First of all, why am I suggesting this? Well, here is the reason:

“Some users mistake the suggestions forum as a forum where you can ask for suggestions. This is not the reason. I found this out from a recent topic asking for suggestions about helping on a certain project. I knew this could be the start of confusion. There is a bit of confusion between the names of the ”Suggestions“ Forum and the ”Requests“ Forums. Their names can be easily confused, and these two simple phrases proves it: ‘Requesting for suggestions’, and ‘Suggestions to request’. This can be a problem you know? I even seen a suggestion in a request topic. I couldn't find it, but I know it exists. Even if you don't believe me, remember that users can sometimes post things in the wrong topics due to confusion, and I have seen many of them, and the reasons are probably not because of confusion. But believe me, you will spot something like this one day, just like me.”

You can see how the topic and the name of the forum relate to each other, yet the Suggestions forum itself has a different purpose.

Still don't understand? Here is what I mean:

1. Suggestions to user doesn't mean deciding on something for the future. They might think of it as a way to find suggestions for something.
2. Some users put the wrong content in the wrong forums. One of the reasons is because the title misleads them.
3. The “Suggestions” and the “Requests” forum can be confused with one another, since they have similar terms for their names. EXAMPLE: "I request that this block should be added to Scratch.“ and ”I suggest that this block should be added to Scratch."

So I believe one way to fix this, it to change the title to distinguish this from other forums. Here is a list of possible titles:

1. Ideas 4 Future Updates (or “for”, including the rest that use the number “4”)
2. Ideas 4 Change
3. Website Improvement
4. Ideas 4 Improvement
5. Future Ideas 4 Updates
6. Future Programming Ideas
7. Scratch Ideas
8. Future Of Scratch
9. Future
10. Scratch's Future Collaboration

Or rename the “Requests” forum. Here is a list of possible titles:

1. Scratch Shops
2. Shops
3. Requests For Projects
4. Project Requests
5. Request Shops

These titles will be MORE different than the other titles, therefore getting rid of confusion and helping users post in the correct topics.

Q&A

Are you sure this will work? If we want to stop having unrelated topics, we should send a message to them. Remember the reasons why users sometimes use the wrong contents on the wrong forums, and remember about the forums “Suggestions” and “Requests” and how they are similar. Like I've said, I've seen a topic asking for suggestions in the Suggestions forum such as, "I need help on this script! Any suggestions?“, and a topic on the Requests forum saying, ”I need to request, Scratch Team, that you add this block!" I'm just re-summarizing what I said to help you understand, but what else could be the cause? Laziness?

But there is a description! I know there is a description, and it probably distinguishes them, but sometimes descriptions can also be misleading. You might think of the questions forum of Scratch as a place to get help for your scripting by asking a question, but then it should be in the help with scripts topic. Besides, even if there is a description, users still post the wrong topics. Besides, even if the descriptions were made to distinguish one another, they aren't very detailed and they could sometimes look…the same, even if they distinguish. To solve more problems, not only should we change the title, but the descriptions to a more detailed description, so that it distinguishes more. Besides, some users are too lazy to read the descriptions so we need more attention. Don't “citation please” me, I just know, and everyone feels like they just know a fact but they can't prove but they know it's true.

But mistakes are made to learn and to help us improve or the world will never be better without them! I know we can't always think negative = positive is false, but mistakes were also made so that they don't be made again because we know, but in order to do this we need to get attention because then it still might mislead and you might forget even after a few days.

Can you prove that users have been posting topics in the wrong forums? Here is an example of a user asking for suggestions when the user needed help on something in the suggestions forum: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/277994/

Maybe this forum should be renamed to “Suggestions for Scratch” or maybe the “Requests” forum should be renamed.

Semi-support I guess.

Total support, I was really confused when I first started using scratch.

Whup, example here.




60-second rule. :(

I can see the confusion that could arise…

maybe Make a Suggestion?

no support, as you said, there are the descriptions, and plus, mistakes help us learn, if a New Scratcher posts the wrong thing in the wrong forum, we help them. Mistakes are what built society as we know it.

I-Iz-A-Litten wrote:

no support, as you said, there are the descriptions, and plus, mistakes help us learn, if a New Scratcher posts the wrong thing in the wrong forum, we help them. Mistakes are what built society as we know it.

Did you even read the topic? I said I know there is a description, but there are still wrong topics going on even if the words about what the forum is about are right there, and even the stickies are there.

Besides, I don't think anybody bothered reading them anyway (sometimes people get too lazy to read stuff). Still, it can be deceiving.

I know mistakes help us learn, but mistakes don't always mean everything will be better. That's like saying negative = positive.

(Look I know it looks like I'm nagging you every time you do no support, but I just think that 1. Your reasons are partially wrong. 2. There are exceptions.)

Maybe “Ideas for Scratch” would work. It's short, and it makes its point clear.

For requests, just in case, maybe “Project Requests”.

WolfCat67 wrote:

Maybe “Ideas for Scratch” would work. It's short, and it makes its point clear.

For requests, just in case, maybe “Project Requests”.

I like this idea here

Maybe Requests should be renames Requests for Help.
Actually, isn't this the point of the little descriptions under the forum name?

Suggestions Discuss ideas for making improvements to Scratch.

It is the actual title.

DaEpikDude wrote:

Maybe Requests should be renames Requests for Help.
Actually, isn't this the point of the little descriptions under the forum name?

Maybe the descriptions will help, but users sometimes still post the wrong stuff, you know? I know mistakes were how we improved, but mistakes were also made so that they won't be made again.

And besides, some users don't even read the description, but even so they can still get confused.

I think one solution is to not only change the titles, but the descriptions too to make them more clear and to make them actually distinguish.

No support, I don't see people misuse the suggestions forum that often and the description seems straightforward enough.


But if I were to support this, the only one I would bite would be “Ideas for Scratch”.

Semi-support.

This could be useful for new forum users, but I haven't seen many people mistake the two.

venyanwarrior wrote:

Whup, example here.




60-second rule. :(

This is an example of what he's talking about.

Requests shouldn't be renamed “Shops” or something like that. Even though most of it are shops, you could still ask for things there. “Shops” also might make people think they have to pay for something to get it.

aking_ wrote:

No support, I don't see people misuse the suggestions forum that often and the description seems straightforward enough.


But if I were to support this, the only one I would bite would be “Ideas for Scratch”.

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not true.

Charles12310 wrote:

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not true.

I don't get what you mean by that…

asivi wrote:

Suggestions Discuss ideas for making improvements to Scratch.

It is the actual title.

This.

aking_ wrote:

No support, I don't see people misuse the suggestions forum that often and the description seems straightforward enough.

And this.

The link to Discussion Forums takes every Scratcher (and those new to Scratch) to a page that categorizes and describes each forum. The few mistakes that happen really are the fault of the thread poster, not the forum's name.

aking_ wrote:

Charles12310 wrote:

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not true.

I don't get what you mean by that…

Just because you don't see users post the wrong content on the wrong topic doesn't mean that it's not true.