the first thing i want to tell you is that this isn't goodbye. at least, not yet. i joined scratch six and a half years ago. 2014. i was 8 years old. i've been on this website almost as long as i can remember. every memory i have since i joined can somehow be linked back to here. i remember where i was when i posted or drew so many of my projects. i grew up with 60 million people by my side. this was my childhood. this was my life. i moved from texas to california, leaving my friends behind but keeping my account with only a handful of followers. i posted a ridiculous number of projects while i lived there, discovering MAPs to watch, entering coloring contests, remixing projects, and beginning to hone my own skills. i moved back to texas after two years. i was in middle school at this point. i hit 100 followers in 2018. i kept drawing. i kept posting. i kept growing my account. i reached 200 followers, then 600, then 1000, then 1300. throughout my whole life, scratch has been there. but things are changing. art thieves. impersonators. generally toxic people. this community was once a great place. this place was where i grew up. that's starting to change. i remember @moss-shadow's glory days. i remember the day he was first banned. i remember the day the ban was lifted. i remember the day the news broke that he'd been banned for defending himself against accusations of art theft. i remember @lionclaws i remember @-applepie- i remember @-SkyStar- i remember @Shadowblaze-the-WC i remember @firepaw_rusty i remember @SharkyPup name a great animator of scratch, i was here when they were active. i followed them. i remember them. but almost every one of these artists has left or been banned. only recently was @scarpaw13 banned. mass reporting is one of the main reasons i'm saying this. have you watched david attenborough's witness statement, of him watching the earth die throughout his long life? this is my witness statement. this is my message. this is what i have to say. scratch is not the place it used to be. scratch is not the place it used to be. scratch is not the place it used to be. i'm gonna stick around as long as i can, but there will be a time when i log out for a last time. i've always known that. i've always known it will come. and now i know that it isn't that far away. i'm turning 15 in march. i'll be old enough to start learning to drive. i'll be old enough to leave a children's coding website. scratch is not the place it used to be. scratch is not the place it used to be. scratch is not the place it used to be. this place is toxic, and it only holds people back. scratch is not the place it used to be. scratch has been a common thread throughout my entire life. scratch is not the place it used to be. i love every one of my followers. scratch is not the place it used to be. this isn't a goodbye, but i want you to be ready. scratch is not the place it used to be. song is the call by regina spektor character design by
