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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

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

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

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

Rule #1

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

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

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

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

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

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #2

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

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

The right places to do so are:

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

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

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

Rule #3

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #4

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

Rule #5

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

An example:

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

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

Rule #6

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

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

Rule #7

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

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

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

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

Rule #8

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

Rule #9

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

Rule #10

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

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Pacers article out of NY

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  • Pacers article out of NY

    This article says that Artest cannot practice with the Pacers. Rick said on his show last Thursday that the team has not been told yet if and when Artest can practice. Kevin Lee reported last night that all three suspended players were were at Conseco working out Saturday afternoon.



    http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/co...p-223738c.html
    Trying to keep Pace

    Even without stars, Indy can still shine in East



    Reinforcements finally arrived this past week for the suspension-depleted Pacers, when Reggie Miller, Jeff Foster and Anthony Johnson returned to action. Unless the arbitrator in the suspension-appeals case rules in favor of Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson - and then the NBA Players Association would still have to defeat David Stern in federal court - Rick Carlisle is looking at another long month without his best player and another key member of his rotation.
    "Here's what I told my players: You always have a choice when you find yourselves in a difficult situation," Carlisle said recently. "You can give in or keep fighting. Luckily, my guys have turned this into an opportunity to show what they can do."

    It just hasn't translated into wins, because talent rules in the NBA and not many teams could survive the hit delivered to the Pacers. Since the riot at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 19, they have lost six of nine games and five straight entering this weekend's set of back-to-back games against the Bucks and Kings.

    As much as they miss O'Neal's all-around play and Jackson's ability to stretch defenses with his long-range shooting, the Pacers can still survive their absences. If the suspensions stand, O'Neal will return Jan.15 against Orlando, while Jackson would come back Jan. 26 against Boston. The Pacers have a few major factors in their favor: Playing in the East, they can always count on running into Atlanta, Charlotte or Chicago, three of the worst teams in a woeful conference. Plus, over the next five weeks, their schedule is favorable.

    Consider their road schedule for the rest of the month: Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte and the Nets. The home portion is just as soft, with games against Toronto, Philly and New Orleans. Granted, their Christmas rematch with Detroit will be no party.

    But in the first half of January, Indiana gets one more home game against Milwaukee and a road game at New Orleans. The schedule catches up with the Pacers in early January, with a road trip to San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix and Memphis that would be brutal even if they were at full strength. And, just before O'Neal returns, Amare Stoudemire and the vastly improved Suns visit Indy.

    But, barring more injuries, the Pacers should stay afloat before while O'Neal and Jackson serve their suspensions.

    "There's no question that it's tougher to win games without your better players," Carlisle said. "But we know that even if the appeals don't work out, the fight happened only an eighth of the way into our season. So we're still getting two of our guys back for the entire second half of the season. We've just got to hold the fort until they're back. We've just got to get to the point where we get (O'Neal and Jackson) back and be in as strong a position as we can for when the playoffs start.''

    O'Neal has been practicing with the team since last week. Jackson, who was also given a chance to take a few weeks off from practice by Carlisle, is expected back this week. Ron Artest can't practice at all as he serves his season-long suspension.

    "We have some goals we're aiming for,'' Carlisle said. "But we're steadfast about keeping those private.''

    Going deep into the postseason is undoubtedly among the goals. As crippled as the Pacers were by the events of Nov. 19, they will have more than enough time to make it a reality.

    Mailman could ring in San Antonio


    People who know Karl Malone from his Utah days insist he was never going back to the Lakers at the start of 2005. So maybe Kobe Bryant did Malone a favor. Now, Malone has a legitimate excuse not to want to return to L.A.


    "I didn't say he'd be a distraction," said Bryant, after basically saying that waiting for Malone was a distraction. "If I thought he was a distraction, I would have come out and said it."


    Given Kobe's track record, that's highly unlikely. Anyway, with Kobe hanging a "No Vacancy" sign on Staples Center, Malone can now go where he really wants to end up his career: Playing for a chance to win his first title, in San Antonio.


    One person who talked at length with Malone at John Stockton's retirement soiree in Salt Lake City a few weeks back reported that the Mailman confided, "I ain't playing for the Lakers and I ain't playing for Minnesota."


    As long as his knee is fine, and he claims it is, Malone would be perfect for the Spurs, who need another big man. They continue to blow hot and cold with Rasho Nesterovic and consider Malone a better defender, tougher and more coachable than the high-maintenance Malik Rose.


    Slam Dunks



    "We're not going to beat the Bulls' record." That was Rick Sund, Seattle's GM, talking by phone from Seattle this past week. Sure, the Sonics aren't going to go 72-10 this season, but did anybody ever imagine that they'd be 17-3 going into last night's game against Boston? They concluded their astounding first quarter of the season with back-to-back road wins in San Antonio and Dallas. Trouble could be in the offing, though. Guard Ronald Murray is coming back soon from an quadriceps injury, meaning Nate McMillan has to decide whether to give Murray his old job back or continue to stick with the wildly successful three-guard rotation of Ray Allen, Antonio Daniels and Luke Ridnour. Already, there have been internal rumblings from players who know that the shot-happy Murray could alter the Sonics' winning chemistry. If McMillan is smart, he won't touch a thing.


    Yes, Orlando has the talent to go far - in the East - but the big story is that with 11 new faces - if you count Grant Hill and Pat Garrity, who played a combined two games last season - the team has meshed faster than anyone expected. Hill chalks that up to the preseason trip the team took over Labor Day weekend to Las Vegas, as suggested by director of player development Otis Smith. Besides playing in pickup games, the players bonded in bowling tournaments and at lunches and dinners. "I realized then we had chemistry and camaraderie that was not forced," Hill said. "We all enjoyed each other's company. So we had chemistry before we ever picked up a ball in training camp. I haven't been part of a team like this in a long time."


    Bad news for two promising point guards: While the Clippers are saying that prize rookie Shaun Livingston is out a few months with a dislocated kneecap, we hear he's probably done for the season. Meanwhile, a few high-level suits in the Bucks organization fear that T.J. Ford may never come back from spinal surgery.

    Originally published on December 11, 2004

  • #2
    Re: Pacers article out of NY

    Bad news for two promising point guards: While the Clippers are saying that prize rookie Shaun Livingston is out a few months with a dislocated kneecap, we hear he's probably done for the season. Meanwhile, a few high-level suits in the Bucks organization fear that T.J. Ford may never come back from spinal surgery.
    Those are serious downers for both teams, and obviously both players.

    TJ is such an exciting player to watch - I hope for his sake, and the Bucks that he can get back...because that team just isn't the same without him.

    And as for Ronnie...I think that's absurd he can't even practice.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Pacers article out of NY

      Originally posted by Unclebuck
      While the Clippers are saying that prize rookie Shaun Livingston is out a few months with a dislocated kneecap...
      What a wimp. A kneecap? The guy obviously doesn't know how to play with pain. He's a nice player, but he just doesn't have the mental ability to play in spite of injuries. Croshere would have played right through it.

      Oh wait, Livingston? He plays for a team that's not the Pacers, so it's ok. The only guy that should be playing on a bad knee is Jon Bender.

      This space for rent.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Pacers article out of NY

        Originally posted by Anthem
        What a wimp. A kneecap? The guy obviously doesn't know how to play with pain. He's a nice player, but he just doesn't have the mental ability to play in spite of injuries. Croshere would have played right through it.

        Oh wait, Livingston? He plays for a team that's not the Pacers, so it's ok. The only guy that should be playing on a bad knee is Jon Bender.


        That was funny

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Pacers article out of NY

          Originally posted by Anthem
          What a wimp. A kneecap? The guy obviously doesn't know how to play with pain. He's a nice player, but he just doesn't have the mental ability to play in spite of injuries. Croshere would have played right through it.

          Oh wait, Livingston? He plays for a team that's not the Pacers, so it's ok. The only guy that should be playing on a bad knee is Jon Bender.

          Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Pacers article out of NY

            Remember Livingston is the kid who couldn't even bench 185 lbs. once during workouts pre-draft. That's very sad.

            He needed to go to college. Sad he didn't.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Pacers article out of NY

              Originally posted by Stryder
              Remember Livingston is the kid who couldn't even bench 185 lbs. once during workouts pre-draft. That's very sad.

              He needed to go to college. Sad he didn't.
              Why did he need to go to college? Right now he's collecting a paycheck and he has the best doctors in the world looking after him. Please explain how he'd have been better off in college.
              This space for rent.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Pacers article out of NY

                Originally posted by Anthem
                Why did he need to go to college? Right now he's collecting a paycheck and he has the best doctors in the world looking after him. Please explain how he'd have been better off in college.
                He needs to physically mature. The kid is not ready to play in the professional game. And more than likely he needs to mature mentally and emotionally...but I don't know the kid, so I can't really say for sure.

                Seriously, just because someone has the ability to score a bucket every couple of games at the pro level, it does not mean he should be there...

                IMO, he would have been better off with a couple of years at the college level.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pacers article out of NY

                  Originally posted by btowncolt
                  He gets the opportunity to do all this in World Class facilities making 3 or 4 million a year now. I can't disagree with his decision.
                  I can't disagree with it either, but I still wish some of these players would make the decision to go to college...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Pacers article out of NY

                    Originally posted by Stryder
                    I can't disagree with it either, but I still wish some of these players would make the decision to go to college...
                    How about a farm league??? Forget college, let people go who want an education. If you have the talent to play ball but aren't ready then the N.B.D.L. should be for you. Come to think of it the N.B.D.L. is for Bender as well.


                    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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