Curator (front page)

*This article is about the Scratcher who picks projects to be displayed on the front page. For other uses, see Curator (disambiguation).*

The curator row on the front page.

A **front page curator** (commonly abbreviated as **FPC**) is a Scratcher who, for one week, curates (selects and places on the front page, below the Featured Studios) five projects of their choice on the Front Page via their recent favorites. They can choose whatever projects they like in that week and change them, as long as the projects are not their own, do not belong to a member of the Scratch Team, follow the Community Guidelines, are not marked NFE[*citation needed*], and do not have animated thumbnails.[*citation needed*] Although the Scratch Team recommends that curators change their choice of projects on the front page at least twice a week, curators have the option to change the projects as often as they wish.

The front page curator shift used to be two weeks but was changed to one due to a lot of applications. Scratchers cannot become a curator twice:

However, if a Scratcher has applied and not been chosen, they can either update the application or make a new one. Scratchers should not make a lot of applications unless they have been waiting for a long amount of time, usually at least 3+ months:

The "Projects Curated by" row will not appear if the current curator has under 5 favorite projects.

## History

Front page curators were introduced on May 5, 2009. A thread in the Announcements forum declared the future row for the front page. It asked users to apply for the position, and many did. Scratch now uses a studio to accept new curators. Only a small fraction of users have ever been chosen (~1/50000 of registered users, see below for the exact number of curators).

On June 1, 2009, the curator channel slot was implemented, with cheddargirl as the first curator. The original title of the curator channel was "Projects Curated by [user]", with [user] being a link to the current curator's user page. This, however, was changed within the first few days after it was discovered that many Scratchers confused the word "curator" with "creator" and were ignoring the projects favorited by the curator. This was changed back in Scratch 2.0, though it still does not link to the curator's user page. Because the design of the channel title was drawing attention away from the projects selected by the curator, the title was renamed to "Projects Selected by Curator" and the link to the curator's user page was removed. The current title of the channel is supplemented with a "Learn more" link, which leads to a studio where Scratchers can apply for the position and learn more about the role. Some people want the link to the curator's Profile Page.

Curators were not available immediately with the release of Scratch 2.0. It was put back on May 30, 2013, and the first curator was OrcaCat. The row was also renamed back to "Projects Curated by [curator]", but without a link.

On the 8th of August, 2015, it was announced that the length of a curator shift would be shortened, from 2 weeks to 1 week, in an announcement by the Scratch Team. Really\_A was the last user to have a two-week shift.

## Application and Selection

In order to apply, a user creates a small application project explaining why they think they should selected, as well as a sample studio containing examples of projects they would curate. The user is required to explain the types of projects they enjoy and what projects they would curate. The user then posts a link to their curator application in the Front Page Curator Applications studio, and a studio curator of the studio will add the project to it. A Scratch Team member (usually ceebee) will then view the applications and select users to become curators. Curators are generally chosen every Monday. Applying to be a curator does not guarantee the position; in fact, most Scratchers who apply aren't chosen.

## Tips for Making a Good Project Application

Making a good curator project application is not difficult. Some guidelines for a good application include:

* Giving examples of the type of projects you would curate, including *why.* A broader spectrum of projects is better than just games, for example.
* Saying why you want to be a curator. Give specific reasons and examples.
* Telling how you will pick projects. List requirements and limits for the user and the projects you will choose.
* Having added creativity as opposed to just text. Try adding images, audio, music, and interactivity with the user.
* Saying how often you will choose projects.
* Describing yourself a little bit in your application can go a long way. It is important that the ST members reviewing your application get a better idea of what kind of FPC you would make.

Also, stating the fact that one would want to be a curator and nothing else, will most likely not get that person a curator position.

A studio was approved by the Scratch Team and created so people could submit their application to be reviewed. Users then review the project and give feedback and advice on how to make the application better. This studio can be found here.

## List of Curators

*Main article: Curator (front page)/List of Curators*
There have been 491 curators since the program started. The current curator is **mrcreatorluigi**.

## Curator projects and studios

It is common for a curator to make a curator project. In most cases, their project simply states that they are curator and would appreciate ideas on what to curate. It is also common for these types of projects to contain rules on what the curator will curate so as to help filter ideas before they get posted as a suggestion. Some curators have also added further features to their curator project, ranging from music to a game, and to art work. Others use studios or just their applications for project suggestions. It is recommended that curators have at least 7 projects in their favorites in case a project will not appear on the Front Page Some curators create studios for "backup" projects, in case this occurs.

## See Also

* Projects Curated by ()
* Curator (front page)/List of Curators
* How to Nominate Yourself to be a Scratch Front Page Curator

## References

1. ↑ topic:140510
2. ↑ ceebee. (09/08/2015). "please don't curate projects you have made" projects:72643932
3. ↑ http://info.scratch.mit.edu/Become\_a\_Scratch\_Curator[*dead link*]
4. ↑ ar-post:683647
5. ↑ ar-post:152580
6. ↑ Paddle2See. (01/12/2020). "if there are other projects in the favorites row that are okay to display, it will display those. However, if there are not enough projects to fill the row, the row will not display at all (I believe)." users:Paddle2See/#comments-66723503
7. ↑ ar-topic:17464
8. ↑ ar-post:173705
9. ↑ ar-post:350598
10. ↑ ar-topic:32544
11. ↑ scratch:news#51765462803
12. ↑ topic:140510
13. ↑ post:1287168
14. ↑ projects:19791305
15. ↑ topic:148156
16. ↑ projects:17134332
17. ↑ projects:3226531
18. ↑ studios:1565118
19. ↑ projects:82934488
20. ↑ projects:72643932
21. ↑ studios:1566608