What This Forum Is For -- Please Read Before Posting

For a while now, things have been getting a little weird (sometimes a lot weird) in this forum. I've had to do a lot of moderating in here, despite a relatively low volume of posts. So I thought a little announcement might help clarify a few things.

In its simplest terms, this forum is for discussing changes that can help improve Major League Soccer.

Some finer points:

1. This forum is for MLS fans. Not exclusively, but generally. Fans from elsewhere are welcome, but please remember that MLS fans love their league and their teams, and aren't going to take kindly to outsiders trashing the place. If you're not a regular poster in the MLS forums (meaning people who post in the weekly play-by-play threads, news threads, and actually show interest in the league), and your only agenda is to come in here and tell us that everything MLS is doing is wrong, you don't need to be here.

2. This is not a United States National Team Forum. MLS is a league, with professional players, owners, TV contracts, CBAs, expenses -- its job is to run itself competently. If you have issues with the way the league is run, and have suggestions, that's fine. And if "it will help the national team" is a benefit to it in addition to helping the league, fine. But if you're just here to advocate for things that will help the USMNT with no regard for what it does to MLS or its teams, you don't need to be here.

3. This is not a fantasy forum. MLS is a legitimate professional league. Not a sunday morning bar league. If you want to have threads for outrageous, unrealistic formats and competitions, go to Facebook or Twitter. (This one probably won't be enforced as strictly as the others. Imagination is good. But try to keep things somewhat realistic.) For example...

• Good: Arguing for a fall-to-spring schedule. Bad: Arguing that half the league plays during a different time of year than the other half based on climate.
• Good: Arguing for raising the salary cap. Bad: Arguing that half the teams play with different financial rules than the other half.
• Good: Arguing for promotion/relegation. Bad: Arguing for a pseudo p/r system where MLS remains one league with the same schedules and opponents, but certain teams are in different tiers and it creates weird playoff seedings.
• Good: Debating the playoff format. Bad: Asking for playoff groups after a 34-match season. Even if it was feasible, it's never going to happen, so let's spend time in the realm of the practical.

4. This is not a general complaint forum. This forum is for things that a commissioner would actually change, or a league would actually impose on itself. This isn't the place to complain about team names or jersey colors.