ORIENTATION: Getting to know the new Fire Brand

Welcome to the brand-spanking new Fire Brand of the American League! Let’s take a whirl around…

REGISTER FOR A USERNAME
This
is the backbone of Fire Brand. Although you can still leave anonymous
comments, why bother? Look at the Fire Brand menu bar, there is a
‘Register’ link on the right next to ‘Store.’ This username is pretty
significant in a number of ways. The most obvious, of course, is the
disappearance of the need to keep putting your name in the comment
field when you want to leave a comment. You’ll be able to create a
profile and it will track all your comments you make across the MVN
platform. You can also choose to “follow” people and keep track of what
they’re up to. For more information on what this username and
experience affords you across the MVN network, visit mvn.com/learnmore.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
Now
it’s time for YOU to help contribute to Fire Brand. On the right,
you’ll see a link for “Community Posts,” or if you’re a girl, a diary.
(It’s okay, this is a coed environment.) Got something to say about the
Sox that commenting just can’t do justice? Say it here. Click “Publish
a Post” at the bottom of the “Community Posts” section (right above the
poll) and write your article for Fire Brand! Please keep your headlines
PG-13, but the articles can be as you see fit. We’ll also feature some of these posts in the middle section from time to time!

But that’s not
all…
You can write about anything and it will be aggregated on whatever
teams/players/sport you write about. Perhaps you’re not just a Red Sox
fan, but a Patriots one as well. You can write an article about the
Patriots and see it live for everyone to comment at mvn.com/nfl/patriots.
You can become a blogger now if you so choose — and you choose how
often you want to blog. To publish posts, simply go to the team of your
choosing in the navigation bar and then click “PUBLISH A POST.” (Do NOT
click Publish a Post on Fire Brand for other teams, go to the team
homepage in the navigation at the top of the page. The Fire Brand Publish a Post should only be used for the Red Sox Community Posts.) Pretty
straightforward, right?

ONTO THE STUFF YOU’LL READ EVERY DAY…
In the middle of the site, the featured article of the day will get
some love up there with a bigger headline and a photo. All articles
will now include a “read more” function so you can view the articles
more effectively.
One new feature for comments is the “Quick Comment” which is the little
talk balloon next to “Discussion” which will pop up the standard
commenting form (on individual entries). You can click that and instead of the comments popping
up will be an instant way for you to comment immediately — and by
immediately, I mean immediately. This should be helpful when we’re
commenting during games or if you have a quick reaction to an article
that you don’t need to read previous comments for.

LET’S TALK SIDEBAR
Running
through the sidebar quickly:
Today’s articles are at the top, and the community posts (that’s where
you come in) will also show up there.
Then the poll, part of Fire Brand for a while now, will show. Under
that, there’s a link to listen to the latest Fireside Chats Red Sox
podcast. It’s the best Sox podcast on the Internet, so you might
wanna check it out.
The chat room feature, which we had for a bit in the game threads, is
now permanently installed in the sidebar. Use it as you see fit; if
it’s not a popular feature, we’ll dump it. If it’s useful, we’ll keep
it. You guys make the call. Then there’s a donate button if you’re so inclined. Ending the sidebar are some quotes about Fire Brand, links to division rivals/regional teams and of course, the
Fire Brand of the Year awards (given out every New Year’s Day).

THE “FIREBRANDERS”
We’ve
all come to refer to ourselves as “Firebranders” here in the community
(but be aware that the name of the blog is Fire Brand, as in two words,
not one!) and we’re quite the motley lot. We come from all corners of
the earth and you’ll find unbelievably optimistic people (Gerry comes
to mind) and perhaps the most pessimistic Sox fan alive (Sean O, of
course). You’ll find someone who ignores work to answer the trivia
questions on Fire Brand (Tessie’s Dad) and a guy that’s always on top
of the night’s lineups (Daniel Rathman). Plus many more people who we
love to chat with.
A little sort of modus operandi that we have here is
absolutely zero tolerance for Yankee trolls (or trolls of other teams,
for that matter). We love reasoned, intelligent debate with fans of
other teams, but if you’re coming to gloat or anything of the sort,
you’ll be asked to leave… sometimes not so politely.
You’re free to use any language you see fit, but you won’t see any foul
language used in our articles. It’s no-holds barred in the comments,
though… especially when a Red Sox player
fouls (pun intended) something up!
Now let’s talk about the Red Sox!

Any concerns about the new layout? Anything you’d like to see added, removed or changed? Tell us in the comments!