Maintenance mode is triggered when the Scratch Team is modifying the Scratch Website. The website is only available to Scratch Team members during this time. Before the maintenance screen appears, the Scratch Team often gives a warning in advance on the Announcements forum, the News bar, and/or their Twitter (also known as X) page. However, if the maintenance is unexpected or short in duration, there may be no advance warning. Throughout the duration of the maintenance, resources such as images used in Scratch Wiki signatures and saving project changes are not available, although the offline Scratch editors are usually still available for download. Maintenance mode does not prevent Scratch Wiki editors from editing, as the Scratch Team does not host the Scratch Wiki.
Page Description
The current page has a blue background with balancing rocks and simple white text outlining that "The Scratch Team is working on some planned updates to the website" while reminding the user to check their Twitter (also known as X) for updates. There is also a link to download the Scratch 3.0 Offline Editor allowing users to continue making projects even when the site is down. Users can access the page at anytime here.
An alternate version contains a drawing of Scratch Cat looking at a white board, with the Scratch Team's Twitter (also known as X) feed is displayed on the right; a message explaining the situation saying "The Scratch Team is making some changes to the website", "The Scratch Team is working hard to fix an issue with the Scratch website" or "Scratch is having trouble"; and a link to download the Scratch 3.0 Offline Editor so users can still create and edit projects even during the downtime for maintenance.
History
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The subject of this article or section has changed dramatically and requires updating. Some information or images may not be accurate or relevant to the current version of Scratch, the Scratch website, or the article subject. (August 2023) |
The 1st maintenance mode page was headed "Server Maintenance" and features the Scratch Cat holding a drill while repairing some servers. Below Scratch is some text pointing towards the Scratch Team's Twitter (also known as X) account, and a link to download Scratch 1.4. At the very bottom of the page is a sign off by the Scratch Team.
The 2nd (and first one for Scratch 2.0) maintenance page featured Pico and Tera in yellow construction hard hats and Pico was holding a wrench. It was headed "We're working on our servers. Scratch will be back soon." Like the newest version, it had a Twitter feed. The page title is "Scratch is down for maintenance!" and still remains today.
The 3rd maintenance mode page features the Scratch Cat drawing on a whiteboard and a Twitter feed. It is headed with "The Scratch Team is making some changes to the website" or "Scratch is having trouble". It gives the user a suggestion to refresh the page and a reminder that they can still use the offline editor. The Scratch Logo is pinned at the bottom. The page title is still kept the same ("Scratch is down for maintenance!").
The 4th (for the transition between Scratch 2.0 and Scratch 3.0) maintenance mode pages featured images from Scratch 3 and a reminder to check the Scratch Team's Twitter feed. The background looped through different colors.
The 5th and the current version was created in January 2021 and reached the website on May 10th, 2021. This version updated the page to a Scratch 3.0 style and updated the download links. [1]
Gallery
- Maintenance Mode History
Scratch 1.4 Maintenance Mode
Old Scratch 2.0 Maintenance Mode
Maintenance mode during the transition from Scratch 2.0 to Scratch 3.0
Scratch down on May 10th, 2021
Maintenance mode page with a plant being watered
- Variants
A variant of Maintenance mode for the forums
Studio comments went into a special maintenance mode before the entire site did on May 10th, 2021
Scratch was entirely down on May 19th, 2021 for network reasons
