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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"

"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.

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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.

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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

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Rule #11

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David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

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  • #1

    David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...i21K_blog.html

    Representatives for the NBA owners and the players’ union will have another bargaining session on Tuesday, and agent David Falk believes that both sides need to reach an agreement soon or risk losing the entire season.


    How severe are we talking here? (LM Otero - AP) “There will be damage to both sides, severe damage to both sides if we don’t have a deal,” Falk said in a recent telephone interview. “You don’t know if the fans are going to come back. And it’s especially severe this year because football made the deal. Football showed that they could get their stuff together and make the deal. If we can’t show that, I think it’s going to be severe repercussions with the fans, particularly because of the economic climate.”
    The NBA has already announced that it would have to postpone training camps and cancel 43 preseason games from Oct. 9-15 as a result of the labor quarrel. Falk disputes the widespread notion that if talks continue to stall for several weeks that the league would have another abbreviated season as it did in 1998-99, when he was the most powerful agent in the business, representing, such stars as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. “It’s time to stop fooling around and make a deal. The waiting out period is over,” Falk said. “I can’t prove this and I may be wrong, but if I had to bet a lot of money I would bet that if we miss one game – one – the season will not happen. There are going to be no do-overs this time. That’s what I believe.”

    Commissioner David Stern, National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Billy Hunter and other top negotiators have been meeting each week this month, and have made minimal progress as it relates to revenues from basketball related income. Players received 57 percent of the revenue — or $2.167 billion — last season, but may have to settle for something closer to a 50-50 split with the owners. They remain far apart on the owners’ demand for a hard salary cap, which the players are dead set against, but Falk believes that the situation can still be resolved.

    “They have to negotiate. They have to horse trade,” Falk said. “If the league wants to reduce the percentage of revenues that the players receive, like they did in football, I understand it, then why do you need a hard cap? You don’t need both. If the owners can only spend so much money then why go through the emotion of saying you need a hard cap? They don’t need a hard cap and they know they don’t need a hard cap. Lets get over the wish list and get on the real list and get the . . . thing done.”

    Falk added that the players have to realize that they have more to lose than gain with an extended fight. “The owners are saying we’re losing tons of money and we have to dramatically change the system. The players are saying, ‘I don’t believe you. I don’t really think you’re losing that much money.’ ” Falk said. The owners will say, “I’ll tell you what, you guys are making $2.167 billion. I’ll bet you the whole thing. Play Texas poker, let’s go all in. All in. We’ll bet you the whole thing. If you’re wrong, it’s going to cost you $2.167 billion dollars and if you’re right, you’ll make a couple extra $100,000.”

    Falk has not been as vocal about the situation as he was in 1998, but he doesn’t feel that he should take a similar role this time around. “My political days are over,” Falk said. “It’s now time for the younger guys to step up and educate their players, and I’m not interested in doing that anymore. I think the most important thing everyone has to understand [is]: What is the economic climate that we are operating in? The average fan is not worried about this. They are worried about having a job. The amount of Americans below the poverty level is at 15 percent. If you think people are going to give a flying whatever that a bunch of billionaires are losing some money or some rich athletes that want to make $7 million instead of $6 million – they don’t care at all. We have to understand how silly this makes us look, particularly after the NFL made a deal. No one is going to have any sympathy. We’re going to make college basketball bigger than ever. We’ll watch [Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski] set the record [for Division I victories] and who knows if we’ll get them back.”
    Stern trying to lay down the law becasue h knows HIS reputation and history depends on it
    Sittin on top of the world!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

    Imagine that. An agent that has a big enough ego to think he can do what everyone else can't.

    The more agents talk, the worse the NBPA is going to get rolled.
    “Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

      Falk speaks the truth, mostly, and hopefully the rest of the agents actually see it this way too and can persuade the players to take a step back and recognize that they have more to gain by making a deal and receiving pay for this season than they can save in future salaries by holding out for a year.

      But, Falk being an agent had to interject that the league doesn't need a hard cap, which leaves the superstars still able to get astronomical contracts and subsequently a few power agents can get huge paydays as well.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

        I think Stern is more worried about his legacy and plan for global expansion, more than anything else
        Sittin on top of the world!

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

          I don't know how everyonne else feels, but I wnt this lockout to end.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

            Falk is SPOT-ON in that article..

            It's what I have been saying since the lockout started.. that the general public and fans really don't give a crap about a bunch of millionaires fighting over tablescraps and side-dishes .. Especially when the economy is getting to be the worst in my lifetime and there are ALOT of people whom are unemployed or underemployed. People will just say the heck with them if they keep dragging this thing out...


            and they will end up losing more money than they would if they just came to an agreement and get the season underway as soon as possible..

            .
            "Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

              Originally posted by LetsTalkPacers View Post
              I don't know how everyonne else feels, but I wnt this lockout to end.
              I want it to go on... FOREVER!

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                Originally posted by 90'sNBARocked View Post
                Stern trying to lay down the law becasue h knows HIS reputation and history depends on it
                Originally posted by 90'sNBARocked View Post
                I think Stern is more worried about his legacy and plan for global expansion, more than anything else
                Where are you getting Stern out of this? Stern is only mentioned in terms of having meetings, not quoted at all. Or are you using Falk's comments as an entry point to blame the whole thing on Stern?

                In general, I surprisingly think Falk has good points. I especially like:

                Originally posted by David Falk
                The players are saying, ‘I don’t believe you. I don’t really think you’re losing that much money.’ ” Falk said. The owners will say, “I’ll tell you what, you guys are making $2.167 billion. I’ll bet you the whole thing. Play Texas poker, let’s go all in. All in. We’ll bet you the whole thing. If you’re wrong, it’s going to cost you $2.167 billion dollars and if you’re right, you’ll make a couple extra $100,000.”
                BillS

                A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                  I no longer blame stern. I now blame BillS

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                    Originally posted by LetsTalkPacers View Post
                    I no longer blame stern. I now blame BillS
                    I ... I ...

                    I have a purpose

                    BillS

                    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                    Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                      I hate lockouts. Especially when you lock-yourself-out of your own house by accident with the shower, washer, space heater, and oven running.
                      Last edited by Constellations; 09-27-2011, 04:29 PM.
                      Follow me at @Bluejbgold

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                        Originally posted by BillS View Post
                        Where are you getting Stern out of this? Stern is only mentioned in terms of having meetings, not quoted at all. Or are you using Falk's comments as an entry point to blame the whole thing on Stern?

                        In general, I surprisingly think Falk has good points. I especially like:
                        LOL

                        I misread the article and thought it was Stern, not David Faulk

                        Sittin on top of the world!

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          Despite fact Fisher said there were no new proposals, you get idea someone may have moved on issues. Also, NBPA economist wasn't here today.

                          23 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          Both sides insist meeting was cordial enough, that no one stomped away and ended it.

                          27 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          Stern keeps suggesting that Wednesday's meeting will be telltale on where these talks stand, and where they go next.

                          31 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          When asked about talking more frequently with union, Stern said "We will know more after tomorrow's meeting."

                          33 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          David Stern: "spent some quality time discussing concepts..." and decided to return to respective offices and discuss among themselves.

                          34 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski
                          Fisher essentially said both sides needed to retreat and discuss among themselves. Insisted no new proposals made. Back again tomorrow.

                          48 minutes ago

                          WojYahooNBAAdrian Wojnarowski

                          NBA and union met for less than two hours. Derek Fisher offered little, to no detail. Of course.
                          sigh
                          Sittin on top of the world!

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                            i think in this case. no news is good news.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: David Falk to NBA and players’ union: Get a deal done or face ‘severe repercussions’

                              Originally posted by BillS View Post
                              Where are you getting Stern out of this? Stern is only mentioned in terms of having meetings, not quoted at all. Or are you using Falk's comments as an entry point to blame the whole thing on Stern?

                              In general, I surprisingly think Falk has good points. I especially like:
                              I like that quote by Falk too, but for a slightly different reason. I think it's hilarious that the players want to argue that they ought to be able to jump to the NBA as early as possible so that they can have extra earning years, which will yield more years at a high salary, and more years for their nest egg to grow.

                              Those same players are supposedly willing to give up a year's salary, essentially giving up a year of earnings potential (most players are still playing, wearing down their bodies, and not getting paid), so that they can avoid what's likely to be a 10% pay cut.

                              Comment

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