Over the past year, the Scratch moderation team has been thinking (and rethinking) our stance on Scratch projects that feature the popular video game Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF).

When these projects started appearing in the community, we heard from a number of Scratchers who questioned the appropriateness of these projects on an all-ages website. We’ve continued to hear from Scratchers, teachers, and parents who have expressed concern about these projects.

Which aspects of the games can be considered inappropriate according to the Scratch Community Guidelines? 1) Graphic content: Many projects contain disturbing imagery that can be seen as too intense for Scratch. 2) Backstory: The plot of Five Nights at Freddy's is rooted in murder and kidnapping. 3) Jumpscares: Frightening images abruptly flash on the screen.

What’s the impact of this content on Scratch? Multiple school districts have blocked access to Scratch. Several parents have reported their children having nightmares. A number of community members feel uncomfortable browsing Scratch because of this type of content.

In the coming weeks, the Scratch moderation team will begin to unshare some “Five Nights at Freddy's” content from the website. We will start to unshare emulations of the game (i.e. Scratch projects designed to be replicas of the game), since emulations of the original game contain much of the game’s original scary content and background story.

Content moderation is difficult. We want to ensure that you are all able to express yourselves while also balancing the needs of the community. We understand that unsharing and restricting content is no fun — but we hope you understand why we have decided to take this step to help make sure the Scratch community remains a friendly site for people of all ages.

Thanks,
Scratch Team

FAQ:
Why not implement an age appropriateness rating system on Scratch?
Everything shared in our community should be appropriate for all ages. Any type of age restriction placed on a project by the Scratch Team, community members, or project authors isn’t aligned with this philosophy.

Can I put a disclaimer on my Scratch project to warn people it's not for all ages?
Everything shared in our community should be appropriate for all ages. Any type of age restriction placed on a project by the Scratch Team, community members, or project authors isn’t aligned with this philosophy.

Will all Five Nights at Freddy’s content be unshared?
Nope. We’ll only unshare projects that violate our Community Guidelines. For instance: An emulation of the game containing all of the elements described above are not okay. On the other hand, a Freddy Fazbear dress up game? That’s probably okay.

Will this lead to my account being blocked?
Nah. No worries if you created a Five Nights at Freddy’s project in the past. However, we ask that you do not reshare the project if it violates the Community Guidelines.

Will I be able to reshare my project?
If you remove the parts that make the project inappropriate — the jump scares, the scary backstory, the frightening images, or any other content that isn’t appropriate. If you are unsure if your project is reshareable, you can email Contact Us and we will reevaluate your project.

Is my project “deleted”?
Nope. We did not “delete” any of the projects. If it violated the Community Guidelines it was unshared. You can now find it in your Unshared folder.

Why are you unsharing FNAF projects instead of Scratch projects X,Y, or Z which are far scarier?
If you are aware of other Scratch projects that you feel go against the Community Guidelines, please use the Report button on the projects so we can check them out.

Why are you unsharing FNAF projects when my 6 year-old nephew / sister / cousin loves the game and thinks it is not scary?
Finding one example of a younger person that is not disturbed by the game doesn't prove that there aren't many others that do find it disturbing. We have heard from a lot of kids, parents, and teachers that feel that some of the FNAF projects are not appropriate for Scratch.

first reply! Yes, I agreed, they should be unshared.

Some people will be happy, I know that. I've always been indifferent about FNAF.

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Same. They always make my uncomfortable…

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stop [wasting time v]

Finally, some closure on this topic. Thanks ST

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh man I'm glad a crackdown has finally been reached. I can have a huge sigh of relief knowing I won't get so bothered about FNAF projects literally streaming non-stop on the front page.

As I collect myself from this exciting news, I realize this historic decision has a lot of fine print to make. But it will be a worthwhile investment to make Scratch a friendlier place.

A huge thanks. I was concerned that Scratch was going down the wrong path by allowing it to break its own guidelines. This brings back my faith that the ST will do what is right for Scratch.

Finally! FNaF has haunted me from the time I started scratching.

I have created some FNAF projects in the past with jumpscares. Is that okay? They were mostly for humor.

PrincessPanda_test_ wrote:

I have created some FNAF projects in the past with jumpscares. Is that okay? They were mostly for humor.

Will this lead to my account being blocked?
Nah. No worries if you created a Five Nights at Freddy’s project in the past. However, we ask that you do not reshare the project if it violates the Community Guidelines.

I'm in the making of a FNaF type game, however it uses toons from Toontown, and not Freddy. It won't have any backstory or anything.
Is this okay?

It appears that the ST has fallen on their own swords here, after months of:

Paddle2See wrote:

We're not going to ban all FNAF projects out of hand because we think it is possible to make a project about it without going against the Community Guidelines. We will, of course, continue to moderate the site and hope that if you find *any* projects that you think are inappropriate for Scratch, you will click on the report button and let the moderators know.

But step back a bit and evaluate what you are looking at before deciding. Is it really too scary? Or is it just scary because somebody told you that everything FNAF-related is super scary? Try to be objective.

But I'm happy with the change! I agree that FNAF projects were getting out of hand.

speakvisually wrote:

.
In the coming weeks, the Scratch moderation team will begin to unshare some “Five Nights at Freddy's” content from the website.

Well, there goes half of the Recently Shared section. (ba-dum-tiss)

Scratcher1002 wrote:

I'm in the making of a FNaF type game, however it uses toons from Toontown, and not Freddy. It won't have any backstory or anything.
Is this okay?

That seems okay :]

speakvisually wrote:

Scratcher1002 wrote:

I'm in the making of a FNaF type game, however it uses toons from Toontown, and not Freddy. It won't have any backstory or anything.
Is this okay?

That seems okay :]

Yey, it isn't very close to being finished xD

I've always been too nervous to open up anything saying “FNAF”. Thanks, this should make a lot of people feel much better.

^._.^::control //This is Kallie. She is a certified siggy protector. She protects my siggy from kumquats.

abhinav21 wrote:

how dare you

The ST isn't trying to be mean. It's taking the input from concerned Scratchers, teachers, and educators.

too bad ! I did alote of work!

Yay, anyway I am very, very scared of FNAF because I have nightmares every night of them coming into the room!

My fault. I apologize for the FNAF posts.