person from swc here :>
I agree that the penpal threads are cluttering up the forums and shouldn't have any thread solely dedicated to them! the forums should stay organized <3
we're working on moving them to our personal/community writing threads instead, where they shouldn't bother anyone!

blackcow29 wrote:

LovegoodLady wrote:

…the penpal threads happen to be a project for scratch writing camp for getting to know each other, …

It seems to me like the SWC needs be looked upon by the Scratch Team. It’s really grown in size in the past year, and it’s very alarming.

But I would like to ask that all of the SWC members to think about how putting written work in the forums affects them. A lot of text means a considerable portion of server storage space that has been lost. And by “lost,” I mean space that could have been used for more important things that is now gone. Even if a topic is deleted, it still takes up space.
It’s much better to put written work into a project. There’s so much that you can do with projects! You can make templates to put stories into, for example. The possibilities are endless. And that’s the main purpose of Scratch: to code, and to have fun doing it.


Edit 1: However, I would like to say that I appreciate the fact that SWC members who have made penpal threads are bringing up good arguments rather than just complaining. That is the way to go, and that skill will be very useful later in life.

Edit 2: I also suggest that the topic owner rename this to “Important Info on Penpal Threads (Please Read)” and add some more info, possibly some of what I have written here if needed.

Thank you for the feedback, but honestly, as Lune, @LovegoodLady stated, SWC is a great community for people to grow and develop skills. While yes, the main purpose of Scratch is to code, the Scratch Team has no problem with SWC. They don't find it and it's growth ‘alarming’ since it has been going for 9 years now.

And respectfully, just because you find a community of writers growing, developing new skills and finding friends online ‘alarming’, doesn't mean that it should be shut down. And as mentioned previously, SWC has been thriving for a long time now and if the ST had a problem with it, they would probably shut it down.

I understand your concern about pen pal threads (and server space) and I am speaking to the hosts of SWC and those in charge. But please remember that this is no valid reason to call the growth of a community alarming. And I bring this to your notice again- is it really possible that in 9 years, the ST has not looked into SWC? If you're suggesting the Scratch Team take over it, of course, it is their choice, but as of now, we are a group who runs our own community and the ST is totally fine with that.

Additionally, since we're going into the broader aspects of SWC and how it affects the greater parts of the Scratch community, I would like to bring one more thing to everyone's notice. In the cabin planning threads and even the leader forum, people keep commenting that closed collaborations are not alowed and people should be allowed to just drop in and help. While yes, we (I speak for most SWCers) appreciate the spirit, but people applied to be a part of this collaboration. In many events on Scratch, people are selected to help since they applied (and put a great deal of effort into it, too.) Therefore, why is SWC getting so much hate?

-starrii-skies- wrote:

-snip

I never said it should be shut down! I just said that the Scratch Team should take a look at it.
But I have a feeling that the Scratch Team is starting to look into things more after these penpal threads have been popping up.

And I’m not against the SWC. I truly like the idea of it. There just appears to be some misunderstanding between them and the greater Scratch community.

I think the best solution for right now is to fix one tiny detail. I did some digging around the SWC application projects, collab forums, and other places, and I found a project that told people to find a penpal. And it went on to say that you can do that in a forum, project, or studio. If you remove “forum” from the list, it should help with the issue!

blackcow29 wrote:

-starrii-skies- wrote:

-snip

I never said it should be shut down! I just said that the Scratch Team should take a look at it.
But I have a feeling that the Scratch Team is starting to look into things more after these penpal threads have been popping up.

And I’m not against the SWC. I truly like the idea of it. There just appears to be some misunderstanding between them and the greater Scratch community.

I think the best solution for right now is to fix one tiny detail. I did some digging around the SWC application projects, collab forums, and other places, and I found a project that told people to find a penpal. And it went on to say that you can do that in a forum, project, or studio. If you remove “forum” from the list, it should help with the issue!

That's valid <3 I believe our hosts are currently working on solving that problem. Thank you for understanding! Also, my apologies for being rude ;-; I thought you meant something else :)

I have one more question, though- we SWCers have a megathread to post writing. Would it be valid to post our penpal letters in the megathread? It is quite difficult to use a project or studio </3

reported to be stickied (though idk if the ST will sticky this)

AdaVesta_ wrote:

(#26)
reported to be stickied (though idk if the ST will sticky this)

Paddle2See is quite active in the Collaboration forum recently and hes a ST member, maybe he can sticky it?

7e_x wrote:

AdaVesta_ wrote:

(#26)
reported to be stickied (though idk if the ST will sticky this)

Paddle2See is quite active in the Collaboration forum recently and hes a ST member, maybe he can sticky it?

only one way to find out.

-starrii-skies- wrote:

blackcow29 wrote:

-starrii-skies- wrote:

-snip

I never said it should be shut down! I just said that the Scratch Team should take a look at it.
But I have a feeling that the Scratch Team is starting to look into things more after these penpal threads have been popping up.

And I’m not against the SWC. I truly like the idea of it. There just appears to be some misunderstanding between them and the greater Scratch community.

I think the best solution for right now is to fix one tiny detail. I did some digging around the SWC application projects, collab forums, and other places, and I found a project that told people to find a penpal. And it went on to say that you can do that in a forum, project, or studio. If you remove “forum” from the list, it should help with the issue!

That's valid <3 I believe our hosts are currently working on solving that problem. Thank you for understanding! Also, my apologies for being rude ;-; I thought you meant something else :)

I have one more question, though- we SWCers have a megathread to post writing. Would it be valid to post our penpal letters in the megathread? It is quite difficult to use a project or studio </3

You were not rude in any way! And that’s good that they are working to solve that issue. That tells me a lot about SWC management, and in a very good way.
Maybe you could post penpal letters in the megathread. I think what you could do is affix a “tag” at the beginning of the post saying “person 1 and person 2’s penpal sub-thread.” Maybe?

We have allowed SWC posts from previous assignments either in “Things I'm Making and Creating” (if it's creative writing) or Collaboration (if it's part of creating a larger work). The problem with Penpal posts is that they don't really seem like creative writing - and they don't seem like they are part of creating a larger work. They seem like a chat without any specific topic - which is something that we have worked to prevent so as not to have forums full of spammy topics. It's unfortunate that the assignment this year is such a bad fit for the forums.

Paddle2See wrote:

We have allowed SWC posts from previous assignments either in “Things I'm Making and Creating” (if it's creative writing) or Collaboration (if it's part of creating a larger work). The problem with Penpal posts is that they don't really seem like creative writing - and they don't seem like they are part of creating a larger work. They seem like a chat without any specific topic - which is something that we have worked to prevent so as not to have forums full of spammy topics. It's unfortunate that the assignment this year is such a bad fit for the forums.

thanks for the clarification!

–

congrats on the sticky btw

Paddle2See wrote:

We have allowed SWC posts from previous assignments either in “Things I'm Making and Creating” (if it's creative writing) or Collaboration (if it's part of creating a larger work). The problem with Penpal posts is that they don't really seem like creative writing - and they don't seem like they are part of creating a larger work. They seem like a chat without any specific topic - which is something that we have worked to prevent so as not to have forums full of spammy topics. It's unfortunate that the assignment this year is such a bad fit for the forums.

Thanks for the clarification. That helps a lot!

And I’m glad this got stickied. I think people will find it useful.

This got stickied!
Hopefully this should help lower the amount of PenpalSWC topics.

Thanks for hearing us out! I actually agree with almost everything said here, on both sides of the argument, and I’m honestly surprised at how peacefully we seem to have come to a solution :-)

7e_x wrote:

-starrii-skies- wrote:

(#19)

7e_x wrote:

technj2009 wrote:

(#13)
To those concerned with our penpal threads,
are we allowed to write them in “Things I’m Making and Creating” or “Things I’m Reading and Playing”? because those topics say that we are allowed to “Discuss things you are creating or exploring outside of Scratch, like art, music, programming languages, or crafts. and Discuss books, TV, movies, art, music, or videogames that inspire you.” i would just like to know! because 4 of my penpal threads were closed and i won’t bother to create a new one under those topics if you are going to close it again- unless it is okay and i won’t get targeted again!
Thank you

No, as they are not places for penpal topics.

Then would you please suggest other forums where we can post our threads? Creating a bunch of projects seems like a bit of a waste. Some of us do like to keep our profiles minimalistic. I'm sure you understand!

They cant go in any forum.

Well, maybe we can find some kind of work-around! A forum is just the most organized place, and honestly, it feels like we're being attacked.

Splash_Stuff-- wrote:

7e_x wrote:

-starrii-skies- wrote:

(#19)

7e_x wrote:

technj2009 wrote:

(#13)
To those concerned with our penpal threads,
are we allowed to write them in “Things I’m Making and Creating” or “Things I’m Reading and Playing”? because those topics say that we are allowed to “Discuss things you are creating or exploring outside of Scratch, like art, music, programming languages, or crafts. and Discuss books, TV, movies, art, music, or videogames that inspire you.” i would just like to know! because 4 of my penpal threads were closed and i won’t bother to create a new one under those topics if you are going to close it again- unless it is okay and i won’t get targeted again!
Thank you

No, as they are not places for penpal topics.

Then would you please suggest other forums where we can post our threads? Creating a bunch of projects seems like a bit of a waste. Some of us do like to keep our profiles minimalistic. I'm sure you understand!

They cant go in any forum.

Well, maybe we can find some kind of work-around! A forum is just the most organized place, and honestly, it feels like we're being attacked.

You aren’t being attacked at all! What we’re saying is that penpal topics are no longer allowed in the forum.

7e_x wrote:

This got stickied!
Hopefully this should help lower the amount of PenpalSWC topics.

Oh, nvm, okay, I think I understand, now, sorry for being rude earlier. Maybe we can create a studio or something, or just doing it in the megathread?

7e_x wrote:

Splash_Stuff-- wrote:

7e_x wrote:

-starrii-skies- wrote:

(#19)

7e_x wrote:

technj2009 wrote:

(#13)
To those concerned with our penpal threads,
are we allowed to write them in “Things I’m Making and Creating” or “Things I’m Reading and Playing”? because those topics say that we are allowed to “Discuss things you are creating or exploring outside of Scratch, like art, music, programming languages, or crafts. and Discuss books, TV, movies, art, music, or videogames that inspire you.” i would just like to know! because 4 of my penpal threads were closed and i won’t bother to create a new one under those topics if you are going to close it again- unless it is okay and i won’t get targeted again!
Thank you

No, as they are not places for penpal topics.

Then would you please suggest other forums where we can post our threads? Creating a bunch of projects seems like a bit of a waste. Some of us do like to keep our profiles minimalistic. I'm sure you understand!

They cant go in any forum.

Well, maybe we can find some kind of work-around! A forum is just the most organized place, and honestly, it feels like we're being attacked.

You aren’t being attacked at all! What we’re saying is that penpal topics are no longer allowed in the forum.

I'm so sorry for seeming rude, I read the rest of the stuff and I understand now

I just wake up and it got stickied?????

Okay, thank you for the clarification! We seem to have come to a solution I believe <3 That's exchanging letters in the megathread/ourpersonal thread except we can't create a specific forum for penpals. Is that correct?

And thanks for hearing us out, there was indeed a miscommunication.

-starrii-skies- wrote:

Okay, thank you for the clarification! We seem to have come to a solution I believe <3 That's exchanging letters in the megathread/ourpersonal thread except we can't create a specific forum for penpals. Is that correct?

And thanks for hearing us out, there was indeed a miscommunication.

Yes, it is.