WHY DO I NEED TO SIGN IN?
You do not need to sign in to read messages, but to take advantage of all of the available features on our message boards, you will need to be a registered member of ESPN.com or the GO Network. Registration is free, and is transferable to all of the other GO Network sites.

If you have already registered with ESPN.com, GO.com, or one of the other network sites, enter your username and login information on the sign in page. If you have not registered before, follow the instructions to create a new account. Refer to our privacy policy for a description on how information you provide for these accounts will be used.

top

WHAT ARE HITS/RECS?
Hits and recommendations. Hits occur every time a registered user views a message. Recommendations are counted when a registered user makes the choice to add an endorsement to the post. Recommend messages that you feel are worth reading by clicking on the link in the lower right corner of the message. The recommendation tally will increment, alerting other users that the message is of particular interest. A single user can recommend a message only once.

top

WHAT ARE 'BEST' AND 'POLLS'?
When you select 'best' on the Message List, only posts with more than 4 recommendations, and 15% approval are displayed. You will also see posts from authors you have designated as "preferred." When you select 'polls' only messages that feature polls are visible.

top

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO 'PREFER' OR 'IGNORE' ANOTHER USER?
You can assign a status to any other user by selecting "Prefer" "Neutral" or "Ignore" in the header of their message. This status will affect the display of their posts on the Message list to help you identify them. All users are neutral by default. When a user becomes "preferred" their username will show up in red on the Message List. Ignored users will be grayed out. This makes it easy to identify which posts you would like to read.

top

WHAT ARE THREADS?
Message threads are basically a 'conversation' that takes place based on interlinkages between messages. Once a message is replied to, both the original message, the reply and all subsequent replies become part of the same thread.

top

HOW DO I CREATE A POLL?
To create a poll message, go to the "Create a Message" screen and click "Create Poll" in the top navigation text. This will go to a message form with additional fields for poll choices. Enter your message in the main field, and then enter your choices and submit. The poll graphics will be created automatically by the messaging system.

top

HOW DO I CREATE BOLD, ITALICS, AND UNDERLINING WITHIN MY MESSAGES
The messaging system allows a limited number of html tags to help you format and customize your messages. You can use the following tags <B>Bold</B> <I>Italic</I> <U>Underline</U>.

top

HOW DO I CREATE A LINK WITHIN THE TEXT OF MY MESSAGE?
To create a link, simply type the entire URL into your message, including "http://" and the messaging system will format the URL as a link.

top

WHY IS MY TEXT CHANGING TO STRANGE CHARACTERS?
The message boards utilize a language filter to discourage the use of profanity. Usually it will only filter out words that are commonly understood to be offensive. Occasionally inoffensive words are misinterpreted by the filter.

top

WHERE CAN I ASK QUESTIONS OR MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT THE MESSAGING SYSTEM?
If you would like to ask questions, make comments, or report problems with the messaging system, go to the feedback board. This board has been created to provide a forum for user commentary. We welcome your input on this new feature, and encourage you to provide suggestions on how this system can better serve your needs and interests.