Spamming in Scratch | Meaning, Types, and How to Avoid Spamming in Scratch

Scratch programming is a very protected and transparent coding platform as it is designed majorly for children between the ages of 8 to 16. Scratch has a set of rules called “community guidelines” that needs to be followed by each and every user to maintain the safety of the platform for its users.

Failing to follow these rules can get a user banned or muted from Scratch. Spamming is one such mistake that breaks the community guideline of Scratch. Read more to find out more about spamming in Scratch and how to avoid it.

Looking to learn Scratch coding? Explore Wiingy’s Online Scratch Coding Classes For Kids to learn from top Scratch coding experts.

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This is Chapter 6.6 in the
Advanced Scratch Tutorial

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What is spamming in Scratch?

In Scratch, spamming is referred to as the constant repetition of certain keywords or links in a message or a post. Posting irrelevant content which becomes irritating to the users of Scratch is also considered spamming. Users should not spam as it is against the Scratch Community Guidelines and other users have the complete right to report it.

Types of spamming in Scratch

There are seven major categories of spamming in Scratch:

1. Link spam

Link Spam is defined as a form of spam that contains irrelevant links and images which are considered harmful or threatening to the users. In order to prevent this, now the new users of Scratch are forbidden from posting any external links or images on the Scratch platform.

2. “Chain Letter” spam

“Chain Letter” Spam is defined as a form of spam that threatens users to carry forward a chain message or else something bad will happen to them or breaking the chain will bring bad luck to them.

The spammed chain message claims that if the user easily forwards the message to others or posts that same message on their profile, something good will happen to them or it will bring good luck to them. Sometimes, a back-story is also provided in the spammed chain message to prove that whatever the message says is real, even though it’s not.

3. Block spam

 Block Spam is defined as a form of forum spam that is made with Block Plugins and contains nonsense keywords or scripts. Examples of this type of spam can be, making giant blocks or some actions in the form of made-up or giant blocks.

4. ASCII art

ASCII Art Spam is defined as a form of spam in which letters or text are arranged in the form of some recognizable or familiar image. This type of spam message is long in length which is annoying to read through. Examples of this type of spam are a skull, thumbs-up, faces with different expressions, Illuminati triangle, etc.

5. Comments and forum posts

Comments and Forum Posts Spam is defined as a form of spam in which the users post irrelevant and annoying comments on random user profiles. Sometimes, a user will start spam with a comment that says comment only a specific word and if others start posting the same word in their comments, it will again become a long and irritating spam. In the forums, posting duplicate content also comes under spamming.

6. Necroposting

The act of necroposting is referred to as posting old and abandoned posts or threads in the discussion forum that are considered ‘dead’ for a while in Scratch. Necroposting is done by users for the sole purpose of ranking at the top of the discussion forum in Scratch. Hence, this is seen as a form of spam that clogs the discussion forum with old and unwanted topics.

7. Emoticon spam

Emoticon spam is also referred to as “smiley spam”. This type is referred to when users use an extensive amount of emoticons which sometimes leads to webpage lagging or emoticons that are not related to the topic.

How to prevent spamming in Scratch?

There are certain ways using which spamming can be prevented in Scratch:

1. 60-second rule

The 60-second Rule is a rule in Scratch, which is used to prevent the rate of spread of spam. According to this rule, regular users of Scratch can only post on the forum after every 1 minute, that is, they can’t upload anything on the forum repeatedly. They have to wait for a minute to post the next thing. For new Scratch users, this time span of a minute is extended to 2 minutes.

2. Detection of pre-defined words

This method especially helps in preventing ‘Chain Letter’ Spam because some common chain messages that are used in the ‘Chain Letter’ spam is already pre-defined for the Scratch and banned, so the hacker can’t post any such common messages.

3. New Scratcher ranking system

In Scratch, the ranking system is a system according to which new Scratch users already have some limits imposed on them, such as having access to Cloud Data and not being able to post images on the forum. These limits are imposed because no hacker is willing to work around them.

4. Using “RTNAS:<random number>” at the end of comments

In Scratch, when any user spam continuously, they get warnings. To avoid those warnings, hackers use “RTNAS:<random number>” at the end of the comments to spam. Although, using “RTNAS:<random number>” is acceptable only when someone is not spamming. If someone is spamming and then uses “RTNAS:<random number>”, he/she will be banned by Scratch.

5. Disabling of ‘Post’ button

In Scratch, if any user tries to post the same comment multiple times with the intention of Spamming, after a few warnings, the ‘Post’ button will be disabled for them and a pop-up will come on their screen explaining why the ‘Post’ button is disabled.

Where advertising can be done in Scratch?

The foremost thing is to know how to create an account in Scratch. So, for creating an account in Scratch, you must follow the following steps:

In Scratch, the Scratch Team has created two options for advertising on the platform,

• Advertising Requests: with this option you can request to do advertising for any project that you have created, and under the second option
• Official Advertising Creating Services: with this option, you can design an advertisement or advertisement template for yourself.

In Scratch, advertising occurs when the user posts the link about their projects on their own or someone else’s profile.

Conclusion

Advertising in Scratch is acceptable as long as it’s done under the Scratch Community Guidelines and is not threatening other users. If a user is simply advertising their posts on their own or any other user’s profile, then it is fine. In Scratch, advertising can be done when the user posts the link about their projects on their own or someone else’s profile.

If any post or message contains irrelevant and annoying content and repeated keywords and links then it comes under spamming. So, advertising in Scratch is considered spam based on whether it is following the Scratch Community Guidelines or not. Many beginners wonder and struggle with the explanation of different categories of Spam in Scratch. Well, if you also struggle with this problem, the best-explained solution is available above.

Looking to learn Scratch coding? Explore Wiingy’s Online Scratch Coding Classes For Kids to learn from top Scratch coding experts.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is Spam in Scratch?
Spamming in Scratch is referred to as the constant repetition of certain keywords or links in a message or a post and the posting of irrelevant content which becomes irritating to the users of Scratch.

What are the major factors behind the growing popularity of the Scratch platform?
Scratch Programming Editor is famous among kids and beginners because of its simple interface and block-based coding. This helps the users in learning to code easily and effectively.

What are the different types of spamming in Scratch?
Major types of spamming in Scratch are Link Spam, “Chain Letter” Spam, Block Spam, ASCII Art Spam, and Comments and Forum Posts Spam.

What guidelines are to be followed to avoid spamming in Scratch?
All the rules mentioned in the Scratch Community Guidelines should be followed to avoid spamming in Scratch.

What is a ‘Chain Letter’ Spam in Scratch?
“Chain Letter” Spam is defined as a form of spam that threatens users to carry forward a chain message or else something bad will happen to them or breaking the chain will bring bad luck to them.

What is the meaning of necroposting?
Posting outdated and abandoned posts or topics in the discussion forum that have been deemed “dead” for some time in Scratch is referred to as necroposting. Users in Scratch engage in necroposting solely for the aim of dominating the discussion topic.

We hope you understand Spamming in Scratch, the different types of Spamming in Scratch, and how to avoid them. If you have any doubts, you can ask our doubts in the comment section. Continue your Scratch learning and read our blog on remixing projects in Scratch.