Scratch isn't the same anymore....

Instructions

Scratch is becoming really toxic. I used to have an account 2 years ago, scratch was so different then. It was a friendlier, more happy place in general. Scratch isn't the same. People are being homophobic, racist, sexist, generally rude, art theft has become more common, mass reporting is becoming a problem, and the ST is banning people for sticking up for themself. People are even impersonating one another! These are just some of my opinions, you don't have to agree with them, but I just want to put them out there. HOMOPHOBIA: I've noticed a lot more homophobia now then there was 2 years ago. I know some people say it's against their religion, and I get that, but that doesn't give you permission to discriminate against them. And this; "I respect but don't support LGBTQ+" is just giving us mixed signals. It's a bit confusing when people say "We like you, but we dislike who you are." As long as your treating them like equals, it's fine if you don't support it. Please, homophobes, if you have something rude to say to an LGBTQ+ member about their sexuality, just don't. Leave them alone. What they do and who they love is none of your concern so stop acting like it is. Love is love, and everybody is valid. RACISM: This whole ALM and BLM thing is also starting to really affect scratch. There's so much controversy. I've seen some ALM supporters on scratch and their reasoning for it is just.... a bit... racist? Someone said to me that they support ALM because they don't want things to change, implying they're ok with black people being treated this way. That's an extremely rude thing to say considering cops are killing black people for the color of their skin. Even the scratch team says the don't want people to reply to BLM projects with "ALM." So just stop. It's fine to have your own opinions, but just don't express it in a rude way. Ik not all ALM supporters are like this, and some people support ALM because they think the BLM movement is violent. But you can still support BLM and not support the protests. I am also NOT trying to say all ALM supporters are racist. SEXISM: I haven't seen that much of this except for a few studios and comments. I'm also including transphobia for this too, even though it's not the same. Please, respect what gender somebody identifies as. Don't misgender someone; especially if it's on purpose. It's very rude. If it's an accident, that's more understandable, but I recommend always checking what pronouns they go by before addressing someone. ART THEFT: Why? Just.... why? Art theft is honestly really annoying. People put a lot of time and effort into their art, and for what? To get it stolen? It makes the artist really scared to post their art in fear that someone will steal it. I've had my art stolen before and it feels terrible. It's one of the reasons I went on hiatus. Ik people do it because they think their art is bad, but that doesn't give you a right to steal someone else's. Just practice and you'll get better. Other people do it for attention and praise. Let me tell you, someone will catch you and expose you, so better to just try your best. Also, I get some art thieves are young and they don't know any better, but hopefully soon they'll realize it's wrong to steal art, or anything for that matter. For these reasons, I'm permanently leaving scratch. It's just gotten so toxic and its not bringing me the joy it used too. I'll still come on to reply to comments and answer questions, but other then that I'm leaving. Thanks for reading <3 WWOSB