Notes on a hashtag, or why the New York Red Bulls are not the New York Rangers

Psst...MLS, some people have been trying to tell you something...

Hey @MLS, #RBNY will never, and I mean, NEVER, be #NYR. Get to fixing that, NOW.

— Truman Petke (@theTruman) March 9, 2015

Must be a new intern running the #MLS twitter account @ainslieann What is going on with @MLS? It's #RBNY, not NYRB or NYR!!!!!!!!!

— viper (@viperRBNY) March 9, 2015

.@MLS Wasn't #RBNY just #NY on scorelines last year? Why can't you keep us #NY, use #NYCFC as #NYC. #NYR is pretty bad...

— Dan Covello (@DanCovello) March 9, 2015

You listened!

Happy hashtags! #NYvDC #RBNY pic.twitter.com/uzRT0t5XME

— Ainslie Binder (@ainslieann) March 21, 2015

Except...

@MLS seriously, you have got to change that hashtag, it's #RBNY not nyr.

— Billy G. (@tito_sparks) March 21, 2015

...you forgot again.

One more time, with gusto: MLS, this is #NYR.

VIDEO: What are the #NYR saying heading into tonight's tilt in Carolina? Find out here: http://t.co/QXzGtBRKwY pic.twitter.com/JJvMzCic6A

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 21, 2015

The New York Rangers. You may have heard of them. Most fans of the New York Red Bulls have heard of them. Some of them even support them.

The Rangers sort of play in similar colors to the Red Bulls, and they're just as easy to get to by PATH as RBNY. So it's possible to see where you're getting confused. But The New York Rangers are not the New York Red Bulls. Trust us on this.

We get it, MLS: you've been pushed off balance by the arrived of NYC FC. NYC FC is also a New York MLS team. And they need to be distinguished from their neighbors. So they are #NYC.

A Rocky Mountain test for the high-flying newcomers. 4pm ET on MLS LIVE: http://t.co/KopQBTRP99 #COLvNYC pic.twitter.com/HEUh1SkeYv

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 21, 2015

Makes sense: it's part of the name of the team.

So if you're quoting team names in your hashtags, go for #RBNY. No...not #NYRB. That one is taken.

#NYRB

Or at least it would be if you, MLS, would stop trying to take everyone's hashtags. The New York Review of Books has been around since 1963. It is a fine and respected publication. It joined Twitter in 2007 and has 844,000 followers.

The New York Red Bulls joined Twitter in 2009. They have 125,000 followers. And they don't need to be #NYRB, because they are #RBNY.

#RBNY

So, the New York Red Bulls are #RBNY. Or just plain #NY if you need tweet out a match-up: #NYvDC. Simple.

And if you think fans of either NYC FC or RBNY are too muddleheaded to tell the difference between #NYC and #NY - that leads us back to #RBNY. #RBNYvDC - still works. We forgive you for thinking we're dumb. Or maybe you think NYC FC fans are dumb. Either way: #RBNY. Or #NY, if you can wrap your head around the possibility fans will be able to tell the difference between #NY and #NYC.

But not #NYR. Because we are not them.

#NYR

Stop stealing the hashtags of other organizations. Stop confusing fans of one of your own teams by dancing around all over the alphabet with different acronyms for the same club. And listen to those who support and follow the team online and on the pitch.

.@forbes says @NewYorkRedBulls = #NYCRB & @mls says it's #NYR. I say look at the crest, it is & always has been #RBNY

— just tolstoy (@TolstoyFC) March 20, 2015

#RBNY, MLS. Or plain #NY if you need to talk about a game: #NYvDC.

Please. And also, thank you.