- This article or section documents the current version of Scratch (version 3.0). For this article in Scratch 1.4, see Friend.
A follower is a Scratcher who has followed another Scratcher's profile. Followers see the projects loved by Scratchers they follow in the "Projects Loved by Scratchers I'm Following" section of the Front Page and the activity (loving, favoriting, or sharing projects) of Scratchers followed in the What's Happening section of the front page.
Following was known as "friending" prior to the release of Scratch 2.0. This was changed because many users complained of randomly being added to other Scratchers' friend lists. Suggestions were made in which the user added had to accept the offer; none were implemented, however. Though, in Scratch 2.0, the friend system was been replaced by a "following" system where users can subscribe to another's projects to prevent newer users from getting confused. This behavior and naming is more similar to other social networking websites.
Following a Scratcher
Scratchers can be followed via the follow button on their profile, located in the top-right corner of the page. The Scratcher followed will receive a private notification that they have been followed, and the activity feeds will show that the user is following them. The purple "follow" button will then become a gray "Unfollow" button. The maximum number of people a user can follow for one account is 10,000.[1]
 Note: | Some Teacher Accounts can follow more than 10,000 Scratchers if they have over 10,000 students, since students are automatically followed by their teachers.[2] |
Scratchers are unfollowed the same way as they are followed, but by pressing the "unfollow" button instead. The "unfollow" button is then replaced by a purple "follow" button. Some Scratchers have suggested a notification for when a user unfollows them, but this suggestion has been rejected by the Scratch Team, most likely because this is capable of encouraging certain users to leave Scratch.[3]
Followers and Following Rows
On a Scratcher's profile page, two rows related to following will appear. The "following" row shows Scratchers that the user is following, or "[username] isn't following anyone yet" if nobody is being followed. The "follower" row shows the followers (all Scratchers who are following the user). If the user does not have any followers, the row is hidden entirely.
Following Trends
Free Follow Accounts
Some users create accounts with the goal of following as many Scratchers as possible by navigating around the website and following every user they encounter. Sometimes people ask to be followed in users' profile comments as well. This amount can go up to 10,000 follows (the most users one can follow), for the more prolific free follow accounts.
Some "Free Follow Accounts" create bots in programming languages such as python, and the bots go around the website and follow as many people as possible. This means that the user can follow people at very fast speeds, and get to the 10,000 following limit in just days. This also results in them getting many followers back, however these accounts violate the Community Guidelines.
Many users consider accounts created for the sole purpose of following people spam[4] and such accounts are routinely banned.[5]
To help stop free follow accounts, the word 'follow' cannot be put in a username when creating an account.[6]
Following Users with the JavaScript Console
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This article or section documents something not included in the current version of Scratch (3.0). It is only useful from a historical perspective. |
Formerly, it was possible to follow users through the developer console, which allows following users that could not normally be followed (for example, following deleted users, wiped accounts such as gdpr0000001 or following oneself) using the following script:
$.ajax({type:"PUT",url:"/site-api/users/followers/USER TO FOLLOW HERE/add/"});location.reload()This glitch was eventually fixed, but it is still possible to follow oneself by using a second account.
Self-Following with a Second Account
One trend in the Scratch community is for a Scratcher to follow themselves by using an alternate account. This is most frequently done by loading a profile while simultaneously switching to a different account, which allows the account to be followed from the new account instead of the previous one. When a Scratcher follows themselves, they will see their own activity alongside other Scratchers they have followed. This project has a how-to tutorial.
Follow for Follow
Follow for Follow, commonly abbreviated as "F4F" on the Scratch website, is when a user agrees to follow another user, in exchange for a follow back. This is a very common attempt for gaining fame. This practice has received a large amount of controversy, as it can be seen as placing too much emphasis on the number of followers rather than the quality of projects.[7][8][9][10] Some users agree to do follow for follow with another user, only to unfollow them seconds later, simply in order to get more followers.[11] Many users put notices on their profile mentioning that they refuse to do F4F, and vice versa. The practice is frequently proposed to be banned, but the Scratch Team has refused to ban it.[12]
Follow Bots
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This article or section needs additional citations for verification. Its information may not be accurate. Editors can help by adding references. (September 2020) |
Follow bots are automated accounts that usually join the Scratch website in waves.[citation needed] In most situations, they can follow a user all at once, making them gain large amounts of followers.[citation needed] The Scratch Team considers this as a violation of the Community Guidelines.[13]
Following Other Things
Following Studios
Studios can also be followed, similarly to profile pages, by pressing the "follow" button in the studio activity. Followed studios can be accessed at the "Studios I'm Following" row on one's profile. Studios can also be unfollowed in the same fashion as users. Following a studio does not result in studio activity messages, only managing or curating a studio does.
Following Topics
Topics in the Scratch discussion forums can also be followed by clicking the "follow discussion" button in the top right of a topic and unfollowed by pressing the "unfollow" button. Following a topic results in notifications whenever a new post is created in that forum topic. However, closed topics cannot normally be followed, as new posts cannot be created until the topic is re-opened.
See Also
References
- ↑ Za-Chary. (23/03/2020). "...you can't follow more than 10,000 people." post: 3886156
- ↑ users:cwkteacher/following
- ↑ Paddle2See. (12/08/2019). "Sorry - this is rejected. We feel that it would potentially create a lot of drama with some Scratchers that are focused too much on the number of followers they have" post:3665886
- ↑ Col_Cat228. (30/07/2020). "but they are spam. I report each one of follow all accounts" post:4272351
- ↑ cheddargirl. (27/04/2017). "We already block accounts that were created for the sole purpose of giving empty follows." post:2799967
- ↑ topic:427234
- ↑ Zro716. (21/06/2014). "If you follow someone, you receive updates about the user you followed, but emphasis falls short on “receive updates”..." topic:42999
- ↑ FunnyBanana. (07/08/2015). "Why do follow for follow when your followers can be people who really like what you've done?" projects:69509156
- ↑ -Flames-. (14/01/2016). "Removes the entire point of a follow." topic:178320
- ↑ WazzoTV. (03/01/2016). "It's time to stop!" projects:99770721
- ↑ "
F4F policy:…Do NOT unfollow" https://web.archive.org/web/20201124203901/https://api.scratch.mit.edu/users/ArushTheGreat/ - ↑ topic:343602 (at section 7.3)
- ↑ post:5197640[dead link]
