Eng:Curator (front page)

A front page curator is a Scratcher who, for a shift of one week (formerly two weeks), features 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, and follow the Community Guidelines. The Scratch Team recommends that curators change their choice of projects on the front page at least twice a week, although curators have the option to change the projects as often as they wish.

Scratchers cannot become a curator twice, as was said by Lightnin:

"Well, there's so many bajillions of great Scratchers who've never even gotten to be curator once, I don't think it'd really be fair to let someone go twice...."

- Lightnin, Scratch Team at MIT

However, if a Scratcher has applied and not been chosen, they can either update the application, or make a new one. Scratchers shouldn't make a lot of applications, unless you've been waiting for a long amount of time.

History
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. More and more users have applied, making the thread one of the most popular in the Scratch Forums, though only 204 have currently been chosen (~1/50000 of registered users).

On June 1, 2009, the curator channel slot was finally 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 has been 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 weren't 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 weeks shift.

"We've seen an extraordinary high number of applications to become the Front Page Curator. Alas, we've only been picking one every two weeks. However, in an effort to give more Scratchers an opportunity to be curator, we're shortening Front Page Curator shift from two weeks to one week. We hope this will help spread the awesomeness that is being Front Page Curator!"

- Speakvisually, Scratch Team at MIT

Application and Selection
To apply to be curator, a user creates a small application made up of a project explaining why they think they should be curator, as well as a sample studio, which contains examples of projects they would curate. The user will then post a link to their curator application in the Front Page Curator Applications studio. Then, a studio curator of the Front Page Curator Application studio will add your project for you. The curators of that studio are Scratch Design Studio curators who volunteered to help, and the Scratch Team. A Scratch Team member will then view the applications and select users to become curators. Curators are generally chosen every Monday. Applying to be a curator doesn't guarantee the position though, in fact, most Scratchers who apply aren't chosen.

Tips for making good project applications
Making good curator project applications is not difficult. Some guidelines for good applications include:
 * Giving examples of the type of projects you would curate. A broader spectrum of projects is better than just games, for example.
 * Saying why you want to be 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.

Also, saying "I want to be curator," and nothing else, will probably not get you a curator position.

User st19_galla created a studio which was approved by the Scratch Team where people can 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
There have been 205 curators so far. The current curator is meteoro37.

Curator Projects
It is not uncommon 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 won't appear on the Front Page Some curators create studios for "backup" projects, in case this occurs.