Frequently Asked Questions

updated on Apr 20, 2008 11:41 PM PDT

Q.	What is "Field Gulls"?
A.	"Field Gulls" is an unofficial blog for the Seattle Seahawks NFL team.

Q.	Who's running "Field Gulls"?
A.	As of October 2007, Field Gulls is being edited and administered by John Morgan after he was handed the keys to the Caddy by site founder Paul "Shrug" Pearson.

Q.	You know "Field Gulls" is a terrible name for a site, right?
A.	Yes, although I'll have you know "Field Gulls" has already won an award for the best-named pro football site on the SB Nation. We are winning converts every day. Nevertheless, when I made up the name "Field Gulls," I was sort of joking. The administrators of the Sports Blog Nation concern thought "Field Gulls" was the best potential title of all my suggestions. Personally, I preferred "Hawkwind" and "Where Waterfowls Dare." They chose "Field Gulls." It's my own fault. But we're getting used to it.

Q.	So what's Sports Blog Nation?
A.	It's a sports blog aggregate, containing lots and lots of independent contractors like myself, keeping up sports blogs. They're at http://www.sbnation.com and I highly recommend you spend a lot of time with them.

Q.	How long has "Field Gulls" been around?
A.	Since June, 2006.

Q.	Are you officially connected with the Seahawks?
A.	No, hence the "unofficial" nature of this blog.

Q.	Do you know any Seahawks personally?
A.	No.

Q.	Can you get me tickets to the game?
A.	No, although I believe you can search for tickets with certain vendors in the "Ticket Window" section.

Q.	What can I do here?
A.	You can create an account, through which you can post diaries. And when you comment on other pieces, your screen name will show up in the attribution section. Plus we'll have a really nice budding community built around the Seahawks and we can go on retreats or to Cowgirls Inc. and not have to address each other as "Dude" so much.

Q.	Can I post anonymously?
A.	No. As of November 27, 2006, you need an account name to comment or post. Blame your friendly neighborhood spammers for this.


Q.	What will happen to me if I spam?
A.	Your account will be deleted. There may also be some punishment in the afterlife; we have no jurisdiction to mete such punishment out, however. Consult your local priest.

Q.	What are "Game Day Open Threads"?
A.	On days when the Seahawks play, we'll have an open thread, announcing the game. During the game the comment section will be your personal shouting board, during which you can comment on the action, the players, the TV coverage, how this particular game is affecting your life, or actually just any dang thing you want.

Q.	Say, I'd really like to get myself banned from "Field Gulls" for life! What do I do?
A.	Using any racist, sexist, or homophobic speech, or using speech that according to the admin deems "hate" speech, will get you permanently booted from the site. Knowingly spamming us, as discussed above, will also result in the liquidation of your account.

Q.	What about using profanity?
A.	Although we'd prefer you didn't use profanity just for creative reasons, doing so won't get you booted. Unless it's used in connection with "hate" speech. These borderline words and phrases are, in our opinion, not profane: "damn," "hell," "goddamn," "bitch," "son of a bitch," "bastard," "ass," "asswipe," "dick," "dickhead," "dickwad," "piss," "pisser," "goddamn-son-of-a-bitch-bastard-asswipe-dickwad," "Super Bowl XL." The rest of the words you might have questions about are probably considered profane according to our definitions, but again -- especially if it's an open game thread where such language might be necessary -- we're not going to sanction you. And in your own personal diaries you can say absolutely anything you want -- though again, the racist/sexist/hate-speech rule is still in effect.

Q.	Hey, somebody who likes another team is coming on here and bashing the Seahawks! Can you ban him or her, please?
A.	Hey, no I won't! We're going to get fans of opposing teams here, who are going to run smack about the Seahawks. You can deal with that. Especially if the writer knows their football. We don't censor people who come on here and offer opposing viewpoints. Who do we look like, ~~the Fox News Channel?~~ Soviet Russia? Team sports blogs, by their very nature, get a lot of cross-posters. We've had them too; fortunately, the large majority of their input has stimulated discussion and proven to be very valuable. "Troll" is not necessarily a dirty word here. Especially if they're clever, funny, and/or don't use hate speech. If nothing else, consider them an impetus to form a united front. I highly encourage everyone to try and develop, if not Hands-Across-America friendship, then at least a healthy competitive respect. When someone really abuses the privilege, I think we'll all know about it. There kind of has to be no doubt about it.

Q.	What happened to the long joke that was in this space about Ryan Leaf and Shrug throwing like a girl?
A.	Gone. Got old.

Q.	I want to advertise on Field Gulls so bad it hurts. How can I do so, and what are your guidelines for ads?
A.	Hit the "Advertise Here" link under the Sponsors heading on the left-hand side of the page. I won't advertise anything that would open Field Gulls up to some sort of legal liability. I also won't accept advertisements that feature images of questionable taste, like the one that featured a woman's posterior in a barely sufficient thong.

Q.	How can we get a hold of the admins privately?
A.	E-mail fieldgulls@gmail.com.