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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.

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

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

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

Rule #1

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

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

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

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

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

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #2

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

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

The right places to do so are:

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

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

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

Rule #3

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #4

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

Rule #5

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

An example:

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

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

Rule #6

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

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

Rule #7

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

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

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

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

Rule #8

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

Rule #9

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

Rule #10

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

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

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  • NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

    Read more at http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-teams-...HjXDI4jeFTo.99

    By Stephen Brotherston

    The general consensus is that we will see the Miami HEAT versus the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals again this postseason. The San Antonio Spurs shouldn’t be overlooked and could easily end up being the top seed in the Western Conference yet again so it is almost impossible to not consider them a contender, but there are teams that could be just one addition away from threatening the status quo. The following are the top five teams that are on the cusp of contending.

    1. Los Angeles Clippers

    The Clippers have a deep and formidable lineup led by All-Star point guard Chris Paul and All-Star power forward Blake Griffin. Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups provide experience, toughness and scoring and DeAndre Jordan is as athletic a center as one could hope for. The reserves are led by Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jamal Crawford. Matt Barnes and Eric Bledsoe provide solid backups. This very effective and experienced lineup features just one glaring weakness. They do not have a low post presence that can be effective in a grind-it-out half court playoff series. The Clippers need another big man.

    While the Clippers have been tied to the possibility of acquiring Kevin Garnett from Boston and this move would make the Clippers instant contenders, Garnett has a no-trade clause and says he isn’t moving. A solution will likely have to be found elsewhere. One possibility could be the Timberwolves’ Nikola Pekovic. Minnesota is rumored to be concerned about the cost of re-signing the big man this summer and Pekovic would give the Clippers that half court post presence they are missing.

    2. New York Knicks

    The Knicks, like the Clippers, have two All-Stars in center Tyson Chandler and forward Carmelo Anthony. After six appearances, Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t an All-Star this year and is coming off the bench. They also feature a strong backcourt with Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith are solid reserves and sophomore guard Iman Shumpert could become an important piece if he gets back to 100 percent. The gaping hole in this lineup is on the wing. The Knicks continue to overuse the 39-year-old Kidd and immediately had Shumpert start at small forward after his return from knee surgery.

    There are several options that may be better long-term solutions for New York. The Knicks have been tied to the possibility of acquiring Jared Dudley from the Suns for Shumpert and parts, and although talks appear to have died down, this move would go a long way to solidifying the Knicks’ rotation and eliminating the risk that Shumpert takes until next season to fully recover.

    The Knicks’ lineup is brittle in spots and the team cannot afford to waste a chance at making a Finals run. The very big three of Anthony, Chandler and Stoudemire give the Knicks an imposing frontcourt that barring further injuries doesn’t need much help. However, this team needs to add the best quality wing player they can get their hands on to contend now.

    3. Indiana Pacers

    The Pacers are close. They were almost good enough to contend last year, when they nearly upset a wounded HEAT team in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. This year, the Pacers are another year older and tougher and even with Danny Granger out until after the All-Star break, the Pacers have been very good.

    Forward Paul George is an All-Star for the first time. David West and Roy Hibbert provide a physical frontcourt and George Hill is having a career-year as the starting point guard. Lance Stephenson should be a reserve, but he has been effective as a starter and Ian Mahinmi and Tyler Hansbrough define tough play off the bench. The Pacers are deep, but missing their team leader has both opened up opportunities for George and Stephenson and created optimism for when Granger returns.

    The real question in Indiana is whether Granger is the piece missing from the lineup or is the road to contention via another route. Where Granger is a combo-forward who is best suited to playing small forward, that is the position the team’s freshly minted All-Star thrives at and this team needs a significant upgrade at guard if they are to take the next step. That’s why the Pacers have been linked to several guards who may be on the move, including J.J. Redick of the Magic.

    If may be too soon to get maximum value in trade for Granger as he hasn’t shown anyone what he can do post injury, but Granger is the highest value asset the Pacers could deem as surplus at the moment. Acquiring quality starting guard would immediately put the Pacers in the NBA Finals conversation.

    4. Brooklyn Nets

    The Brooklyn Nets have an $83 million payroll, but this team isn’t scaring anyone who believes they have a shot at the Finals. Center Brook Lopez is an All-Star, but Deron Williams and Joe Johnson both missed out after being All-Stars last year. Gerald Wallace has been a solid defensive forward, but big man Reggie Evans only provides defense and this team often plays like they are one or even two men short at the offensive end of the floor. MarShon Brooks and C.J. Watson provide solid backups at the guard spots, Andray Blatche has been a pleasant surprise at center, but former starter Kris Humphries has been a disappointment as backup power forward. If this team is going to contend, something has to be done to upgrade the scoring potential at one of the forward positions.

    The Nets have been tied to the possibility of acquiring Josh Smith from the Hawks and that move could only be considered as a home run for this organization. Another possibility is the Raptors’ big man Andrea Bargnani, who could provide a solid third or fourth scoring option and is rumored to be readily available. The Nets have a lot of talent, but something is decidedly missing in Brooklyn and Smith or Bargnani are players that could fill the hole and bring this high-priced roster into the contender conversation.

    5. Boston Celtics

    When Rajon Rondo was lost for the season, the Celtics’ postseason hopes were supposed to be crushed. Look again and the Celtics are 8-1 without Rondo. This veteran-laden team should be looking for one more big postseason run rather than blowing things up.

    Kevin Garnett is an All-Star again and not because of name recognition, he is still that good. Paul Pierce continues to lead the Celtics in scoring and has elevated his level of play since Rondo went down. The trio of Avery Bradley, Jason Terry and Courtney Lee give the Celtics a solid defensive backcourt that can move the ball and create on offense. Jeff Green has been improving all season and is an effective backup forward. Jason Collins can soak up a few minutes defensively at center, but Brandon Bass has been having an off year as the starting power forward and if the Celtics are going to contend, something has to give.

    The Celtics have been on the wrong end of all the rumors as the vultures started circling immediately after Rondo was injured. It has been widely assumed or even hoped that Boston’s veterans would be moved to bolster other teams’ Finals aspirations. After the injuries to Rondo, Leandro Barbosa and Jared Sullinger, Boston’s trade assets are rather thin, but with the team’s recent success and less than 30 games to season’s end, the Celtics are looking more like contenders than a lottery team. If the Celtics could flip the injured Rondo to a team out of the playoffs for a power forward or a center of comparable or even slightly lesser talent, Boston could contend for the Finals this season. The Celtics were linked to Dwight Howard, but that rumor was shot down by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. They have also expressed interest in Josh Smith, according to reports. Moving Rondo for a talented big may be Boston’s best move.



    The Bulls might be just one player away from contending, but that player is Derrick Rose and there are no moves that the Bulls can make to replace the talent a healthy Rose provides. The best of the rest are either working with lineups constricted by luxury tax concerns like the Grizzlies or are under developmed like the Warriors. No one gives the Nuggets a shot at contention, but head coach George Karl believes once Wilson Chandler gets back to full health his team will take the next step. The Nuggets could be a scary team in the first round this season.
    Last edited by able; 02-19-2013, 05:44 PM. Reason: next time i delete, reference and link, not just link
    Sittin on top of the world!

  • #2
    Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

    If only we felt like Paul George was capable of playing SG....

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

      So tired of the "trade Granger" talk. Do people really think George is only beasting now because he's a small forward? I don't see it that way. I see how he's matured and developed and has a new mindset on the game... he understands it. Moving to shooting guard isn't going to hinder him, I think it'll make him work on his post game more because of the height advantage he'll have over everyone that guards him, unless they stick the SF on him in which case Granger goes to work in the post. I see nothing but good coming out of a healthy Granger being in the lineup. Granger is a mature smart guy, he's not going to come back and demand to be "the man", IMO.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

        Honestly, I think the Clippers and Pacers are both contenders as it stands right now. They're both top 5 teams in my estimation -- I'm not buying the Knicks.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

          Moving George to SG, or should we really just say labeling him as a SG, will not change anything at all. It will not change how he prepares for the game or how he plays on the court.

          To make matters simple, why don't we just call George the SF and call Granger the SG? It will appease George's need to be the SF in order to play his best, and it will enable both players to exist on the floor together. But...both players will perform exactly the same functions as they did before Granger's injury. The only difference is that George will continue to approach the game more confidently and aggressively than he did the last time the two played together.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

            If Dunleavy can have a great year playing "SG" I'm not worried either granger or George being a "SG"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

              I totally agree, with who@ whomever says another wanna-be writer from a crap site.

              But yeah let's trade for a highs scoring wing, we desperately need one to get us over the top, why not trade our leading scorer for the past 5 years to get another scorer, it seems to make sooo much sense.
              So Long And Thanks For All The Fish.

              If you've done 6 impossible things today?
              Then why not have Breakfast at Milliways!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

                The confusion of playing Paul George offensively at the Guard position is similar to this Russel Westbrrook's image:

                http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3prd3n/

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

                  Originally posted by immortality View Post
                  The confusion of playing Paul George offensively at the Guard position is similar to this Russel Westbrrook's image:

                  http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3prd3n/
                  LOL!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: NBA Teams One Player Away From Contending

                    Has anyone seen Btown in years? If not, I'll add this to the Westbrook picture:

                    I like point guards that can point.
                    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                    And life itself, rushing over me
                    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                    Comment

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