Preferred pronouns on profile page

hotcrystal

This suggestion is NOT rejected. There is an additional part that’s in bold that differentiates it from the original suggestion, which is rejected.

Yes, this is a dupe, but it is of a closed topic.
The idea is that when signing up, and in Account Settings, you can (but don’t have to) set your preferred pronouns. It will show up on your profile page between role and join date, and it will also show up on your comments and forum posts so people can check your pronouns easily while talking to you.
My idea for options list:

he/him
she/her
they/them
he/they
she/they
any pronouns
ask for pronouns

Yes, the first one is intended to be blank.

roadtripworkshop's idea for a list (can select multiple):

she
he
they
it
xe
fae
ask
none

Can someone make a mockup for the profile page, the account creation page and the account settings page?

Last edited by hotcrystal (Jan. 13, 2026 12:22:29)

PartyPizza205

Paddle2See wrote:
Many Scratchers do this already, in the About Me area. And, of course, it is purely optional - and doesn't take up space on the screen unless you choose to use the space for that. I expect we will keep with this system for now - thanks for all of the thoughtful discussion.

MudkipKappa

PartyPizza205 wrote:
Paddle2See wrote:
Many Scratchers do this already, in the About Me area. And, of course, it is purely optional - and doesn't take up space on the screen unless you choose to use the space for that. I expect we will keep with this system for now - thanks for all of the thoughtful discussion.

This suggestion includes the option to not put it on the profile with the blank option, and thus is a solution.

redspacecat

I support this, would be very nice for talking to people on Scratch

MagicCoder330

I personally would just put “lord” or something in (so I must be referred to as Lord) but I can see why people would use this legitimately, sounds like a good idea.

Elijah999999

I'm not writing this off as rejected, but I would like to point this out:

The Official List of Rejected Suggestions

8.1 Changing usernames or changing display names
If a user could change their username (or even set a certain “nickname” or “display name”), this could be very confusing for the Scratch community, especially for those following that user. In addition, this would make moderation of the website more difficult because it would be harder for the Scratch Team to keep an eye on what a user may be doing. The Scratch Team has allowed username changes only on very rare occasions, such as if the username contains personal information or causes gender dysphoria. Generally, the Scratch Team does not change usernames on request (including for reasons such as “I do not like my current username anymore”).

However, because of the way that usernames are stored on the server, changing the cases of letters in your username (for example, changing @Za-Chary to @ZA-CHARY) is NOT rejected. You can discuss it on this topic.

I can't really tell if there's a difference between personal pronouns or nicknames, but maybe somebody would like to explain that to me.

unknown2467

Elijah999999 wrote:
I'm not writing this off as rejected, but I would like to point this out:
snip
I can't really tell if there's a difference between personal pronouns or nicknames, but maybe somebody would like to explain that to me.

A display name is like a user's @user and the user's actual name, which they can change. This is different, because it is pronouns, not names.

GlitchedThrough

Elijah999999 wrote:
I can't really tell if there's a difference between personal pronouns or nicknames, but maybe somebody would like to explain that to me.

Pronouns act almost like a stand-in for a noun. So, you may say, “Glitch is typing on an iPad,” or you may say “They are typing on an iPad.”
However, a nickname is an alternative noun to use for someone, though not as generic as a pronoun. For example, my nickname is Glitch, but that refers specifically to me. However, “they” could refer to just about anyone.

Last edited by GlitchedThrough (March 24, 2025 16:36:40)

23mConnor

No, other than clearly defining the pronouns of a person, what use does it have? There is already an About Me section, so I don’t think this is very useful.

hotcrystal

23mConnor wrote:
No, other than clearly defining the pronouns of a person, what use does it have? There is already an About Me section, so I don’t think this is very useful.

About Me has a character limit. This does not take up space in About Me.

SMG5SC

I don't really care about this, but I'll tell Za-Chary about it. (if he notices)

Last edited by SMG5SC (March 24, 2025 20:43:01)

Create-Scratch101

Personally, I do not support this topic as about me is for stuff such as this.

(I do understand why this is wanted, though.)

mali3000

this is not necessary, but it seems like a cool thing to add
but if the scratch team doesnt have time to fix other things on the website then they definitely dont have time to add this

8xa

I see why you'd want this. Many apps and sites have options to show your preferred pronouns. I'd like to point out, however, that the longest entry on your list of pronouns options is 16 characters long - that being “ask for pronouns”. All of the rest are even shorter than that. My point is unless you've got an unnecessary amount of information in your about me (if you do, I'd reccommend making a project introducing yourself and featuring it on your profile) you're not really gonna run out of room by adding pronouns. I'm not opposed to it entirely, but I think the workaround is just too easy. Moreover, text on the user information part of the profile page is honestly less visible and having pronouns there may make them more likely to be ignored.

hotcrystal

Buuuuuuuuuuump.

FWGcats

If this gets added, people will definitely ask for a custom pronouns option. Which would mean that

hotcrystal wrote:
23mConnor wrote:
No, other than clearly defining the pronouns of a person, what use does it have? There is already an About Me section, so I don’t think this is very useful.
About Me has a character limit. This does not take up space in About Me.

a character limit would be required

hotcrystal

FWGcats wrote:
If this gets added, people will definitely ask for a custom pronouns option. Which would mean that
a character limit would be required

I don’t want there to be a custom option because it could be abused.

SushiCat_75

Yes please! This would make Scratch more inclusive and welcoming and people wouldn't have to assume.

Olimon7661

And include all the other stuff for different sexuality's.

op456

I fear the potential negative repercussions of encouraging pronouns for those who best need them - on other platforms where such a pronoun system has been implemented, such as an unnammed popular VoIP platform, people have been known to use pronoun fields to insert commonly anti-LGBT rhetoric etc, or to put information aside from pronouns there - which turns the pronouns box into an all-purpose status area (which has a whole host of other negatives), detracting from its original purpose. Either the ST would have to keep a close eye on things - creating additional work for an already overburdened team - or the 'ask for pronouns box would have to be removed, which I can imagine to be certainly unfair for those who identify with pronouns aside from common ones. One finds your proposal preferable in its opt-in ability to other proposals, however, and I do believe a system with preset options of pronouns (such as all those listed up to in the first post, and including, any pronouns) would be beneficial (which, again, one is not against any less-than-common pronouns, but moreso fears that allowing users to enter anything there would create an all-purpose status area that may have aforementioned negative side effects).

Edit to clarify that my argument is purely about the need for such a pronouns system to be based on a list of user options rather than a text input field. See my clarifications here.

Last edited by op456 (June 12, 2025 22:13:11)

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