The DC United Forum Charter FAQ, Links, Netiquette & Guidelines Welcome to the BigSoccer.com DC United forum. This charter is meant to supplement the BigSoccer Forum Guidelines. We encourage you to read them if you have not already done so. 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. Contents Frequently Asked Questions Useful Links and Threads :: TV, News, Soccer Friendly Bars & More Being Cool (aka board etiquette) Spoilers :: What they are, and how to avoid posting them. Trolling, Flaming and Spam Special Threads I :: Official Match Threads Special Threads II :: All the other ones PBP AIM Chatroom Road Trip Directory
Frequently Asked Questions Q. I’m a newbie. What do I need to know so I don’t look like one? A. All you’ve got to do is familiarize yourself with the local culture by reading a lot of threads, and participating in some ongoing discussions. By doing that you’ll get a feeling for the place, develop a good sense of the variety of discussions here, and also get an idea about the many unwritten rules and customs. Do that and you shouldn’t commit any of those embarrassing newbie faux pas. Q. Where are the best soccer friendly bars in DC? A. There are bars a-plenty listed here. Q. What are the best websites for DC United news and information? A. If BigSoccer.com isn’t enough for you then try these websites. Q. Where can I find information about pickup soccer in DC? A. Here’s the official DC area pickup soccer thread. Q. What are the best soccer shops in DC? A. TBA (We’re going to try to set up a new thread on this before the season starts.) Q. How do I get an avatar and signature? A. Money makes the world go round. Q. How do I make all those cool fonts, colors and smilies? A. That’s all covered here in the BigSoccer.com’s FAQ. Q. Help! DCUnited.com has taken over my BigSoccer.com experience! A. The remedy is just a click away. Q. Where exactly does our name "United" come from? A. All you have to know is that Manchester United chose their name for the same reason we chose ours. Q. What happened to my Freddy Adu worship thread? A. Most likely it was sent to the MLS Fans board. That’s the place for “light, casual and (dreamy) player focused discussion.” And Freddy sure is dreamy …
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. Where to watch a match in and around DC :: Soccer Friendly Bars Summers - Arlington Ned Devine’s - Herndon Lucky Bar - near Dupont Circle and Farragut North Metro 90 Minutes Cafe - Adams Morgan Bistro Europa - Old Town Alexandria Columbia Ale House - Columbia Flanagan's Harp and Fiddle - Near the Bethesda Metro station Kilroy's - Woodbridge, Springfield Penny Lane Pub - Richmond, VA, Corner of Franklin and 5th, (804) 780-1682 Bushwaller's - 209 N Market St Frederick, MD Soccer 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 DC United :: General Information Official DC United Website Match Schedule :: Includes TV and radio schedule Comcast SportsNet DC United Page :: CSN DC United Schedule Webcast Information DC United Online Store Team History DC United Legends and Lore DC United Personal Legends and Lore All-Time Number Assignments Player Grades DC United Ticketmaster Page DC United Contact Information Roster, Draft Picks, Allocations, Discoveries: What do we know, how do we know it? Supporter’s Clubs Screaming Eagles La Norte Barra Brava The Choir Stadium and Transportation Information The Official RFK Stadium Website Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority DC United Talk Radio The Soccer Show (Mondays at 6:00 EST, Archives) Major League Soccer Major League Soccer MLS History MLS Statistical Archive MLS Regulations Pickup Soccer The Official DC Area Pickup Soccer Thread Classic Threads Marco Etcheverry Memories The pre-1996 DC United Jersey and Shield Websites and Fan Sites Run by DC United Board Posters Ian “Imp65” Plenderleith’s Homepage Mellon002’s Fan Site DC United Avatars Fantasy Soccer MLS Fantasy Challenge MFLS Fantasy Soccer Thread :: 2003 MFLS 2003 – Black & Red Division Please post suggestions for other links and threads below.
Being Cool (aka board etiquette) This board has been compared to a house party on more than one occasion. There are different rooms (threads), with different crowds (posters), and different atmospheres (kinds of discussions). In some rooms it’s right-near everything goes so long nobody has to call for the police, fire department or paramedics. In other rooms they’re debating the fine points of Sartre (4-4-2) and Camus (3-5-2) with regards to the contemporary existential crisis (how DC United should line up next weekend). Then there is a whole gamut of rooms in between featuring every conceivable sort of crowd and discussion. Now for the most part all these rooms basically take care of themselves. Some folks find a set of rooms with the kind of atmosphere that works for them, and they just stick to those. Other folks wander around from room to room sampling the variety. No matter what most party-goers are cool, and quick to figure out what kind of room they’re in and act suitably to get along with whomever they meet. The hosts (moderators) are there to make sure everything and everyone is cool. Sometimes that means chucking the gatecrashers who just showed up to create trouble. Sometimes that means escorting the everything goes guy away from the Sartre and Camus debaters before they get fed up and leave to consider the current existential crisis elsewhere. Sometimes it means escorting the Sartre and Camus debater away from the everything goes crowd before he gets himself beat up. But for the most part the hosts just wander around content in the knowledge that the party is going well, and remarking how everyone is so cool, and how even with their different tastes and attitudes everyone is getting along and having a good time. In short, the DC United board is a big, popular and diverse board. Indeed, at last count it was the most popular soccer related board at BigSoccer.com. There are all kinds of crowds here and all sorts of discussions. Please respect those differences, and be cool enough to allow everyone the kinds of discussions they’re looking for. Lastly, please remember that despite all our different perspectives and opinions, we all really do support the same team.
Spoilers :: What they are, and how to avoid posting them. We cover this issue in depth here because there’s a lot of confusion about this topic, and there’s not actually much information about it in the BigSoccer Forum Guidelines. 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.
Trolling, Flaming and Spam 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. There is no rule about what is and what is not trolling. But it often consists of posting absurdities, annoyances, contradictions to common knowledge, insults, potshots, belligerent assertions and the like. Trolling isn’t always intentional, and has nothing to do with what team you support. Flaming: To flame is to post personally insulting or defamatory messages. 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 judgment of the moderators) will be deleted, moved or closed. 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.
Special Threads I :: Official Match Threads We started having these years ago for a few reasons. First, this board was often over-run by trolls, and merely enforcing the TOS wasn’t enough to insure quality discussion. The “no flames, no trolls” line was fair warning that the threads would be moderated above and beyond the TOS. Second, there was some sense at the time that discussion quality had begun to slip. The official threads, because they were for serious discussion only, insured a place for thoughtful analysis, well considered opinions, and real information. Third, the board was just starting to grow rapidly then. There were times when we had several basically similar threads all talking about the same match. It was disorganized, it was hard to have a discussion, and it just made practical sense to have designated match threads. These threads are for serious discussion, news and analysis, and are moderated quite heavily. 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 However, there is some sense these days that the threads are getting too long, and losing sight of their original purpose. With threads that long it is pretty hard for folks to keep up with them. So we often have a second official match thread for lighter banter. Separating out different kinds of discussions into independent threads might make everything more readable. A few words on the banter threads: First, the TOS still applies. Any banter thread that violates the TOS will either be closed or moved to a rivalry board. Second, one of the reasons we started the "no flames, no trolls" official match threads was to ward off trolls. The banter threads tend to invite them in. So please report all trolling to a moderator and please refrain from feeding the trolls. 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.
Special Threads II :: All the other ones News & Analysis Threads :: aka [N&A] Threads This is a new institution on the DC United board. Nobody’s totally sure if it’ll work out or how it’ll work so this particular guideline may be modified as we iron out the kinks (or abandon this idea altogether). Anyone starting a thread has the option of giving it an [N&A] designation. Threads designated [N&A] will be reserved for serious discussion and substantive analysis. They will, accordingly, be moderated at standards that exceed the normal TOS. This will give thread starters more say about the level of moderation applied to their threads, and it will help to delineate a clear place for those who prefer serious discussion and analysis. Threads can be designated [N&A] retroactively, but only if the thread starter asks for the switch. If you want to designate your thread for news and analysis then please make that clear in the thread title. How could we improve our wing play? :: [N&A] DC United Edition Threads on the DC United board appear both on BigSoccerLive and on the FoxSportsWorld website. Normally that’s not a problem. But sometimes it attracts a lot of irregular posters. The “DC United Edition” label is meant to distinguish DC United board threads from similarly titled threads, or topically similar threads on other boards. This does two things. First, it dissuades some of those irregulars from unwittingly posting here. Second, it alerts those that do decide to post here that this is the DC United board. Doing this tends to cut down on problems. Near News and Rumors Threads This thread is modeled after the old breaking news threads at USSoccerUK. It serves two purposes. First, it’s basically just a log for DC United related rumor and gossip with a bit of light banter added in. Some people on the DC United board can be pretty intolerant of mere rumor. The rumors thread is for everyone else. It has less restrictive standards than those generally agreed upon here and gives posters who want to post something unsourced or badly sourced the opportunity to do that while, at the same time, not infringing upon the usual news standards in other threads. If you’re interested in a rumor and want to have an in-depth discussion about it then, by all means, start a new thread. But keep things in proportion. Don’t take what you read there too seriously. Once it appears in the established press, that’s when to take it seriously. Also, although not every rumor needs its own thread (hence the rumors thread), it's quite possible that a few actually do. Use your judgment to figure out which is which. If in doubt consult a mod. If there’s any chance a rumor is embarrassing to the team, a player, the coach or anyone else please run it by a moderator before posting. We’ve had some problems along these lines in the past and we’d like to avoid them in the future. So keep things focused on the team situation. We don’t need to delve into personal lives unless there’s a clear and direct team implication. Again, consult a mod if there’s any question. Second, this is also the only place on the DC United board for discussion of non-DC United related news. It serves as a repository for links to breaking news on other boards and websites. There was a lot of interest in having a place on this board for broader MLS discussion, but in many respects we just can't have that on this board without losing our focus on DC United. This isn't a general MLS board. But we might be able to sneak in a bit of general MLS discussion for those that want it without disrupting the focus of the board by expanding the rumors threads to include breaking news. PM Knave if you want something posted anonymously. Here's the current edition. Other Official Threads For a variety of reasons we sometimes set up official threads on particular subjects. Everything related to these subjects eventually gets merged into the official thread. These are currently some of the official threads in use. How old is Freddy Adu? :: Official Thread The Official Comcast Cable Thread The Official DC Area Pickup Soccer Thread
Play-By-Play 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.
Road Trip Directory and Travelling Supporter Contacts I'd like to post contact information for everyone that's involved in planning road trips and organizing gatherings at away games. Los Angeles Galaxy, CD Chivas USA, San Jose Earthquakes :: The ex-pat supporters in California usually plan gatherings for these games. Contact Knave for the latest information. Information will be updated as trips are planned.
... mod's note ... Updated the thread, fixed the formatting, and changed a few odds and ends just to keep things current with how the board usually operates. If anyone can help with the road trip contact information just PM me. The supporters groups handle most of the road trips but it'd be nice to have some contact information for those far flung cities for which the supporters groups don't usually organize trips. Oh, and this thread needs a fourth star.
Uhm. Flannagan's has been no more for a while. They moved (still in Bethesda on Cordell Ave) and are now named "The Harp And Fiddle". Same waiters, similar staff, but much cleaner and nicer inside. The link is http://www.flanagansharpandfiddle.com/. I'd recommend it as I recommended the original Flannagans. --kravi P.S. Very soccer friendly (and rugby, and that is it), and they will always play a local team game regardless of what else is playing.
Re: The DC United Forum Charter :: Soccer Bars, FAQ, Links, Netiquette & Guidelines Someone needs to update this badly. Bushwallers in Frederick has never really been a soccer bar (I should know, I practically lived there). Also, there's a great, great bar in Arlington called Kitty O'Shea's that's very friendly to soccer. Every time you walk in there's a game on. Danny, the owner, loves DC United, and many players and owners have been seen there. Rimando has a jersey on the wall.
Thank you for thanking me for the work I've been shirking! (Seriously, this information should be moved to the wiki.)
As long as we're talking soccer bars... Eariler today, I noticed the Babylon Futbol Cafe in Bailey's XRoads in VA. Does anyone know anything about this place? What kind of games they show? Good food? Anything?
it's still under construction (i notice only because it's about a block away from my place). it looks like it's going to be pretty big and have somewhat of a Moroccan theme to it. anyhow, it should be finished in about a month or so and i'll give you guys a scouting report.
Yeah, I live basically across Route 7 from there. I'm looking forward to seeing that place open - and as a Persian I'm hoping that some Iran matches will pop up there. The Chinese restaurant that used to be in that space had terrible food.
Dude - A&J in Annandale. In an emergency, go to the noodle place that's in the best buy/trader Joe's shopping center at Bailey's crossroads. I'd love to get a report on the new soccer bar once it opens.
I'm closing and unsticking this thread because we're moving all this to the wiki. That's here. There'll be a link at the top of the board.