In this edition of the Scratchers Inforumer you will find...
- Featured Forum: New Scratch Members!
- Fall Elections...?
- The Inforumer Blog.
- Halloween Discussion!
- User Spotlight: coolstuff
Featured Forum: New Scratch Members!
I decided to start this Sundays edition of with a Forum Feature. I didn't do any in the last one so I picked my favourite Forum... New Scratch Members! I looked on there and I noticed that wherever I scrolled the page to, the only topics apart from Stickied; were 'Welcome to Scratch topics'. The Community statistics tell me that since Scratch as released in '07 there are a stunning 633,927 members registered! Speaking of new Scratch members, how many people have you got to join Scratch?
Fall Elections...?
I know that I'm excited about the elections and everything; so I checked the topic in Announcements and I see only 9 people saying that they are running for the two seats this Fall. I know the final date for all these is the 19th of October, but after I viewed KalinaStars thread for 'Moderator Candidates' I expected there to be at least 30 comments. Anyway - I suppose there being less people running is a good thing. I wasn't tuning in on the last elections; but were there more users running?
The Inforumer Blog.
I started to run a Blog, just a simple thing on Blogger to try and get you to see The Inforumer in a slightly more creative way, if you know what I mean. You can find it here:TheInforumer.blogspot.com. All the BB code works on Blogger, so all I need to do is copy and paste! Anyway, you can comment there as well, an Blogger will feature the Blog if I get enough traffic/views. I also have a website here: FlexiStudio.webs.com that you can check out. It has a list of my projects and a blog where I post things like games that I might be bringing out! What do you think?
Halloween Discussion!
I myself brought out a Halloween project that you can see here. cheddargirl also brought one out called My Creative Pumpkin. I can't wait until Halloween because I love the spirit of it all. It's good to see your local community joking around and having fun; even if they are dressed up like a dead guy or something... Are you going to go out trick or treating?Discuss it here.
User Spotlight: coolstuff
I've always wanted to spotlight you coolstuff. Because you were in fact the first person to talk to me on Scratch. I brought at a topic on how to use Scratch and so on etc; and the first comment was by coolstuff, telling me how great I am. Now it's my turn 
Coolstuff has always had awesome projects and I love his game Scape. He is constantly active and is always there to welcome new users. He just brought out a thread calledChronicles of a Moderator: Moderating & the Responsibilities Involved. It's amazing, and is like a life time story of coolstuff's time as a Moderator. Read it! It's stunning.
Congrats coolstuff, for making the Spotlight!
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Hope you enjoy this Sunday's edition. Comment, discuss and keep it at the top of the forum for the time being. Thanks!
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In this SPECIAL edition of the Scratchers Informer you will find...
- The Elections! You heard it here first!
- The Dates. Don't miss out!
- Featured Projects.
- Featured Companies.
- User Spotlight: rufflebee
The Elections! You heard it here first!
Like I promised, the Elections news would be posted here as soon as it came out! Lightnin, a member of the Scratch Team, recently posted saying that the Elections have been bid to continue! This Fall, there are 2 seats open so it's going to be a tight race! The new process includes contacting the parents of the To Be 'mod'; maybe over a Phone call or Skype etc; It'll be interesting to see how many people will post and say they are running. There has been mass running and I have seen dozens of topics for speeches all over the Forums. Good luck to all and I hope you get your votes!
The Dates. Don't miss out!
Tuesday 19 October - Announcing Candidates.
Thursday 21 October - Voting Day.
Friday 22 October - Final Results (Confirmation Process)
The Elections! You heard it here first!
Like I promised, the Elections news would be posted here as soon as it came out! Lightnin, a member of the Scratch Team, recently posted saying that the Elections have been bid to continue! This Fall, there are 2 seats open so it's going to be a tight race! The new process includes contacting the parents of the To Be 'mod'; maybe over a Phone call or Skype etc; It'll be interesting to see how many people will post and say they are running. There has been mass running and I have seen dozens of topics for speeches all over the Forums. Good luck to all and I hope you get your votes!
Featured Projects
Many people thought; because of the great response, I should advertise some projects by some other people. It's a good idea, but I will be choosing projects in the future so please don't ask to get featured! Anyway, the first of the two is 'Watch Out' by poopo. It's a great game that has been shown as second top viewed on the Scratch front page. You play as a bird; dodging various objects including 'Tuna' and Sticks. It's a great game and is very addictive! The second game called 'Ultimate Guide to Scratch! I have to say, it's extremely detailed. It's going to be extremely helpful to new users and written cleanly, so many ages can understand. Check them out and discuss here!
Featured Companies
I have been requested by 'juststickman' to feature his 'Company', called SMLITC. It was founded last summer and has just been revived. There are two web designers, and himself as the game designer. They are looking for staff! To join SMLITC you have to be able to; Make flash games - Use stencyl - Draw art for games - Make high quality Scratch games - Advertise well - Create sound effects - Web hosting. It sounded good, so I checked out their site here. The site is nicely laid out and they have some Forums where you can discuss everything related to their site and the games etc; Check it out and spread what you think!
User Spotlight: rufflebee
Rufflebee has been chosen as our user spotlight for this edition! She recently update his sig, that display's she has been on Scratch for two years now! Congratulations! Anyway, rufflebee has always been an active and a hard user to beat at posting 'Welcome' comments to new users. They are well known and I have researched and seen many helpful posts by her! I actually remember playing her project Roboter Factory, when it had first come out. It wasn't one of the first projects I had played, but at the time it had set a new milestone for me. 
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Look, I'm sorry for the lateness, but the news on the elections was released at 9:00 UK time, and I had to go for a late dinner. But then there was another incident that kept me back from finishing this. Trust me; Iv'e been so keen to get at this and finish this all day. Anyway - Thanks for reading, comment and discuss!
In this edition of the Scratchers Informer you will find...
- Curator Interest.
- Public Vote.
- * Special Edition *
- What's happening in Suggestions?
- User Spotlight: cheddargirl.
Curator Interest.
I posted a request to be a Curator in the Announcement Forums yesterday, and I noticed the huge amount of response that topic has received. It's really inspiring when you see the amount of interest from people who want to show the diversity of their views. And some of the kindness of the users that post is stunning; it's great to see that the Forums have a community of polite and well spoken people. Have you been a curator before? Then post your name! Do you want to be one? Post your name here too!
Public Vote: Scratchers Inforumer
I received a comment on the last edition from WaveOSBeta, that we should change the name of the Paper to 'Scratchers Inforumer'. It's clever, considering the Paper is made for the Forums only; and then name has a unique ring to it. Anyway, with undying support I decided to start a vote on whether we should change the name. I support the idea, but it's up to the Community ultimately. Post your thoughts here!
Special Edition.
Here is a note for the upcoming Scratchers Informer, maybe soon to be Inforumer. The current day is the 13/10, and more news on the upcoming Fall Elections will be posted tomorrow. Anyway, I dare say there are tens of people who want to know what's going on and in inside view on the choices the Scratch Team will make. So I'm cutting the 3 day posts short, and tomorrow there will be a special edition just for the Elections! Don't miss out on all the inside views!
What's happening in Suggestions?
Scratch development has always been here, ongoing and non-stop. Here we will cover some topics that I agree on and see if they will make their mark in Scratch history. There has been a post about a new Paint Editor, which I totally support. Although the current PE is portable, small and simple to use. It lets you down some of the time. Although you maybe thinking; 'Just use GIMP', why? All the Paint editor needs is an update, and it will be top-notch. What do you think? Another post has been by myself. Although we have all these nice smiley's, why don't The Scratch Team bring out something seasonal? Maybe a Pumpkin Smiley for Halloween and a Christmas Tree for... Christmas. Share your views.
User Spotlight: cheddargirl
As requested by The_Dancing_Donut, maybe the the next Spotlight should shine on someone who has been contributing and helping the Forums allot. This edition's spotlight goes to cheddargirl, who has shown her undying support for new users and her extensively detailed posts. She is well written and has patience for users who don't understand and need someone to wave the torch their way. Thanks!
Thanks for reading, comment and don't miss the Special Edition coming soon!
In this edition of the Scratchers Informer you will find...
- Welcome New Users!
- BB Code Tricks.
- What's happening in Miscellaneous?
- User Spotlight: RocksAndFire.
Welcome New Users!
As requested by Paddle2See, this edition contains a warm greeting to new Users. Anyway, here are some awesome things you can do with the program and the website. Forums are a brilliant place all round. If you ever have questions about help on your game/project, then don't be afraid to ask here. Post a link to your latest game on the Show and Tell forum, it's great, most the time it increases my views by 70-80! If your good and Squeak or have some knowledge of Java etc; then look up how to edit the source code. You can find a handful of guides on the Advanced Topics Forum. Then, you can create your own blocks with their own new features!
BB Code Tricks.
Another requested section, BB Code tricks. To be honest, blank black text can be boring even when well spaced out, written will and formatted. Try adding BB Code to your Forum posts and topics to add a little pazzaz that is bound to attract the right sort of attention. You can research it here. Just a little hint to; although it may seem tempting, don't make your posts multi-coloured! Use your coloured text evenly and your forum posts are bound to look alot healthier.
What's happening in Miscellaneous
There is a noted increase of the interest in Online games. Alot of talk is growing against the world popular game Runescape that has lead to many other topics collaborating on the same things. Traditionaly, there are quite a few topics on the 'Halloween Upcoming'. There are topics about some Scary stories and a large debate about how old is old enough to go trick or treating? What do you think?
User Spotlight: RocksAndFire.
I have chosen RocksAndFire as this editions spotlight. His OldTown Productions Collab was mentioned in the last edition and since then he has come very far. He created a hugely successful project called 'Germ World' that was curated and has received a new 1000 views. He has recently drawn attention to last weeks spotlight user: 08jackt. He joined the OldTown Production's and to be honest, it's a good thing to have him in your collab
Thanks for reading, comment and cheer me on for the next edition!
In this edition of the Scratchers Informer you will find...
- The Fall Moderator Elections
- What's happening in Collabs
- User Spotlight: 08jackt
The Fall Moderator Elections
The Community Moderator Elections were supposed to continue as usual this September, but were postponed until October. Still further news is still be released on the 14th of October. Why was it postponed? The Scratch Team at MIT decided to change the rules of the Moderator program. The user running for the position now must be 14 years of age or more to qualify! Unsurprisingly this has had a large impact on the Forum Community. A fair 75% of the users who were going to run have now been knocked out of the elections. Thankfully, many Scratchers took the change maturely and have coped well; but was it the right decision?
What's happening in Collabs
This editions Forum spotlight is Collabs! Here's a chance to get all the new Collaboration's, groups that are new featured. XplodingEggs has started up a Collaboration for a Tower Defence game, and is in need of help of some users who are well suited to drawing sprites! They're not the newest, but Old Town Productions have been making their mark recently! RocksAndFire has made a successful game and has a large Collab with many members! Do you enjoy making collabs?
User Spotlight: 08jackt
Our chosen user for the spotlight today is 08jackt. He's made a huge mark on the front page with all his projects that have tumbled onto his profile - including A[Faction] and ProjectMaxxine. He has a successful string of OS's, called SynOS. There are now six of them after he released a whole load of projects in quick periods of each other. Thanks for reading this edition - the other should be out sometime soon. Please comment!
This is the new Blog for the popular Newspaper/Magazine on Scratch. You can find all the latest editions that are posted on the Scratch Forums, every 3 days and sometimes earlier. If they are released early - this is classed as a Special Edition.
All Editions will be posted so you don't miss out on anything. I appreciate all comments and please, I urge to comment on my work. If you would like to see it on Scratch, the go on the Miscellenaus Forum. You can't miss it. Anyway - the site is easy to navigate and you can view even more info on my official site here.
Thanks!
