful topics which are linked to in the ITopic index. This can be convenient, but also means that people miss a lot of important topics. The ITopic system is used on the following forums; Questions about Scratch, Advanced Topics, New Scratchers, Help with Scripts, and Collaboration. An ITopic can't be necroposted on.

❁'King/Queen of the Page'❁
This is a fairly recent trend, where people will post a message saying “King/Queen of the page” or something similar on posts which are the first on a page. Posting a message just saying “King/Queen of the Page” isn't constructive, so it's discouraged, but including it in a post that is relevant to the conversation is allowed. This trend is most prevalent on the Things I'm Reading and Playing forum, but it also occurs in other areas.

❁'Lock or Close'❁
Locking a post, or closing it, is an option that stops any extra replies from being added. You can only close a post after 24 hours of the OP being posted, but if it needs to be locked then a member of the ST can lock it. Stickies are often closed, to stop the flow of people responding, but certain stickies will be left open.

❁'Lurking / Lurker'❁
Although I find this term is seldom used, it can be used to describe a user who hangs around in the forums without actually posting. This term is more commonly used on other forums

❁'Necropost'❁
A necropost is like a bump, but is usually made by someone other than the original poster. This is a comment left on a resolved issue or post. If the original poster deems the post unsolved, this is not a necropost, to my knowledge. On the suggestions forum, bumping a year old unresolved suggestion is not considered a necropost. However, if it has been rejected by the ST (Scratch Team) then it would be a necropost.
A necropost may also be called a necrobump

❁'Ninja'd!'❁
Getting Ninja'd is when you post a reply, and as you do so, another person posts their reply just quicker than you. For example, somebody asked why New Scratchers don't have Cloud Data, and as I responded there were no replies. When the page refreshed after my reply had been sent, it turned out somebody had answered just a minute before me!

❁'Nono Word'❁
This phrase is used to refer to browser extensions, as references to browser extensions have to be censored due to the Scratch Team banning advertising of browser extensions for safety reasons.

❁'OP'❁
Original post, or original poster: eg, You should make the OP more specific
or, The OP can decide if this is resolved or not.
People can also say FP to mean first post.

❁'OT'❁
Original topic: eg, I couldn't find the OT so I made a new thread

❁'Reporting'❁
(I know this isn't slang, but the meaning of this word sometimes gets confused) Sometimes using the report button isn’t for something bad. Perhaps it’s the OP asking to close it early. Perhaps it’s a different user saying it should be a sticky. It’s just someone reporting to the ST about the thread.

❁'Reserved'❁
When a Scratcher says in a post simply ‘reserved’ or ‘reserved for…’ and then a reason, it means that they are going to put something there, so you shouldn't post. This happens often in shops, and also occasionally in guides. But overall, these usually happen in shops in the request forum.

❁'Siggy / Signature'❁
A signature (sometimes referred to as a siggy) is a section of text, a picture, or something else which is automatically posted after every single one of your posts. You can change it at any time from the ‘Change your signature’ link at the bottom of the Discuss home page.

❁'Snip'❁
If someone quotes saying simply ‘snip’ where the original text was, this is a shortened way of writing out the entire post, rather than using it all and making a rather large post. This is a good idea when quoting topics like this, but make it clear which post you are snipping

INSERT NAME wrote:

snip

❁'Spam'❁
'Spam' isn't necessarily a term unique to Scratch or any forums. In fact, it's used all over the Internet. The term itself refers to unwanted and usually repetitive content posted on the Internet. For more info, see this. If you see spam, it can be reported, or if it's really severe, you can contact the Scratch Team.
Another spam related thing is a spambot. This is a program written by a spammer that is made to spam.
Spam, however, is heavily slowed down by things like the 60/120 second rule and New Scratcher status. Spambots also can get IP banned to prevent more from coming from the same source.
A specific type of spam which is quite common on the Scratch Forums is Blockspam. This is where people spam the scratchblocks, e.g.

move () steps

These messages are only considered spam if they don't contribute / aren't relevant to the topic at hand. Talking in blocks as a stylistic choice isn't considered spam and is allowed.

❁'Stickies'❁
A sticky is a topic that is pinned by the Scratch team at the top of the topic list. This is usually a helpful topic that explains something, such as the sticky about the New Scratcher status.
In addition, if somebody says something about ‘getting their glue out’ in response to a helpful post, it means that they are reporting it to be stickied.

❁'Thread / Topic'❁
A thread, or topic, is another way of saying a post. For example, this is a thread, or if you post a question, then that would be a thread.

❁'Thread Hijacking'❁
Thread Hijacking happens mainly in the Questions about Scratch and Bugs and Glitches forum, although can happen in any forum. This is where a user uses a reply to a thread as a way to ask a question. For example:

Thread Hijacker wrote:

OP wrote:

Why can't I view projects? My browser / operating system: Windows 7, Chrome 60.0.3112.90, No Flash version detected

Wow weird problem also when I try to draw a circle in vector it's off center from my mouse How do I fix it?!

Please tell me if there is something you believe should be added to this! I hope it helped, I've been learning these terms as I go.

❁Trivia!❁
As pointed out by @-Lite-, the term ‘necroposting’ is derived from the term ‘necromancy’, which is a branch of witchcraft which involves communicating with, or even reviving, the dead. This term relates to how the necroposter is ‘reviving’ the ‘dead’ post
Bump can actually be used as an abbreviation meaning the same thing as it says - BUMP:

• Bring
  
• Up
  
• My
  
• Post
  

The term ‘spam’ is derived from a sketch from Monty Python that involved a couple going to a diner that served Spam (a type of lunch meat) and the patrons would constantly yell “Spam” annoyingly, as it was “unwanted” like Internet spam is.

Evil kumquats are a rumored creature that is usually said to eat signatures, but some users will also say that an evil kumquat ate the discuss tab, a comment, or other things like that. This trend was started by a Scratch Team member, cheddargirl, who realized that the site she used to host the image in her signature was no longer supported by Scratch, so instead of fixing it, she replaced it with the message that it was eaten by an evil kumquat. The trend, even today, is still popular. Evil kumquats aren't actually real, so you'll have to just say “My signature was eaten by an evil kumquat” if you want to have an evil kumquat eat your signature. However, kumquats are real fruits, they're related to oranges and are native to China.

Helpers ;)

Well a lot of people have helped out with extra info, so I’ll be putting that here;
@Lite: Explained the origins of the word ‘necropost’
@Hex4Nova: Suggested improved formatting and the additions of ‘Collab’ and ‘Lock’
@asivi: Posted a list of many abbreviations
@LionHeart70: Linked a useful wiki article about Flamewars, suggested the addition of semi support and no support, as well as rejected suggestions, spam, Evil Kumquat, original topic and this list right here!
@cul8er: Suggested the addition of s and /s to show sarcasm and offtopic and /offtopic to show offtopic
@bigpuppy: Suggested the addition of glue
@TechCation: Suggested the addition of Thread Hijacking as well as better formatting
@YubNubEwok: Suggested the addition of ‘Reserved’
@PrincessTS: Suggested the addition of FP as a synonym of OP
@TheAdriCoolManDude: Suggested the addition of siggy / signature
@D-ScratchNinja: Suggested the addition of ‘nono word’
@imfh: Suggested the addition of King of the Page, blockspam, and ST
@Quantum-Cat: Pointed out that I had written ITopic twice

About the necroposting,
it is derived from necromancy, the magic of bringing dead to life

When you necropost, you revive a dead thread

Oh, yeah, I got that, I might put in a trivia section at the end

This is a great idea, and quite useful! There's another topic quite similar to this that I thought you might like to know about, but I'm by no means trying to tell you to stop this. Good guide!

Thanks for the feedback! I don't think this is technically a dupe (gonna add that one on) as the link you posted is to a topic which is a general information guide which contains a dictionary. I find this is more specific as I wouldn't click on that looking for an explanation of words which I see people using, but this one is more obvious - it's about forum slang, and from a glance you know that.
Just my opinion, thanks again

-Lite- wrote:

About the necroposting,
it is derived from necromancy, the magic of bringing dead to life

When you necropost, you revive a dead thread

Possibly also because the prefix “necro-” means “dead” or associated with death. And yes, that makes sense.


As for the OP, this is a good guide! There's a guide on the Scratch Wiki if you'd like to add more from that post.

Oh, thank you! The feedback is appreciated, and more terms will make it more useful

I personally think that if you put the slangs in big text, it would be easier to see where a section starts and ends, in case it gets very long and you need to scroll a lot. It could also be a good idea to rearrange the slangs in alphabetical order, but that's just my opinion.
Anyway, I have two slangs that you could add.

Collab
Short for “Collaboration”. It's when multiple Scratchers work together to produce a single project or a series of projects. Most collabs should be discussed in the Collaborations forum.

Lock
Locking a thread means to disallow anyone from continue replying to the thread. Depending on the situation, if a lock is needed, anyone (usually the OP) could ask for the thread to be locked, which can then be done by a staff member. OP can also lock the thread without any questions, but only when the thread is at least 24 hours old. Common reasons for requesting a lock could be:

• OP asked a question, which has been answered (and they do not wish for additional answers)
  
• OP started a discussion, and they do not wish for more replies
  
• OP started the thread to talk about a collaboration project, which has ended/cancelled
  
• Someone necroposted on the thread
  
• The thread has way too many replies (see Sigton's old shop, 950 pages)
  
• Any of the above, but OP is dead and cannot close the thread themselves
  

Auroura_Wolf wrote:

'Bump'


'Necropost'


'OP'


'Snip'


'Stickies'


'Dupe or Duplicate'

Only problem is that none of those are Scratch slang words. They are all frequently used outside of Scratch.

“Change title to ‘The Forum Slang Directory’”
Okay, there you go. Thanks for the feedback!

They aren't forum slang words either. They are used outside of scratch.mit.edu frequently.

The point is that they are used in the forums so they are forum slang

By that logic, every single english word is forum slang because they used in the forums.

AFAIK / As Far As I Know – Por lo que yo sé
AFTK / Away From The Keyboard – Lejos del teclado
AKA / Also Known As – También conocido como
AOTA / All Of The Above – Para todo lo anterior
ASAP / As Soon As Possible – Tan pronto como sea posible
BBL / Be Back Later – Vuelvo más tarde
BRB / Be Right Back – Vuelvo ahora mismo
BTW / By The Way – Por cierto
COB / Close Of Business – Al final del día de trabajo
CU / See You – Nos vemos
CYL / See You Later – Nos vemos luego
CUZ / Because – Porque
DIY / Do It Yourself – Hazlo tu mismo
F2F / Face to Face – Cara a cara
FYI / For Your Information – Para tu información
GJ / Good Job – Buen trabajo
GA / Go Ahead – Seguir adelante
HAGD / Have A Good Day – Que tengas un buen día
IAC / In Any Case – En todo caso
IDK / I Don’t Know – No lo sé
IIRC/ If I Recall Correctly - si no recuerdo mal/creo recordar
IMHO / In My Humble/Honest Opinion – En my humilde/honesta opinión
IMO / In My Opinion – En mi opinión
JK / Just Kidding – Sólo bromeaba
JTC / Just To Confirm – Sólo para confirmarlo
JTLYK / Just To Let You Know – Sólo para que lo sepas
K THX BYE / Okay, Thanks, Bye – Vale, gracias, adiós
KIT / Keep In Touch – Estamos en contacto
LMAO / Laughing My * Off – Partiéndome el culo de risa
LOL / Laugh Out Loud – Reirse a carcajadas
N1 / Nice One – Buena jugada
NIM / Not In the Mood – No estoy de humor
NP / No Problem – No hay problema, de nada
NW / No Way! – No hay manera posible
OMDB / Over My Dead Body – Por encima de mi cadáver
OMG / Oh My God – ¡Dios mío!
OP / Original Poster/original post - Comentarista original/comentario original
PIC / Picture – Imagen
POV / Point Of View – Punto de vista
ROTF / Rolling On The Floor – Muriéndose de risa
SPST / Same Place Same Time – Mismo sitio misma hora
TBA / To Be Announced – Pendiente de ser anunciado
TBC / To Be Confirmed – Pendiente de ser confirmado
TBD / To Be Defined – Pendiente de ser definido
TBH / To Be Honest - para ser honesto/a decir verdad
THX / Thanks – Gracias
TIA / Thanks in Advance – Gracias por adelantado
TMI / Too Much Information – Demasiada información
UFO / Unidentified Flying Object – Objeto volador no identificado
VIP / Very Important Person – Persona muy importante
WAD / Without A Doubt – Sin lugar a dudas
WB / Welcome Back – Bienvenido de nuevo
WDYT / What Do You Think? – ¿Qué piensas tú?
WFM / Works For Me – Para mí está bien así
XOXO / Hugs and kisses – Besos y abrazos
YOYO / You’re On Your Own – Estas solo en esto
YVW / You’re Very Welcome – De nada (con énfasis)

asivi wrote:

-snip-

These are mostly abbreviations and are not often used on the forums, from what I've seen. For this reason, I will add them in a category of ‘Abbreviations’

Nice guide!

Sometimes I read NVM instead of nevermind?

asivi wrote:

Sometimes I read NVM instead of nevermind?

Same. Node Version Manager is always handy

Blaze349 wrote:

By that logic, every single english word is forum slang because they used in the forums.

You're taking this too literally. I can assume that you understand my point, please don't make this more complicated than it needs to be =P

Also!
I was considering putting ‘Flamewar’ on, but I don't know the actual definition