What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is a sports website that breaks down traditional barriers, allowing fans and athletes to debate sports, read and write articles, and watch videos. In the Yard, even the famous athletes are treated like fans.

Who uses Yardbarker?

Anyone who likes sports. Fans, athletes, sports bloggers.

How do I use Yardbarker?

• Discover unique sports content
• Talk sports with fans and athletes
• Track sports, teams and players
• Share articles that you find online
• Post pictures and videos
• Write original articles for Yardbarker
• Connect with other Yardbarkers
• Promote your sports blog

Where does Yardbarker get its articles, photos and videos?

The majority of Yardbarker's content comes from its users, but we also subscribe to thousands of RSS feeds from thousands of sports websites and blogs. These articles are marked with a small icon (white circle in the middle of an orange square).

What is the Morning Bark?

The Morning Bark is our daily email featuring handpicked Yardbarker articles. It is delivered Monday through Thursday. To sign up now, click here.

How do I contact Yardbarker?

If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please email them to feedback@yardbarker.com.

Are there any rules in the Yard?

The Yardbarker community determines what is and is not appropriate when it comes to articles, comments, videos and photos. Personal attacks and/or inappropriate language may be flagged by the community and subsequently removed. Hate speech will never be tolerated.

How do I flag inappropriate or spam content?

If you see something that is inappropriate or spam, please rate it with a thumbs-down and select "inappropriate" or "spam" as the reason why.

What is the Backyard?

The Backyard is Yardbarker's home of random awesomeness.

Can I customize Yardbarker?

Yes, with a registered account you can customize Yardbarker to more easily track news, comments and conversations that are important to you.

How do I customize Yardbarker?

• Create a personalized News Feed with your favorite teams, players and Yardbarkers
• Customize your profile's information and colors, and upload as many as 20 profile photos.

What is a personalized Yardbarker News Feed?

The News Feed is a personalized tracking system that allows you to more easily follow your favorite sports, teams and Yardbarkers all in one spot. It notifies you of new comments, articles and more. When you're logged on to your Yardbarker account, a summarized version of your personalized News Feed appears on the homepage along with a link to view your full feed.

How do I personalize my News Feed?

Choose your favorite sports and teams by visiting the "My Favorites" tab, which is on the right side of the navigation bar. Add Yardbarkers as Favorites by clicking "Add to Favorites" on their user page.

What are Fans and Favorites?

If you add Yardbarkers as Favorites, you will appear on their pages as a Fan. Your News Feed tracks the activity of your Favorites, including articles they've submitted, comments they've made, photos posted, and sports, teams and Yardbarkers that they have added as Favorites. When Yardbarkers add you as a Favorite, they will appear on your page as Fans.

What kinds of content can I post?

You can post articles, photos and videos from around the web. You can also write original articles for Yardbarker.

Can I submit stuff from my own blog?

Yes, we encourage that. You can also submit work from other people's blogs, mainstream sports sites, and any other sites that include sports content, including videos from YouTube and more.

How do I post an article?

Start with the "Post an Article" tab on the navigation bar. First you will write your post and then you will categorize it. Then you will add a photo or video (optional). If you're linking to an article found elsewhere on the web, do not cut-and-paste the article in its entirety. Instead, include an excerpt, recap or your own point of view. If you're writing an original article for Yardbarker, you do not need to include a link to another website.

Do you have any tips for publishing articles?

• Write a descriptive and funny headline (AVOID USING ALL CAPS)
• When including a link to an article from another website, link to that specific article instead of that website's homepage
• Tag articles with relevant teams and players; this makes it easier for readers to find

How do I post a photo?

Start with the "Upload a Photo" tab on the navigation bar. Select the photo that you want to upload, write a caption, and tag it with the appropriate teams and players before submitting.

How do I post a video?

You can upload original video files or embed video hosted elsewhere on the web (e.g. YouTube). If it's an original video file, start with the "Submit a Video" tab in the navigation bar. If you want to embed video, use the "Submit a Video" tab or embed the code directly into the body of an article post.

Is it OK to post content that is not about sports?

Yes, that's why we have the Backyard. Please select the "Backyard" tag for non-sports content.

What are tags and why should I use them?

You should select tags when you post articles, photos and videos because they make it easier for readers to find your content. Tags indicate what the content is about (e.g. players, teams, sports).

I can't find the right tag. What should I do?

If we are missing a tag that you think we should have, click here and let us know.

Can I post photos with my comments?

Yes. When leaving a comment, click on "browse" to select a photo from your computer. That photo will be posted directly underneath whatever you write in the comment section.

Can I post videos with my comments?

Yes. You can embed video directly in the comment section, either with or without additional text.

Is it possible to reply to individual comments?

Yes. Directly next to a comment's time/date stamp, you will see a "reply" button. Click this and a separate comment-reply box will appear. Use this to leave a comment replying to another comment.

How do scores work?

The scores are used to rank the Top Yardbarkers. Whenever you give an article a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, the score for the Yardbarker who submitted that article is adjusted. On each sport and team page, the 10 highest-rated Yardbarkers are listed.

Why should I rate articles with a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down"?

Rating articles helps us organize and display the best content. Also, the articles you rate with a thumbs-up will show up on your "Recent Activity" page.

Why do user scores vary on different parts of the site?

• Scores that appear in Yardbarker profiles and on the homepage are total scores for all of that Yardbarker's articles
• Scores on player and team pages are based only on articles tagged with that team; if an article is tagged with more than one team or player, the points for that article are divided evenly between all teams

How can I get better scores and be a Top Yardbarker?

• Post frequently
• Write funny headlines
• Use photos and videos
• Check spelling and grammar
• If you're writing an original article, provide a fresh perspective
• If you're linking to another article, include your own point of view

If you do all of the above, you're likely to get more Fans, which usually results in higher scores because more people will be reading your work.

What is a "Verified Athlete"?

Verified athletes are people whose identities have been confirmed by Yardbarker. If you see an athlete in the Yard with a "Verified Athlete" icon next to his or her name, you know it is the real person.

I'm an athlete who wants to become a "Verified Athlete." What should I do?

Please email us by clicking here.

How can I contact an athlete?

The best way to contact an athlete is to leave a comment on a blog post or send a message through Yardbarker.

What are these RSS feeds?

In addition to the content submitted to Yardbarker by its users, Yardbarker subscribes to sports RSS feeds from around the web. These articles are marked with a small icon (white circle in the middle of an orange square).