1. The closer to the source you are, the less angle you put your mics in, in other words your mics become more parrallel in configuration.
IMO, this is far too simplistic a "lesson" to be useful in any given situation. Both angle and spacing contribute to the mic configuration's results. All else being equal, it's important to take into account both (in addition to distance to the sound source, and the width / height / depth of the sound source) when setting up one's mics.
Check the top stickied post the Microphones & Setup forum, which includes a link to the Stereophonic Zoom. Well worth taking the time to read and understand how -- all else being equal -- the angle and spacing, together, contribute to the results. It's not the be-all, end-all for telling one how to set up one's mics in any given situation, but it helps one understand the relationship between the mic configuration's angle and spacing, distance from the sound source, and the sound source's width.
Hence the beginning of the comment -
A few things I have learned taping:
As opposed to - "I do this, you should too."
I usually run 90 degree spacing, whatever that is. DIN? DINa? I have no clue. Generally I point to the outside of the stacks when I run a stand and most times it turns out okay. If I am running straight on a single stack that is far spaced from the other side I run closer, more toward 60 degrees or less. Overall, those tapes have turned out well for me. As far as I know, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but mic configs really don't take into account the moving objects that can come into the sound field, do they? What about balloons, is there a mic config for that? Yes, configurations are a good reference point and should be reviewed, but no means are they an end all, be all. The question was how to reduce crowd noise. A few simple answers - get hypers, run higher, taze the talkers, patch the board, and buy the Band Produced copy. Most of those though, aren't helpful to this fella. He, and others, can certainly take any information for their own benefit to evaluate. I was shaing my experience.