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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

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Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Need help from Bloomingtonites

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  • Need help from Bloomingtonites

    The wife and I were planning on going down (Sun.-Mon.) to Brown co./Bloomington, sans the children. Wanted to do some browsing and shopping at some point. We prefer bohemian-type independent stores, record shops, ethnic restaurants, etc. Is there a good locale for that type of thing? It's been forever and a day since I was in Bloomington. Thanks in advance.

  • #2
    Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

    Have a steak dinner at Janko's Little Zagreb's, west 6th street I think.

    Not fancy-- picnic tables covered with newspaper. But some of the best steaks ever, at a FRACTION of the price you'd pay at at snooty place in Indy.

    I haven't been to Bloomington in 10 years, though. I'm assuming that it's still good. Then walk over a block or so to The Crazy Horse for a beer, or to the Irish Lion where you can get it by the half yard.

    shopping and music I can't say. been too long...
    The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

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    • #3
      Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

      Sounds like you want to hang around Kirkwood (5th Street). I don't know how familiar you are with the town, but its where most of the college/hipster type spots are. If you can find the town square (around 5th and Walnut), its the next couple blocks to the east.

      Jankos is great, but also consider 4th Steet, a block south of the Kirkwood scene. That's where you'll find most of your ethnic restuarants - Great Indian buffet, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, yada yada yada....

      Of course, from what I know about you, you might be more comfortable at Applebee's over at the College Mall. Then its off for a day of browsing really unique, quaint shops like Old Navy and Hollister. There's even a Best Buy across the street. Right up your alley...

      Seriously, just find the Kirkwood area and start walking around (dress appropriately), you'll find a good number of shops that are fun to hang around. Maybe I'll see you out there!

      Brown County State Park is, indeed, great for outdoors. There's also McCormack's Creek Park over by Elletsville. Smaller, but a really nice park for scenery.

      Have fun.
      "If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you." - Jack Handy

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      • #4
        Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

        Trojan Horse, all I got to say. GREAT food.
        Play Mafia!
        Twitter

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        • #5
          Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

          Originally posted by McClintic Sphere
          The wife and I were planning on going down (Sun.-Mon.) to Brown co./Bloomington, sans the children. Wanted to do some browsing and shopping at some point. We prefer bohemian-type independent stores, record shops, ethnic restaurants, etc. Is there a good locale for that type of thing? It's been forever and a day since I was in Bloomington. Thanks in advance.
          I'm unfortunately living in Bloomington but I'm not in to the hippie stuff. I would have to agree with the Kirkwood part. They have a lot of stores there. For ethnic food go to Chipotle because chains are the way to go. There is a record shop or two also on Kirkwood. If you are the hippie type, you'll be in heaven in downtown Bloomington.

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          • #6
            Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

            Originally posted by Vicious Tyrant
            Sounds like you want to hang around Kirkwood (5th Street). I don't know how familiar you are with the town, but its where most of the college/hipster type spots are. If you can find the town square (around 5th and Walnut), its the next couple blocks to the east.

            Jankos is great, but also consider 4th Steet, a block south of the Kirkwood scene. That's where you'll find most of your ethnic restuarants - Great Indian buffet, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, yada yada yada.....
            Mmmmm. Sounds delicioso. I may put on 30lbs this weekend. Thanks for giving me the 20 of the cognisciente.

            Originally posted by Vicious Tyrant
            Of course, from what I know about you, you might be more comfortable at Applebee's over at the College Mall. Then its off for a day of browsing really unique, quaint shops like Old Navy and Hollister. There's even a Best Buy across the street. Right up your alley....
            I'm trying to escape McSuburbia, not further immerse myself in it's disposable homogeneity.

            Originally posted by Vicious Tyrant
            Seriously, just find the Kirkwood area and start walking around (dress appropriately), you'll find a good number of shops that are fun to hang around. Maybe I'll see you out there!
            Will you be on the street with an open guitar case for change and be playing the bygone hits of Joan Baez and Richard Farina? I'll look for you out there. Seriously, thanks for the info. It should be fun.

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            • #7
              Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

              I think I may still have some connections to a hippie drum circle or two. Might be just your thing. Let me know if it's of interest.

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              • #8
                Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                Why, thanks Btown. Should I bring my hookah or do they already have one?

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                • #9
                  Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                  Ah, for hookahs, it sounds like you're looking for Amused Clothing, a block south of restaurant row. You'll get to meet lots of my clients....

                  And hey now, the mall sounds perfect for you!
                  "If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you." - Jack Handy

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                    I agree with all posted. I don't live in B'town now, but I just moved back to Indy about 5 years ago.

                    Jankos- Awesome Steak.

                    Crazy Horse- Right around the corner from Jankos. Good food and lots of import beer to choose from.

                    Irish Lion- This is also right by Crazy Horse. They have good food and sell yards of beer... if you are into that.

                    Trojan Horse- Great Greek food. I love the hummus and pita and they serve hot baklava. Good stuff.

                    Michael's Uptown Cafe- If you like atmosphere, this place has it. A very artsy feel, but the food is nice. Much of the other places offer good food, but the atmosphere isn't there. I love Janko's, but it is basically a hole in the wall with great food. If you get something besides steak and you like spicy, the Meatballs Bucharest is pretty good.

                    4th Street is Ethnic restaurant row. Puccini's is pretty good Italian if they are still there.

                    Nick's- I'm sure this was around when you were there, but not really a family joint. You can't go wrong with some Nick's strombolis and some Bass ale.

                    “Seventy percent of me talking on the court is personally for me to get me
                    motivated and going. Thirty percent is to see if I can get into the opponent’s head.”
                    Reggie Miller

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                    • #11
                      Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                      Really, I would love to help you out McSphere.

                      But the four years I was down there I couldn't afford food or clothes. Only electronics to later sell on ebay.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                        I was at the library last night with the kids and drove around scouting out some recommendations for you, don't say I never did anything for you.

                        Here's my recommendations per my guess about what you'd like:

                        Siam House, corner of 4th and Dunn. Thai with a great buffet.

                        Bombay House, two restuarants down from Siam House - even better buffet for Indian.

                        Yatz, block south of 4th and Grant. Cajun, fun place. I believe this is a chain, but its fun.

                        Shanti, half block north of Kirkwood and Lincoln (next to the library, hidden behind Dharma Emporium). Good Indian, I don't think they do a buffet.

                        Snow Lion, Half block south of Kirkwood and Grant. Tibetan, I don't like this place, but its popular. You might ask why eat Tibetan food? Maybe people like curdled yak milk, I don't know so don't ask me...

                        Samira. Northeast side of the town square (Kirkwood and Walnut). Middle Eastern, more upscale than the other spots, yum!

                        Hope it helps! Don't forget Chili's out by the mall! Might be better for you!
                        "If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you." - Jack Handy

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                        • #13
                          Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                          No Snow Lion! It's terrible. Little Tibet is very close by, and about a million times better.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                            Thanks guys, for all the great recommendations. I'm gonna have to print this thread out so I can refer to it when I'm in location. Good thing I'll be in the area 2 days. I'm starting to get cravings right now. I'm not gonna get caught up in any rioting fallout from the Mike Davis situation am I, with pro and anti factions battling it out on the streets?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Need help from Bloomingtonites

                              So how was your trip?
                              "If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you." - Jack Handy

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