⚠︎︎ Before you read on, note that this description and animation discusses uncomfortable themes/topics about toxicity around the scratch community. ⚠︎︎ Please take the time to read thoughtfully and consider what I say (this includes scratch team - if they ever see this project). ✃ — — — — If you don't already know me, I go by Wolfy on Scratch and I mainly create art/animations for fun. I am not a furry. Scratch has been a really toxic environment lately. I've seen so many comments on projects, profiles, studios, etc. that have been rude and outright upsetting. This past week, I got some really disrespectful and concerning messages. I'm not talking about the typical rude comments, such as "eww furry" or "this is stupid" (although I have gotten that recently too). Summary: After I released my most recent MAP part, it gained more attention than usual. Although most of the comments were positive and kind, there were a good handful of comments that were toxic. I'm going to get straight to the point. 2 different people this week have told me to kh!\\ myself. Seriously (you can look inside the project for proof, although I've reported most of them). It's important to note that both of the accounts were made during this week, which means the only reason they created the account was to hurt others. After receiving these comments, it doesn't help to just "report" them. Sure, it makes them d i s a p p e a r. But it doesn't get rid of the damage done. And if you're still wondering, yes, these comments hurt me. A lot. If you get comments like these, they stick. You can't just forget them. I can't help but think how horrible it would be if this happened to a child. Well... almost ALL users on scratch are ages 8-16. There should be more precautions taken on this website to protect its users, especially because it's directed towards kids! I'm not blaming anyone for this (except the people who commented ofc), but there are certain measures the scratch team can put in place to prevent or decrease these occurrences. What I propose: Only scratchers who have achieved "scratcher" status should be able to comment. I know this won't exactly prevent those with bad intentions from commenting in the future, but it will discourage them. Someone who truly wants to learn how to code and uses scratch as a creative tool should be completely fine w/o the commenting feature for a couple weeks. ✃ — — — — In general, please be kind. There is a person behind every screen. Comments hurt JUST as much as verbal harassment. I know this saying is thrown around at school a lot, but "treat others the way you want to be treated". It really is the golden rule. Thanks for reading! I was hoping I wouldn't have to post a project like this, but I believe it's important to bring up. Sorry if this sounded like a vent- I'm just fed up with all of the toxicity. I won't leave scratch, but I may if this problem persists. I'm thinking of leaving this project up (in hopes of the scratch team seeing this). Scratch still hasn't banned any of the accounts who made these comments, so I hope they will soon. Edit (9/20): I included an animation.
