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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"

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

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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.

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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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Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

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  • Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

    http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/

    September 01, 2006

    Where are the Pacers in the East?
    Posted by Mike Wells


    Greetings from the Pacific Northwest as I look out my window at Mt. Rainer on a clear day in Seattle (Contrary to popular believe, it doesn’t rain here everyday).

    A number of you – actually quite a few of you – have emailed me – some nice, some rude - wondering where I’ve been the last couple of weeks. Believe it or not, I do get vacation time on this job. And boy did I need it after the drawn out Al Harrington saga. Of course, the deal gets done just days after I leave on vacation after I followed it for six-plus weeks.

    I’ve kept an eye on the Pacers while on vacation. I think Harrington puts the Pacers in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers probably need another big body and 3-point shooter to stretch the defense and give Jermaine O’Neal room to work in the post.

    I know there’s still a month before training camp starts and there could be more movement around the league, but here’s my top four teams in the East at the current moment.

    1. Miami – I don’t see the Heat repeating because Shaq, who is still the most dominant big man in the league, is a year older and continuing to slow down. Plus, Dwyane Wade spent most of the summer with Team USA after playing late into June with the Heat. You never know what you’re going to get out of the supporting cast of Antoine Walker and Co. on a game-to-game basis. I still put them at the top because the NBA Finals trophy is currently in South Beach.

    2. Detroit – Some may call this a stretch because of the loss of Ben Wallace, but the Pistons are still a dangerous team with Chauncey, Rasheed and Rip. The Ronald Murray signing gives the Pistons some much needed scoring off the bench.

    3. Pacers – I’m calling Jamaal Tinsley the “X” factor this season for a couple of reasons. The first, and most obvious, reason is his health. Tell me if this sounds familiar? “Jamaal is looking great, he’s working hard and is in shape.” Haven’t you guys (and ladies) heard that the past couple of summers? I’ve been told that again this summer. A healthy Tinsley at the point gives the Pacers their best chance of winning. The second reason with Tinsley is if coach Rick Carlisle will let him run the show in the offense they plan on using this season. Tinsley has been frustrated in the past because of Carlisle’s micromanaging of the offense. The up tempo offense fits right into Tinsley’s style.

    4. New Jersey – The drafting of Marcus Williams was huge for the Nets. Jason Kidd, who is on the decline, won’t have to log heavy minutes during the regular season because the Nets were able to pick the best point guard in the draft. I was very impressed with Williams after watching him play in the Orlando Summer League in July. He should average a lot of assist with Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson running the wings.

    Look out for Chicago, too. The Bulls could easily be one of the top four teams in the East.

    I’m sure people are wondering about LeBron and Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are basically the same team as last season. I’m not sold on Eric Snow as the starting point guard. But hey, anything is possible with LeBron on the court.

    Where do you see the East at the moment?
    -------------

    I see the potential for 1st place.

  • #2
    Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

    1st place for this team is a bit of a stretch. There are too many new faces and unpredictability on the roster to point towards a top place fiinish. However, in saying that I would not be surprised if this team became lottery material and I would not be surprised if this team ended up competing.

    If the last 3 years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

      Originally posted by Ozpacer View Post
      1st place for this team is a bit of a stretch. There are too many new faces and unpredictability on the roster to point towards a top place fiinish. However, in saying that I would not be surprised if this team became lottery material and I would not be surprised if this team ended up competing.

      If the last 3 years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
      So, you a Big Brother fan?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

        Tell me if this sounds familiar? “Jamaal is looking great, he’s working hard and is in shape.”
        Tell me if this sounds familiar?

        1. Miami – I still put them at the top because the NBA Finals trophy is currently in South Beach.
        Just one of the most overused sports clichés writers and fans fall back on. I'll say it right now: Miami won't repeat.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

          Miami just got OLD this offseason..

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

            Originally posted by Mike Wells
            The second reason with Tinsley is if coach Rick Carlisle will let him run the show in the offense they plan on using this season. Tinsley has been frustrated in the past because of Carlisle’s micromanaging of the offense. The up tempo offense fits right into Tinsley’s style.
            I agree, I don't think he'll let any sinus infections stop him from playing this year.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

              I don't see any way to put the Pacers above the Cavs. That seems just goofy. Yeah - they're the same team - that won 50 games last year and has the best young player in the game. Well, except for Larry Hughes missing most of the season. I'm sure adding him won't have any impact. I'm going to have to think about it more to decide if I want to actually pick them but I think they have a very good shot at winning the division. The year Lebron decides to concentrate as much on defense as on offense is the year the Cavs become a title contender. It wouldn't surprise me if this is that year.

              IMO Indy's in a cluster with Chicago, NJ and Washington - teams that could go either way. Each of those teams have some real strengths but some real holes too. How they do will depend on the ability to use their strengths and cover their weaknesses. There's a lot of mediocrity in the East this year - you could probably add Philly & the Bucks to that group if you want and Charlotte & Atlanta will be much better.

              And of course the Knicks will suck though we may win 30.
              The poster formerly known as Rimfire

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                Originally posted by DisplacedKnick View Post
                I don't see any way to put the Pacers above the Cavs. That seems just goofy. Yeah - they're the same team - that won 50 games last year and has the best young player in the game. Well, except for Larry Hughes missing most of the season. I'm sure adding him won't have any impact. I'm going to have to think about it more to decide if I want to actually pick them but I think they have a very good shot at winning the division. The year Lebron decides to concentrate as much on defense as on offense is the year the Cavs become a title contender. It wouldn't surprise me if this is that year.

                IMO Indy's in a cluster with Chicago, NJ and Washington - teams that could go either way. Each of those teams have some real strengths but some real holes too. How they do will depend on the ability to use their strengths and cover their weaknesses. There's a lot of mediocrity in the East this year - you could probably add Philly & the Bucks to that group if you want and Charlotte & Atlanta will be much better.

                And of course the Knicks will suck though we may win 30.
                The Pacers as presently constructed can only be considered contenders with the Cavs, Bulls, Nets, Heat and Detroit if Tinsley plays to his potential. Otherwise, they will land a notch down with Wash., Philly and Milwaukee.

                ...but this team is not done trading, so I will hold back passing judgment.

                As for the true contenders, the Cavs should be a little better. They were beginning to learn to play together late last year. The Bulls will be better with some interior toughness with Ben to go along with Noc. Detroit will still be a great team without Big Ben. However, losing him will hurt them in the interior big time...and they will not be as good. The Heat will not be better than last year. Zo and Shaq are slowing down and will not be as physically dominant. D Wade is awesome, but is not likely to improve on perfection. ...so, I suspect they will be at the same level with perhaps less hunger for a championship. So, the east is probably more wide open than ever.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                  I don't know. I don't see how you can put the Pacers above the Cavs. They are going to be really, really good this year, and I'd be shocked if they don't win the East.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                    What did Jordan do without Pippen again? Are we to assume Larry Hughes is that good?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                      Originally posted by bulletproof View Post
                      Tell me if this sounds familiar?



                      Just one of the most overused sports clichés writers and fans fall back on. I'll say it right now: Miami won't repeat.
                      Expect the Pacers to repeat as the team with the best overall record in 04-05. Right now they are the NBA's best record reigning champ.

                      Sorry, I had a summer 2004 flashback.

                      I obviously also hate that cliche. To me Miami is hard to read since they looked like a train wreck most of the season, at least in comparison to the other elite teams. When they were 2-2 with Chicago and had the Payton and Haslem outbursts they were a popular pick to flame out and lose that series, not to win it all instead.


                      Tinsley is a monster X factor, I will agree with that. There is a reason I praise his game, it can have a huge impact on the offensive flow. But if he's on the bench it does nothing for the team. Tinsley is as least as important to the Pacers as Billups has been to the Pistons...and before you flip out on a CB/Tins comparison, I'm talking about how well each team does/would do with or without them.

                      The Pistons would have still put Rip, Prince, Ben and Sheed on the floor, so the team wouldn't have lacked talent, but clearly they would have been hampered playing without Billups to run the show.

                      That has been the Pacers most of the last 2 seasons, and it's showed. Tinsley playing 72+ games is worth 10 wins alone IMO. Al in place of the Ron/nothing/Peja combo last year is worth perhaps 5 just due to the lack of disruption and having no #2 player for a month or so.

                      No Tins, this team hits mid-40s in wins. With him it's a mid-50's team looking to win the division.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                        Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
                        Expect the Pacers to repeat as the team with the best overall record in 04-05. Right now they are the NBA's best record reigning champ.

                        Sorry, I had a summer 2004 flashback.

                        I obviously also hate that cliche. To me Miami is hard to read since they looked like a train wreck most of the season, at least in comparison to the other elite teams. When they were 2-2 with Chicago and had the Payton and Haslem outbursts they were a popular pick to flame out and lose that series, not to win it all instead.


                        Tinsley is a monster X factor, I will agree with that. There is a reason I praise his game, it can have a huge impact on the offensive flow. But if he's on the bench it does nothing for the team. Tinsley is as least as important to the Pacers as Billups has been to the Pistons...and before you flip out on a CB/Tins comparison, I'm talking about how well each team does/would do with or without them.

                        The Pistons would have still put Rip, Prince, Ben and Sheed on the floor, so the team wouldn't have lacked talent, but clearly they would have been hampered playing without Billups to run the show.

                        That has been the Pacers most of the last 2 seasons, and it's showed. Tinsley playing 72+ games is worth 10 wins alone IMO. Al in place of the Ron/nothing/Peja combo last year is worth perhaps 5 just due to the lack of disruption and having no #2 player for a month or so.

                        No Tins, this team hits mid-40s in wins. With him it's a mid-50's team looking to win the division.
                        I basically agree with everything Naptown said.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Mike Wells} Where are the Pacers in the East?

                          Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                          What did Jordan do without Pippen again? Are we to assume Larry Hughes is that good?
                          As good? Dunno about that - but two years ago in Washington he was a 22-6-5 player and an all-defensive 1st team member.

                          So he may be.
                          The poster formerly known as Rimfire

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