Introduction

Many people have already voiced the same concerns that I have, but I want to provide both negative AND positive feedback in my own words, so I've decided to make this post. No offense is intended from this post. I don't mean to attack anyone. Also, please don't fight in the reply section!

If you just want to read my thoughts on the managers-can't-manage issue, scroll near the bottom of this post.

If you just want a summary of this huge post, there's a TL;DR at the very bottom.

The Good:

First of all, I'd like to get this out of the way: Not all the studio changes are bad. People are being very vocal about the negative parts, but there are definitely positives!

• The 40 managers limit is great to keep people from making spammy “X number of managers” studios or promoting everyone to manager (which can lead to raiding, I know that from experience).
  
  
• The “browse projects” changes seem great, though I haven't used them yet. (Clarification: I know Browse Projects existed in a different form before, but the addition of the Recent tab and the new, larger, and more central design will likely make adding projects much more efficient.)
  

The Bad:

• The comment chain limit will have unexpected repercussions. Mainly, there are many roleplay studios on Scratch, which focus on usually one-on-one conversations within a topic. These places are places for people to find others with the same interests and bond with those similar people. We might be able to adapt to only roleplaying on profile comments, but then it'll be harder to find those with the same interests who also enjoy roleplaying, don't you think?
  
  Also, in big studios like Scratch's (almost definitely) biggest LGBTQ+ studio, it's likely for a good comment to get a lot of replies. (Maybe not 25, but maybe 25- I'm not sure. The roleplay thing is the bigger problem, though.
  
  

The Maybe:

• The new design isn't my favorite, but I'm just used to the old design, and it's probably worth it for continuity in the long run. However, the big concern with the change is that it hurts some people's eyes. So why isn't this under “The Bad”? Because project comments have been like the studios are now for a long time, and people are fine with it. People might just have to adjust. However, the situation with studios vs. project comments isn't quite the same, so the design MAY be an issue. We'll learn if it is an issue or if we can adjust to it with time.
  
  EDIT: Also, the new design gives some people sensory overload, which is another problem with the design.
  

A Little Bug:

• The follower counts of the studios. The LGBTQ+ studio has over 5000 followers, maybe even 6000, but it's shown as 100 (instead of the usual exact number). If it said 100+ or something, I'd assume it was like the non-exact comment counts, but just 100 is obviously a bug (or a design mess-up, forgetting to put the ‘+’).
  

The Elephant in the Room: Managers

• Namely, how they can't do anything that a curator can't do. There's already that new number limit on managers, designed to make people think before promoting someone to such an important position. Managers should be people a studio's creator can trust to, well, help manage the studio when the creator can't (especially with big studios), and the new number limit encourages that, which is great! However, that doesn't matter now that manager is an honorary title, as managers can no longer do anything that the manager rank was designed to do! Case in point: The LGBTQ+ studio I linked previously. The creator has been gone for a long, long time, and the trusted managers keep the studio running, changing the title and thumbnail for holidays (or for fun, as they often do, which adds the flair to the studio that we all love). Also, they put important info like links or rules into the description, which is pretty important. For example, when there's a raid on the studio, they tell people in the description not to interact with the raider. They run the studio great, and they're fantastic people! Take our lead manager, Isla (@DogCatPuppyLover). She's a great manager, running the studio and keeping it a kind and safe environment. She's awesome. However, the limits to managers' powers keep all of our great managers (like Isla) from managing in the studio creator's permanent absence. The Scratch Team's reasoning for this is managers raiding the studios, but that's because people overpromote. If we just choose trusted managers like the 40 managers rule encourages, there won't be these raiding problems, and managers will still be able to, well, manage!
  

TL;DR: The 40 managers limit and browse projects update are both positive changes. The comment chain limit breaks roleplay studios and seems relatively unnecessary. The design change is something we'll get used to, but the only problem is that it hurts some people's eyes. Lastly, the managers-can't-change-studios change is extremely unnecessary and does more harm than good.

I agree with everything said here. ^^

Read it all through, there are some great points!

I'd like to point out that the “browse projects” functionality is not new; you could access the same thing (with a different name and design) if you clicked “add projects.”

CodeNinja329 wrote:

browse projects option are both positive changes.

Browse projects has been there since 2013!

Chiroyce wrote:

CodeNinja329 wrote:

browse projects option are both positive changes.

Browse projects has been there since 2013!

Check the update log- they improved the browse projects feature.

Edit: I just saw that someone else mentioned the same thing. I'll look into it. Is it really the same as before…?

Edit 2: Okay, I'll edit my post to reflect this, but I knew you could already browse your own projects and your favorited ones, but the addition of the Recent tab is new, and I think it's a good change. Plus, the new windowed design allows for mush easier browsing of projects.

CodeNinja329 wrote:

the addition of the Recent tab is new,

the recent views? that's also been there, I lost the API link for that though

Chiroyce wrote:

CodeNinja329 wrote:

the addition of the Recent tab is new,

the recent views? that's also been there, I lost the API link for that though

If you needed the API link, doesn't that mean it wasn't implemented? Or do you just mean the link to access the old version? I don't remember the recent tab being there.

CodeNinja329 wrote:

Introduction

Many people have already voiced the same concerns that I have, but I want to provide both negative AND positive feedback in my own words, so I've decided to make this post. No offense is intended from this post. I don't mean to attack anyone. Also, please don't fight in the reply section!

If you just want to read my thoughts on the managers-can't-manage issue, scroll near the bottom of this post.

If you just want a summary of this huge post, there's a TL;DR at the very bottom.

The Good:

First of all, I'd like to get this out of the way: Not all the studio changes are bad. People are being very vocal about the negative parts, but there are definitely positives!

• The 40 managers limit is great to keep people from making spammy “X number of managers” studios or promoting everyone to manager (which can lead to raiding, I know that from experience).
  
  
• The “browse projects” changes seem great, though I haven't used them yet. (Clarification: I know Browse Projects existed in a different form before, but the addition of the Recent tab and the new, larger, and more central design will likely make adding projects much more efficient.)
  

The Bad:

• The comment chain limit will have unexpected repercussions. Mainly, there are many roleplay studios on Scratch, which focus on usually one-on-one conversations within a topic. These places are places for people to find others with the same interests and bond with those similar people. We might be able to adapt to only roleplaying on profile comments, but then it'll be harder to find those with the same interests who also enjoy roleplaying, don't you think?
  
  Also, in big studios like Scratch's (almost definitely) biggest LGBTQ+ studio, it's likely for a good comment to get a lot of replies. (Maybe not 25, but maybe 25- I'm not sure. The roleplay thing is the bigger problem, though.
  
  

The Maybe:

• The new design isn't my favorite, but I'm just used to the old design, and it's probably worth it for continuity in the long run. However, the big concern with the change is that it hurts some people's eyes. So why isn't this under “The Bad”? Because project comments have been like the studios are now for a long time, and people are fine with it. People might just have to adjust. However, the situation with studios vs. project comments isn't quite the same, so the design MAY be an issue. We'll learn if it is an issue or if we can adjust to it with time.
  

A Little Bug:

• The follower counts of the studios. The LGBTQ+ studio has over 5000 followers, maybe even 6000, but it's shown as 100 (instead of the usual exact number). If it said 100+ or something, I'd assume it was like the non-exact comment counts, but just 100 is obviously a bug (or a design mess-up, forgetting to put the ‘+’).
  

The Elephant in the Room: Managers

• Namely, how they can't do anything that a curator can't do. There's already that new number limit on managers, designed to make people think before promoting someone to such an important position. Managers should be people a studio's creator can trust to, well, help manage the studio when the creator can't (especially with big studios), and the new number limit encourages that, which is great! However, that doesn't matter now that manager is an honorary title, as managers can no longer do anything that the manager rank was designed to do! Case in point: The LGBTQ+ studio I linked previously. The creator has been gone for a long, long time, and the trusted managers keep the studio running, changing the title and thumbnail for holidays (or for fun, as they often do, which adds the flair to the studio that we all love). Also, they put important info like links or rules into the description, which is pretty important. For example, when there's a raid on the studio, they tell people in the description not to interact with the raider. They run the studio great, and they're fantastic people! Take our lead manager, Isla (@DogCatPuppyLover). She's a great manager, running the studio and keeping it a kind and safe environment. She's awesome. However, the limits to managers' powers keep all of our great managers (like Isla) from managing in the studio creator's permanent absence. The Scratch Team's reasoning for this is managers raiding the studios, but that's because people overpromote. If we just choose trusted managers like the 40 managers rule encourages, there won't be these raiding problems, and managers will still be able to, well, manage!
  

TL;DR: The 40 managers limit and browse projects update are both positive changes. The comment chain limit breaks roleplay studios and seems relatively unnecessary. The design change is something we'll get used to, but the only problem is that it hurts some people's eyes. Lastly, the managers-can't-change-studios change is extremely unnecessary and does more harm than good.

well, some people are autistic and can't get used to the new design.

The change that gives people with ADHD and autism sensory overload is the fact that the colors are brighter, and everything is more compact.

WingsOfFirestar wrote:

well, some people are autistic and can't get used to the new design.

Null_Plays wrote:

The change that gives people with ADHD and autism sensory overload is the fact that the colors are brighter, and everything is more compact.

I didn't know that, sorry! I'll mention that in my post, though I'm not moving the new design straight to “The Bad”.

WingsOfFirestar wrote:

well, some people are autistic and can't get used to the new design.

Doesn't mean the update is bad, it's nothing that can't be fixed in a couple of tweaks.

linearlemur wrote:

WingsOfFirestar wrote:

well, some people are autistic and can't get used to the new design.

Doesn't mean the update is bad, it's nothing that can't be fixed in a couple of tweaks.

An update that doesn't take into account the needs of those with ADHD or autism is inherently bad IMO, especially if it triggers things as severe as panic attacks.

CodeNinja329 wrote:

• The comment chain limit will have unexpected repercussions. Mainly, there are many roleplay studios on Scratch, which focus on usually one-on-one conversations within a topic. These places are places for people to find others with the same interests and bond with those similar people. We might be able to adapt to only roleplaying on profile comments, but then it'll be harder to find those with the same interests who also enjoy roleplaying, don't you think?

I'm pretty sure the Scratch Team was aware of and considered that repercussion when they decided to add a comment reply limit, so it's not exactly unexpected.