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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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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Ricky Rubio

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  • Ricky Rubio

    There has been some discussion that Rubio does not want to play for Memphis because
    he has a large buy-out and the only way he can recoup this money is through endorsements.
    I would like others to comment on endorsement oppurtunities. Are they better in big markets? Peyton and Lebron seem to be doing well. I believe if you are good those
    things will come regardless of where you are.

    Is this a red herring and he really just does not want to play for Memphis?
    {o,o}
    |)__)
    -"-"-

  • #2
    Re: Ricky Rubio

    Originally posted by owl View Post
    There has been some discussion that Rubio does not want to play for Memphis because
    he has a large buy-out and the only way he can recoup this money is through endorsements.
    I would like others to comment on endorsement oppurtunities. Are they better in big markets? Peyton and Lebron seem to be doing well. I believe if you are good those
    things will come regardless of where you are.

    Is this a red herring and he really just does not want to play for Memphis?
    If he goes to a city where there is a big spanish population like New York he could make more money and also who really wants to go to memphis? they are selling the team and are not trying to spend money.
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ricky Rubio

      I have posted before that because of his Hispanic heritage, he will have oppurtunities in that market. Mark Sanchez is reported to get 10M in endorsements. I really see it more difficult for Rubio to get endorsements in markets like OKC and Memphis. I am sure the Hispanic demographic is higher in California. But for him to claim that he will not buyout of his contract if selected by the lesser markable areas, will shoot himself in the foot.

      OKC or Memphis will have to trade him or the pick and if he is on record that he will not play with those teams, those teams lose leverage, making a deal more difficult. If you remember Yi and China's outrage of him being there. Eventually he was traded, but they had to sit on him. Yi had no buyout (that I am aware of), while Rubio does.

      So if he is selected later in the draft he loses money cause the later you are drafted the less money you will get.

      It would be better for him to talk to the GMs and not let his agent blab to the media.

      But they both should know this. So that means that the buyout is not a big deal cause the market upgrade from LA and Sacremento is so much more properous than OKC and Memphis that losing 5M is miniscule in proportion to offers that he may have already recieved.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ricky Rubio

        California has a lot of Spaniards? I thought they had a lot of Mexicans. They are two different countries.
        JOB is a silly man

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Ricky Rubio

          Same language, same appeal. Doing commercials in Spanish, does it matter if he is from Mexico or not?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ricky Rubio

            There dialect is totally different as is most of the verbage. I think the closest similarity would be someone from England to America. I am trying to think of an example where an American born player went to England and was still very marketable to English fans in any sport. I cannot think of one right off the top of my head.
            JOB is a silly man

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ricky Rubio

              Well then I will stop using that. I would think that he being able to speak Spanish, that he could be marketable to the Spanish speaking population. Ahhh well.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ricky Rubio

                I like the thought though. I think international players would feel more comfortable and take on less culture shock in places they could converse with some familiarity. I think Rubio would feel more comfortable if he did not have to face language barriers. So New York, California and Texas seem like they would be pretty good states for that. I just do not know if it would help his marketability being in a Mexican area just because he speaks their same language.
                JOB is a silly man

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Ricky Rubio

                  http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-out-grizzlies

                  It might have been just a bogus report

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ricky Rubio

                    Originally posted by jhondog28 View Post
                    There dialect is totally different as is most of the verbage. I think the closest similarity would be someone from England to America. I am trying to think of an example where an American born player went to England and was still very marketable to English fans in any sport. I cannot think of one right off the top of my head.

                    You can say that players like Lebron or Kobe are big in english speaking countries.There is examples of the other way around when an english player comes here and he makes a lot of money(Beckam)
                    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Ricky Rubio

                      Originally posted by jhondog28 View Post
                      There dialect is totally different as is most of the verbage. I think the closest similarity would be someone from England to America. I am trying to think of an example where an American born player went to England and was still very marketable to English fans in any sport. I cannot think of one right off the top of my head.
                      Being from California, I have to totally disagree with your basic premise. Ricky Rubio would be VERY marketable here in California. Francisco Garcia, who also isn't Mexican, has done incredibly well with the Latino population here...and I have every reason to believe it would be the same for Rubio.
                      NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Ricky Rubio

                        John Givony over at DraftExpress has some more details on Rubio:

                        http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jon...up-May-24-3227

                        Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial Appeal pens an excellent introductory piece about potential Grizzlies target Ricky Rubio, with quotes from the likes of Tony Barone Sr, Pau Gasol, Fran Fraschilla, Chris Collins, Lang Whitaker and yours truly.

                        ”General manager Chris Wallace and coach Lionel Hollins spent Saturday in Spain to scout Rubio again, a trip clouded by an Internet report that indicated Rubio may not want to sign with Memphis. Jonathan Givony, president and director of scouting for DraftExpress.com, cited an anonymous source last week who said Dan Fegan, Rubio's agent, wants Rubio in Los Angeles, where the Clippers hold the first overall pick.

                        Whether this is mere posturing on Fegan's part is unclear. But if there are obvious obstacles -- including a reported $6 million buyout from Rubio's contract with DKV Joventut – many scouts and coaches familiar with Rubio think the Grizzlies would be wise to surmount them.

                        "He is by far the smartest player in the draft," Givony said. "His knowledge of the game, his overall feel –it’s amazing. Wherever he goes, those fans are going to fall in love with him. He's such a fun player to watch, so unpredictable, so creative. To me, it's a no-brainer for a franchise like Memphis."


                        This weekend we were able to learn quite a bit more about the Rubio situation, after speaking with one of the best possible sources on this matter. Unfortunately this source would rather not be named, for obvious reasons. Regardless, this is information that almost anyone interested in the NBA draft would like to read, though, so we decided to run it.

                        From what we can gather, Rubio is most certainly going to want to have a large say in the team that drafts him, and if he’s not satisfied with where he lands, he may just decide not to ever come over, which would obviously be a huge embarrassment for the team that picks him. He is in a great situation with his hometown team outside of Barcelona, and it wouldn’t make sense to leave there for anything less than the perfect spot from his standpoint.

                        “The bottom line here is that Ricky has a large buyout—5.75 million Euros, both for this year and the year after. Depending on the team that selects him, he’s going to make a decision on whether he comes over or not. If he’s not satisfied, there is a very real possibility that he doesn’t come. His buyout is going to cost him a lot of money, and if it doesn’t make sense for him, he won’t do it. He is going to have to pay for the privilege of playing in the NBA”

                        According to the source, Rubio’s decision is going to come down to two things: winning and the role he’ll play for the team that picks him. The size of the market of the team that drafts him is apparently irrelevant, since his appeal will be on a global scale, reaching far past his team’s city limits.

                        With that in mind, it appears that the Memphis Grizzlies will have to make a very strong sales pitch to Rubio for him to move off his initial stance of not wanting to play for them. Rubio’s concerns stem from a number of factors, ranging from the potential poor fit of playing alongside a very ball-dominant guard in O.J. Mayo, to the negative experiences conveyed to him by the likes of Juan Carlos Navarro and Pau Gasol.

                        Oklahoma is a more attractive situation, but there are concerns there about how he fits with Russell Westbrook and whether the two can play together. For now they are not being ruled out.

                        The question now is how Memphis will respond. Can Chris Wallace and company convince Rubio that his concerns are unfounded? The Grizzlies have not made it a secret that they consider O.J. Mayo to be their point guard of the future, and it may be in their best interest to “maximize the asset” in the words of our source, by trading the pick. This is not going to be a hostile situation, though, so don’t expect any fireworks in the media. Behind the scenes, efforts will be made to steer him the direction of the teams that appear to be most attractive, mainly Sacramento, Dallas, Indiana, Portland and New York, although not all those teams may have the assets or the interest level needed to get a deal done with Memphis. At this stage, Rubio appears unlikely to pull out of the draft.

                        What’s interesting is that Memphis’ scouting mission to Spain this weekend may not have gone quite as well as planned, as Rubio’s team was beaten handily by Real Madrid in game three of the playoffs, behind a very average showing by the Spanish prodigy. Rubio posted 6 points, 3 assists, 5 turnovers and 3 steals on 2/6 shooting in 26 minutes of action. Both Memphis GM Chris Wallace and head coach Lionel Hollins were in attendance.
                        Hmm, Foster for Jaric and pick? Rubio has the potential to be a franchise-level player.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Ricky Rubio

                          I fail to see how Indiana would be more "attractive" to a player like Rubio then any other team that wants an upgrade at the PG spot. If "attractive" means that team has an interest in a future PG that would likely get guaranteed Starter minutes......then half the teams in the league could seem attractive.....heck....you might as well add Golden State....Portland.....Houston..etc. Or does he mean "attractive" as in huge market with a large European population from Spain?

                          I guess the writer of the article would have to define what "attractive" means.
                          Last edited by CableKC; 05-24-2009, 10:10 PM.
                          Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Ricky Rubio

                            Indiana as a mentioned destination? Would the Pacers want him? Do the Pacers have
                            enough assets to get him in a draft day trade?
                            Bruno mentioned in his blog that if the Pacers do not trade up into the top three they
                            most likely would trade down. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.
                            On first blush I would not be interested but maybe. Two firsts and a point guard for
                            Rubio? I just do not know enough about this player. Is he injury prone? Can he defend
                            individually and in a team mode?
                            {o,o}
                            |)__)
                            -"-"-

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Ricky Rubio

                              Originally posted by CableKC View Post
                              I fail to see how Indiana would be more "attractive" to a player like Rubio then any other team that wants an upgrade at the PG spot. If "attractive" means that team has an interest in a future PG that would likely get guaranteed Starter minutes......then half the teams in the league could seem attractive.....heck....you might as well add Golden State....Portland.....Houston..etc. Or does he mean "attractive" as in huge market with a large European population from Spain?

                              I guess the writer of the article would have to define what "attractive" means.
                              I think attractive based on style of play. A running, motion type offense.
                              Indiana has a reasonable hispanic population but I believe a player like Rubio
                              has universal appeal so I just don't believe endorsements will be a problem wherever he goes. Probably would put a lot of backsides in those empty Conseco seats.
                              {o,o}
                              |)__)
                              -"-"-

                              Comment

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