The DC United Forum FAQ Welcome to the BigSoccer.com DC United forum. This FAQ is meant to supplement the BigSoccer Forum Guidelines. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to read it over. This is a work in progress and will be modified as warranted. If you have comments, suggestions, corrections or additions then please post them below. Please note, however, that the moderators will periodically “prune” this thread so don’t post anything here that you’d like to preserve for posterity. Contents Official Threads Play-By-Play AOL/AIM Chatroom Posting Etiquette Useful Links and Threads Miscellany Information Wanted Road Trip Directory Official Threads Every DC United game has an official pre and post match thread on this board. These threads are designated for serious discussion and analysis only and are moderated quite heavily. Here is the general schedule for these threads. Saturday Matches Pre-Match Thread : Posted and stuck by Wednesday. Unstuck during the match. Post-Match Thread: Posted and stuck right after the match. Unstuck on Wednesday. Wednesday Matches Pre-Match Thread: Posted and stuck by Sunday. Unstuck during the match. Post-Match Thread: Posted and stuck right after the match. Unstuck on Saturday. Anyone can set these up but the title should follow something like the format below. Official DC United vs. "Opponent” PRE Match Thread Official DC United vs. "Opponent” POST Match Thread [R] Please note the [R] indicating "results” in the title of the post match thread. See the notes on spoilers below for an explanation of this practice. The moderators will sticky the thread as soon as one of them sees it. Also, if you start the official thread please include the line below at the end of the first post. No Flames, No Trolls. This season we've begun to include the following information on the first posts in pre-match threads. However, unless you're feeling particularly ambitious there's no obligation to track everything down yourself. Just include the "No Flames, No Trolls" line and a moderator will insert the usual information into the first post at a later time. Here's a list of the sort of information that first posts in pre-match threads will feature or link to. Match Date and Time Television Information Webcast Information DCUnited.com Match Preview DCUnited.com Media Notes MLSNet Match Notes PBP Chat Information Sometimes there are also official play-by-play threads. These threads must also always feature an [R] in the title. Here’s an example. Official DC United vs. "Opponent” PBP Thread [R] Post match discussion, however, should take place in a new post match thread. There are also a number of “official” threads on various topics. Some of these are set up on an ad-hoc basis (like “The Tackle” thread) in order to contain or focus discussion on hot topics. Others (like the baseball in DC thread) are set up for recurrent topics that have limited audiences on this board. Play-By-Play AOL/AIM Chatroom In years past many posters on the board would congregate in the BigSoccer.com chatroom while watching matches on TV to discuss the game. This was also a great resource for those who were unable to see the match because they could get real time play-by-play information in the chatroom. Unfortunately, that chatroom has been discontinued. In its place we’re establishing an official AOL/AIM chatroom like the ones run by BigSoccer.com during the World Cup. You do not have to be an AOL member to participate. The software is free and available here. Assuming you’ve installed the program and registered a screen name here’s how you enter the official chatroom. 1. Under the “People” menu choose “Send Chat Invitation” (or press alt-c). 2. In the “Screen names to invite” window type your AOL/AIM screen name. 3. In the “Chat room” window type in BigSoccerDCU. 4. Click the “send” button. Posting Etiquette Play Nice: You know what that means. If you don’t then consult your mother or your old kindergarten teacher. They’ll happily give you a refresher course. Duplicate Threads: Please look carefully before posting a new thread to make sure that there isn’t an ongoing discussion on the topic already. You should look through at least the first two pages of threads before posting a new topic. Thread Titles: Please be descriptive when titling new threads. Adequately descriptive titles should make the topic of the thread explicit. The moderators will re-title threads when necessary. When starting threads on news article please note the article title (unless it’s a spoiler as described below), the source, the date and the author (when available) in the thread title. Here are a few examples. 5/15 Practice Report (Dyson, UnitedMania) Adu to DCU? (Smith, Washington Post, 11/28) Spoilers: Believe it or not, some DC United supporters have jobs, lives and families and are not always able to watch the games live. Many will be watching matches on tape or on taped delay. It is therefore imperative that we all take care not to post any spoilers for any match – even those not involving DC United. A spoiler is something that reveals the result of a match without fair warning to readers of the boards. You might say that anyone who is watching a game on tape should not go online and risk having the match spoiled. This, however, is not a good argument. Someone might want to go online before watching a game because: There's another game on TV that they're going to watch before watching the one on tape/tape delay that they want to know about. The match is on tape delay in their area and they want to see the pre-match news about injuries and lineups without being alerted to the final score. They want to know why the tape delayed match is suddenly not on ESPN as they thought it would be. They want to know the results of other matches but not be alerted to the result of the match they want to watch. These are just a few of the very many good reasons that someone would go on the boards before watching a match on tape. In addition, keep in mind that thread titles on the DC United board appear on BigSoccer Live on the main page. That means that someone can have a match spoiled without even going onto the boards. So spoilers are a very serious concern for us here on these boards and we will try to insure that there are as few spoilers as possible. Here are some rules to follow to make sure that you do not post any spoilers. 1) Never post a result in a title. Ex. "DC United 4 : 0 MetroStars" 2) Never imply a result in a thread title. "MetroStars go down in flames!" or " Rimando was brilliant!" 3) Always use neutral icons in titles for threads that reveal results. Here a couple examples of what not to do. DC United v. Los Angeles [R] or DC United v. Los Angeles [R] Such icons are very suggestive about the results of a match so please avoid using them. Neutral alternatives include the arrow or the generic icon. Use either of these when posting potentially spoiling threads. 4) Along with using a neutral title and icon you must always put an [R] in the title. The [R] is fair warning that the contents of the thread include match results. A thread titled something like "DC United and Scoring" is clearly neutral but it is also very ambiguous. It is not obvious whether or not results are revealed within the thread. Consequently, the thread is a potentially spoiling thread even though its title is neutral. If you leave the [R] out then someone who does not want to know the result might unwittingly click on the thread and have a match spoiled. By placing an [R] in the title you give all the readers of the board fair warning about the contents of the thread. The [R] refers to the specific match at hand and any matches that relate to it. That means that for DC United's MLS and Open Cup threads other MLS and Open Cup games are fair game. All other threads will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Also, please note that when you post a thread there is a line - in red - right below the subject box that reads: NO match RESULTS in subjects. Please use [R], or you will receive a yellow card! We will be taking spoilers very seriously during the season and anyone who posts a spoiler will receive an automatic yellow card that prevents them from posting new threads. In short, all we are asking for is a little common sense and courtesy to your fellow Bigsoccer posters. Lastly, if you really, absolutely don't want to risk a match being spoiled then you should avoid the boards. We aren't perfect and there will be spoilers here. If it is imperative that you not see a spoiler then try to avoid the boards until you've watched the match. We'll eliminate spoilers as soon as we see them but, as with life in general, there are no guarantees. Player and Coach Bashing: Player and coach (and administrator) bashing is a time honored tradition on the DC United board. Hang around here long enough and every single person involved with the team will eventually be taken to task without regard to salary, stature, performance or (even) reality. Please expect this and try not to be too offended when your favorite player gets roasted. Polls: Use polls very sparingly and only for a good reason. This is a discussion board and polls only rarely lead to quality discussion. If you want to set up a poll make sure it has a clear purpose in setting up a real discussion. Trolling: This term has its roots in fishing. When a fisherman trolls he trails bait through the water waiting for a fish to bite. Inevitably some foolish fish takes the bait. Trolling on the internet is similar. Trolling consists of provoking large volumes of responses by posting absurdities, contradictions to common knowledge, deliberately offensive insults, belligerent assertions and the like. Trolling posts will be deleted. Flaming: To flame is to post personally insulting or defamatory messages with the intention of eliciting a flood of angry responses. Flames will be deleted. If you want to talk trash then please head over to the MLS: Fan Rivalries board. However, even on that board flames are not permitted. Spam: To spam is to post irrelevant or inappropriate messages. One of the most common varieties of spam is advertising. Threads and posts that flame, troll or spam (as determined by the judgement of the moderators) will be deleted or moved. And please do report any instances of these things that you see to a moderator. On this note, when posting links to articles on other websites you must always post directly to the article – not just to the main page of the website. Links to articles are clearly informational. Links to main pages too often look like spam. Lastly, please refrain from inflaming the flamers and don’t feed the trolls. Just alert a mod to the problem and we’ll take care of things as soon as we can. Off Topic Posts: We will be moving all off topic posts to the appropriate forums with redirecting links. Useful Links and Threads If you have any useful links that might be of interest to other DC United supporters then please post them below. Also, if you’re a poster on this board and contribute to or run a soccer website please post that below also. The moderators will review the suggestions and add them to the list if appropriate. DC United Official DC United Website Match Schedule TV Schedule Webcast Information DC United Online Store Team History DC United Legends and Lore DC United Personal Legends and Lore Marco Etcheverry Memories All-Time Number Assignments Player Grades DC United Ticketmaster Page DC United Contact Information Major League Soccer Major League Soccer MLS History MLS Statistical Archive News, Information and Opinion Big Soccer News (provided by Fox Sports World) Washington Post Washington Times OnTheSidelines United Mania TopDrawerSoccer CyberSoccerNews USSoccerPlayers.com Yellow Card Journalism - Soccer Photography Supporters Screaming Eagles La Norte Barra Brava The Choir Talk Radio The Soccer Show (Mondays at 6:00 EST, Archives) Stadium and Transportation Information The Official RFK Stadium Website Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Websites and Fan Sites Run by DC United Board Posters Ian “Imp65” Plenderleith’s Homepage DCUnitedStadium.com Mellon002’s Fan Site DC United Avatars DC Soccer Bars Summers The Exchange Soccer Nation Bistro Europa Columbia Ale House Fantasy Soccer MLS Fantasy Challenge MLS Fantasy Challenge - DC United MFLS MFLS 2003 MFLS 2003 – Black & Red Division Other Threads of Interest – Official and Otherwise The Official DC United and/vs MLB Thread The Official DC United Community Thread The Official Freddy Adu Thread The Official DC Vicinity Pickup Soccer Thread Please post suggestions for other links and threads below. Miscellany The Tagline Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate. (Dante's Divine Comedy, The Inferno, Canto III) Translation from Italian: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. Information Wanted A list of every major and minor piece of hardware won by DC United. A radio and webcast schedule to go along with the TV schedule above. A list of DC United nicknames. A listing of DC United song lyrics. Please post below if you can provide any of this information. And if you think there’s something that should be added to this list of information wanted then post that below too. Final Words While posting on this board try to remember that despite the fact that we all have different perspectives and opinions we all do support the same team. Please contact one of the moderators if you have any questions.      The BigSoccer.com DC United Moderators --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
:: DC United Road Trips :: 2004 :: DC United @ Los Angeles Galaxy :: 4/10/04 Information will be updated as trips are planned.
... mod's note ... Additions, corrections and a whole bunch of formatting fixes. Added road trip link also. Please post suggestions below if you think anything should be changed or added. Once road trips start being planned I'll add them to the directory above.