List of Misconceptions about Scratch

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Below is a list of misconceptions about Scratch. Oftentimes, people will misunderstand a concept about Scratch or misinterpret a feature's function. The following misconceptions are categorized by type.

Scratch Program

This section is in question as to whether it is useful or not. You can discuss whether you think it should be deleted or not on its talk page. (September 2020) Reason: Most are common sense or not notable

The Scratch program has multiple misconceptions on scripting and other features. These misconceptions are found among the Scratch program.

Blocks

The if () then block does not repeatedly check a condition. If this was the case, it would not have a joiner on the bottom. In order for it to repeatedly check a condition, it must be within a forever loop, as in the following script:

when green flag clicked
forever
if<. . . :: grey> then
. . .
end
end

• Broadcasts are also received by clones, which can cause some coding problems. However, it is possible to use the "delete clone" block to prevent clones from receiving it.

• The when () key pressed hat block is not broken because of its erratic behavior when compared to key () pressed?.

• Boolean sensors passed into custom blocks cannot update the parameter's value while the custom block is running. Boolean sensors only pass in true or false.
• The tempo blocks only change the duration of notes and not the imported sound.

Workarounds

It is common to do the following as an alternative to the timer:^{[citation needed]}

when gf clicked
set [timer v] to [0]
forever
wait (1) seconds
change [timer v] by (1)

It appears to be accurate to the actual change of time, but after each block is a very minuscule wait. Therefore, after the blocks waits the specified number of seconds, there is another wait (one frame) before the timer changes. In a short period of time, the change is not too drastic, but if the variable timer continues this loop for a long period of time, the ratio of difference compared to the actual (timer) will be visible; just over 7% off by 100 seconds, and 62.3% off by 600 seconds.^[clarify]

In order to reduce the delay, you must wait 0 seconds. It will cause a pause of 1 frame (1/30 seconds). This allows it to be much more accurate, and loses less than 0.1 seconds in 100 seconds.

when gf clicked
set [timer v] to [0]
forever
wait (0) secs
change [timer v] by ((1) / (30))

Another common misconception is that

 set x to ()
set y to ()

is the same as

 go to x: () y:() 

But it turns out that Scratch runs the first block, then the second, separately. If using a pen extension, it would not draw diagonal lines sensibly, instead, draw horizontal and vertical lines. If not using pen, it can be a workaround and is not a misconception.

Games

Many Scratchers tend to believe that Scratch is specifically designed for making games, but this is false. Although games can be made in Scratch, a large variety of project genres are creatable including art, animations, music and stories, or even some "tools" and "simulations". There can even be a miscellaneous project genre. Rather than one stating that Scratch is used to make games, it would be more accurate to state that Scratch is used to design web-based projects.

Disappearing Text Bug

Main article: Disappearing Text Bug

The Disappearing Text Bug

The Disappearing Text Bug was not introduced in Scratch 1.3. It was first encountered in 1.3, but it was also later reported by users using older versions (e.g. Scratch 1.0.1), thereby falsifying this myth.

Scratch Website

This is for misconceptions about the website.

Main Site

• The old 1.4 and 2.0 beta site are no longer accessible, the former of which was deleted and the latter was updated to become the current Website.
• "Weekend" is the oldest existing project, even though its shared time is 15 years later than that of "Sandwhich^[sic]". The shared time only reflects the most recent sharing; "Weekend" was first shared on 5 March 2007, and earlier than the 21 other existing projects shared that day.

Forums

• The old 1.4 forum can still be previewed, as can other parts of the site. However, the previewer cannot jump between threads. (See the first misconception in the above list.)
• The Report button is not only useful for reporting inappropriate material. It has other uses, too. For instance, moving forum topics when they are not in the right one is done by reporting.
• Deleted posts and threads wind up in the Dustbin, rather than being literally deleted. This one is common among people unfamiliar with what Community Moderators and Scratch Team members do on Scratch.
• Blockspam is spam only if the script is long, nonsensical, and off-topic. Using the block plugin to display on-topic messages is not spam.

Other Places on The Site

ScratchR is often confused with "Scratcher", "Scratch Team member", or even "Scratch Resources". ^{[citation needed]}

Scratchers

Kaj

Main article: Kaj#Misconceptions, Impersonations, and Conspiracies

• It is unknown whether Kaj was female, as is commonly portrayed, though one contact with the Scratch Team used male terms.
• Kaj did not hack or steal any accounts, as is commonly alleged.

Gobo

Many people thought gobo was a regular user, fake/joke account, or was controlled by Gobo^{[citation needed]}, but it is actually real and controlled by the Scratch Team, despite the rank saying "Scratcher".

gdpr0000001

Main article: gdpr0000001

gdpr0000001 is commonly believed to be the first account created on Scratch due to its join date, but the first user was actually andresmh, who created the site.

It is also commonly believed a test account, even by a Scratch Team member, however it is just as likely that the account belonged to a regular user who wanted their data deleted under the General Data Protection Regulation act.

ScratchCat

Alongside gdpr0000001, ScratchCat is also believed to be the first account created on Scratch that still exists, due to its join date being the same as andresmh. However, its ID is much greater than that of andresmh, indicating that it was likely created many years later.

Some users, usually New Scratchers, believe ScratchCat is the only account associated with the ST. This misconception may have originated from the account's name.^{[citation needed]} However, this is not true, as there are several Scratch Team members with different accounts. These users often try to contact the ST on ScratchCat's projects, however there is usually no reply from the ST.

Scratch 4.0

It is commonly believed that Scratch 4.0 will come out in 2025 due to evenly spaced amount of time between the previous updates. The Scratch Team, however, is not planning on making Scratch 4.0, and the “evenly spaced” time between is just a coincidence. As of May 2023, there are no plans to release Scratch 4.0. However, further improvements are still planned for Scratch 3.0.

False Reporting

Main article: What happens if a project is false reported?

A number of users believe that if a project is reported by a certain number of users, whether or not something was actually wrong with it, this will lead to the creator being permanently banned or banned for a significant period of time. However, all reports are reviewed by the Scratch Team, and if a project is taken down and the creator banned because a certain number of people reported the project, these effects only last until the Scratch Team reviews the reports, after which they will remove the ban and re-share the project if there was nothing wrong with it. Additionally, intentionally reporting something when there is nothing wrong with it is a violation of the Community Guidelines and will result in consequences.

Changing Usernames

It is commonly believed that it is impossible to a username to be changed through any means. However, on very rare occasions (such as if the username has private information, inappropriate content, or causes gender dysphoria), the Scratch Team has allowed username changes.