Announcement

Collapse

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.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

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.
See more
See less

Darko is already depressed with Orlando

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 3
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 template Next
  • #1

    Darko is already depressed with Orlando

    It does not appear he has a lot of patience left..

    http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/13946223.htm

    Milicic blames everyone but himself for his shortcomings

    BY DREW SHARP

    Detroit Free Press

    ORLANDO, Fla. - Four days into a fresh opportunity at redemption, and Darko Milicic is already sulking. The name on the uniform is different, but the seat at the end of the bench hasn't changed.
    He doesn't get it. And he probably never will.
    He can't even play on a team that has given up hope on the season.
    "I didn't come here to sit on the bench," Milicic said Thursday after the Orlando Magic's practice. "I tell myself that everything will be fine here, but right now, nothing has changed. I want to play. I need to play. I learn nothing sitting on the bench."
    Nothing has changed. Darko still blames other factors for his inactivity. He eagerly embraced his emancipation from the Pistons, somehow convincing himself that liberation from his self-described "nightmare" would immediately register into consistent playing time with the Magic.
    But Darko didn't play one second in his second game with the Magic, Wednesday at New Jersey.
    "You have to ask them why," Darko said of the coaches.
    Magic coach Brian Hill offered the same refrain that grew age lines in Detroit the last three years. Darko has "tremendous upside," Hill said, but he has to "learn his new surroundings" and grow comfortable with the situation.
    In other words, he needs to wake up.
    But the Magic soon will discover what the Pistons reluctantly learned before they traded him last week. Darko has an unyielding sense of entitlement that will prevent him from fully taking advantage of his physical gifts. He still equates playing time with something gift-wrapped under a Christmas tree.
    "There's no disputing the kid's skill level," Hill said.
    The coach gave Milicic one-on-one tutelage Thursday, initially letting the 7-footer rain threes with unconscious consistency, then schooling him on the low block. Once again, there was the liquid ease in which Darko flowed off his pivot, slamming the ball home or gently kissing it off the glass.
    And once again came amazement from observers.
    How could the Pistons not find even a little room for somebody of this much potential?
    But those who caught the solo show during Darko's first workout in his new home will come to understand that those skills diminish in a five-on-five setting.
    It's time for Darko to grow up, sack up and maybe wise up. He still holds a grudge against the Pistons for how he thinks they treated him.
    "I was pissed," he said. "It was always the same story, same story. They told me to be ready, and I was. They told me to have a good preseason, and I did. But my playing time went to nothing. They didn't want me, so I needed to leave."
    But was his time in Detroit really "a nightmare," as he called it this week before he played his first game with the Magic?
    Milicic, 20, found freedom and riches he never could have envisioned as a kid in war-torn Serbia and Montenegro.
    "War is bad, but it's something that is out of your control," he said. "Basketball is something that you can control, and when it didn't work out like I had wanted, it became a bad experience. I just want to play basketball and have fun." The Pistons "didn't give me that chance."
    If anything, Darko's problem is that he has become too Americanized.
    A concern remains that Milicic lacks motivation to push himself beyond the fruits already won from being the second overall pick in the 2003 draft. It's still easier to blame somebody else for his shortcomings.
    Isn't there a local law on the books prohibiting the Magic from engaging in a business deal with Joe Dumars? Orlando hasn't recovered from the less-than-minimal return on its seven-year, $98 million investment in Grant Hill in 2000. The sign-and-trade deal involving Hill gave the Pistons the backbone of their championship revival - Ben Wallace.
    But some people in Orlando think that vengeance is finally theirs, fleecing the Pistons of an unrefined talent they ruined solely by neglect.
    Sounds like the Magic Kingdom has been sniffing Tinker Bell's pixie dust.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

    The most surprising thing is that only 2 Orlando games have taken place since his arrival. He played 4 minutes in one of them, and was not registered for the 2nd.

    I was surprised to hear that from him - firstly, most probably he does not know Orlando's offence well enough yet. Secondly, Orlando's offence was supposed to change with him, which would probably have taken the rest of this season. Thirdly, even Orlando's coach publicly said after the first game that Darko will play much more as the year progresses.

    That player must be in some psychological crisis. I was never a huge proponent of young Europeans coming to NBA - not only it stops their developement, it changes their attitude as well.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

      B-U-S-T

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

        Orlando fans are saying that the quote about "not coming here to sit the bench" is out of context and not actually about his games with the Magic.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

          Originally posted by Fool
          Orlando fans are saying that the quote about "not coming here to sit the bench" is out of context and not actually about his games with the Magic.
          I'll gladly believe that. It was surprising to read all this.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

            Originally posted by Bob Hill
            Darko has "tremendous upside," Hill said, but he has to "learn his new surroundings" and grow comfortable with the situation.
            In other words, he needs to wake up.
            Actually, I'll take this at face value. I don't imagine he has learned the plays and I doubt he has become that acquainted with his guys yet. When he was traded to the Magic, I didn't expect them to start playing him 40 minutes a night right away, as you have to work yourself into a new situation and that takes some time.

            I think you need to consider the source on this one.

            And WTF is up with the "Americanized" ****. That's stupid.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

              I looked through Orlando's forums on this, and it confirms Fool's words. (you should change your nick, because now I feel like I'm offending you

              Apparently, the article was written by taking out of context what Darko and Bob Hill said during a TV show. Fans were calling and asking why Darko is not playing, and Bob Hill said he has to learn plays; it was not a form criticism or answer to Darko. The words "he needs to wake up" were written by the writer; Bob Hill did not say anything like that. During the show, Darko did say about not playing enough, but he was refering to Detroit's period, not Orlando's.

              EDIT: Brian Hill, not Bob Hill.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                Originally posted by Shade
                B-U-S-T

                Worst Dumars decision: Drafting Milicic

                Best Dumars Decision: Trading Milicic for a 1st rounder. Hopefully, Orlando sucks for a few more years and it is a good pick.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                  When I saw the article was written by Drew Sharp I didn't even bother to read it. It doesn't surprise me a bit that he took something out of context and ran with it.

                  It also wouldn't surprise me if Darko is a bust in Orlando too.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                    Darko is a punk. That's all there is to it.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                      Who do Piston's fans hang around the 4th quarter to see now? Benny was a better pick than Danko.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                        Originally posted by rcarey
                        Actually, I'll take this at face value. I don't imagine he has learned the plays and I doubt he has become that acquainted with his guys yet. When he was traded to the Magic, I didn't expect them to start playing him 40 minutes a night right away, as you have to work yourself into a new situation and that takes some time.
                        Arroyo played 27 minutes against the Nets, and he's a POINT GUARD. A position that requires the player to know the system a lot more than Darko would have to.

                        Also consider the fact that after they played the Cavs (before the NJ game), the Magic coach said that the 4 minutes he played during that game would be the lowest he plays all season. Then he follows it up with a DNP. Makes you wonder what he saw during practice.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                          I can't blame Darko for being frustrated.

                          Everyone raves about his practice play and then he never gets a chance to show it. Hill needs to just throw him right out there for a good 20 minuates, get him involed in the offense, and let this kid prove what he can do. Tell Darko, "Alright kid, you want playing time, here you go. You got it. Now it is up to you to show everyone what you got." Put some pressure on him. Playing him 4 minuates and not playing him is not good. Give him some confidence! Let him be in the regular rotation. Even if he does suck, it is not like Orlando is going anywhere this season.

                          Darko may not give max effort during practice, and he might not be the most optomistic guy around but look at his situation. He was supposed to be a 4 or 5 year project in Detroit and they traded him after 2 1/2 seasons and he is traded to a team that he should be able to get his feet wet and the first two games there he plays 4 minuates. I don't know what his attitude is like or how his effort is in practice, but I can understand how it would be down if you think about his situation. He has taken a good amount of heat unfairly and the thing is that he hasn't got a chance to show what he can do. It really isn't his fault that he isn't living up to his potentiol in the first few years whenever he wasn't expected to when he was drafted.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                            It should be noted that Orlando is thinner at PG then in the front court and that Arroyo has been a starter before so the minute comparison between he and Darko might not be all that meaningful.

                            It should also be noted that the claim of Sharp taking that quote out of context is just speculation as far as I know.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Darko is already depressed with Orlando

                              Originally posted by Fool
                              It should be noted that Orlando is thinner at PG then in the front court and that Arroyo has been a starter before so the minute comparison between he and Darko might not be all that meaningful.
                              OK, so are we going to hear the "playing behind a stacked frontcourt" thing again? You know, Pat "the beast" Garrity, and Mario Kasun.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 template Next
                              Working...
                              X