Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

Ditching Cable/Satellite?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Ditching Cable/Satellite?

    So the price of TV has gotten to be kind of ridiculous. I have Directv, and I do love it. It is a great product and I really can't complain about the service. I find it far superior to Comcast which I had while at school. But as the promotions run out, the price has become too much. Its freaking TV! I grew up without cable and turned out fine (depending on who you ask at least).

    So I've been doing my research on going back to the rabbit ears. I hadn't realized that getting OTA HD will actually be a higher quality than what you get with cable/satellite due to the compression. It makes sense, I just never thought about it and have been happy with the quality of my Directv. Most of the shows I do watch are on the major networks. And I'm not too far away from the towers so my signal should be pretty strong.

    I also hadn't realized that Tivo works with an antenna. I wasn't sure I would be able to give up my DVR, but for $15 a month (which is the same as my DVR fee) and the price of the Tivo ($150ish) you get to have a DVR. And you can connect it to the internet for stuff like netflix, hulu plus, youtube and so on.

    And with the rise of internet streaming, like hulu plus ($8 per month), I wonder if I really even need Tivo. It seems like it would be more of a convenience product than anything. I can get any show I want online usually within the next day. Also, espn3 makes things much better for watching sports I would miss out on. Also it works on Xbox Live (as does Hulu Plus) so no need to hook the computer up to the TV. I would love to see League Pass come to Xbox Live like mlb.tv has done.

    So I think I'm just gonna upgrade my internet so I can stream HD with no hiccups and have a higher data cap (thats a whole other topic that makes my blood boil) and ditch the TV provider. It will save me about $1000 per year.

    Has anyone here on PD done this? Anyone else thinking about it? I know for a lot of you it means no Pacers games due to black out restrictions which sucks. But I live no where near any of my favorite teams so I guess thats the one good thing about that.


  • #2
    Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

    I've thought about doing it but the Internet by itself is normally way more expensive than if you get a package deal. Would only save like 20/month in my situation.
    Play Mafia!
    Twitter

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

      I haven't. I've been looking for an excuse to ditch Comcast for awhile now. I mean, $150 for internet and tv? I don't even get HBO or any of those pay channels. I do have HD, but that's just $10 extra. Most channels are total crap and I only watch about 20 total.

      It's just way too much. Ever so often, I will call to say I'm cancelling and they'll give me a deal...but only for the next 6 months. Then I have to do it all over again. Why should it have to take me to threaten cancellation to get a good rate? Just so stupid.

      Netflix isn't the end all answer I thought it would be cause their streaming service isn't very good. Almost no new titles availables and they even remove titles from streaming instead of just adding. I don't want to do the DVD + Streaming. The max I could get is 3 DVDs a week, but it's more like 1 a week. Fark idiots that love getting DVDs.

      Does anyone know of a good combo to get? Maybe Netflix, Hulu & Amazon (Prime I think)?
      First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

        Originally posted by Pig Nash View Post
        I've thought about doing it but the Internet by itself is normally way more expensive than if you get a package deal. Would only save like 20/month in my situation.
        That's kinda what I thought. I think if you just do internet with Comcast, after your pomo price ends, it's like $80/mo by itself.
        First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

          Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
          That's kinda what I thought. I think if you just do internet with Comcast, after your pomo price ends, it's like $80/mo by itself.
          Closer to $65 a month (at least if you own your own cable modem instead of renting).

          I found it was actually cheaper for me to go to the Directv Choice Ultimate package and a Netflix subscription than for me to go with the Choice Plus package and a Starz sub (since you get the Encore half with Choice Ultimate anyway)
          "Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

          "And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

            The stupid blackout rule on NBA league Pass has made this a much harder transition for me when I've considered doing it. I wish I could watch the Pacers games just by paying for league Pass broadband, but they blackout the Indiana market.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

              You should be able to click on the link below and find out what stations you can reasonably expect to get if you go with an outdoor antenna.

              I've done both cable and an outdoor antenna for years. Been watching OTA HD content since 2001. If you're able go for an outdoor antenna as it will give you the best chance of picking up the stations. You say you're close the towers so you might be able to pick up everything you want with something indoors.

              My preference is anything by Channel Master since I've really had good luck with their products....

              Bottom line.... yeah start with some cheap cheap rabbit ears and go from there if you're not getting the channels you should.

              http://www.antennaweb.org/default.aspx
              You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                I see everyone mentions Netflix or Hulu, but don't forget about Crackle. Yeah I know they have comercials but since it's free and not edited it's hard to complain. I love concerts so MoshCam is another great free site to check out too.

                http://www.crackle.com/

                And here's the link to Moshcam http://www.moshcam.com/
                Last edited by RWB; 04-06-2012, 11:19 AM.
                You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                  I've got nothing to add but to say that I agree that both cable and satellite TV prices have ventured into the realm of ridiculous. I just wonder how long they can sustain those prices in this economy? And they are doing it with competition... Anyone basically can get Dish or Directv. And then there's regular cable providers available to large numbers of people... and things like ATT Uverse too. And then there's alternate viewing options like OTA, internet, and DVD's. I'd hate to see prices if there wasn't competition I guess....
                  Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                  ------

                  "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                  -John Wooden

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                    I'm on fiber optic with MetroNet, and they sent me a letter weeks ago stating that their prices would also being going up.

                    The reason it happens across the board is the television companies keep upping THEIR prices TO the providers, and it pressures them to pass that onto customers to keep the ship afloat (or at least the profit margins afloat at a level they're comfortable with). It's happening to everyone.

                    I tend to blame the TV networks/companies for this. They keep raising their rates because at least up until this point, they know we'll mostly keep paying for it.

                    My hope is that Internet revenues climb enough (via sponsors) that more and more TV companies will just bypass Satellite/Cable/Fiberoptic and just provide it straight through the Internet.

                    The side effect will probably be the cost of our broadband Internet going up, but the hope is it's still cheaper to pay just for your ISP and at least your 'TV' content will be a la carte once it's online. I'm thinking a live, streaming, HD-quality feed of a channel (like NBC, or Comedy Central, or CNN or whatever else) that you pay to be able to view on a monthly basis. Plus on-demand archives of shows like we somewhat already have now.

                    The trick is making the money work for everybody. Cheap enough that viewers aren't paying more than they already are for TV providers, profitable enough for the companies.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I love directv. A bit pricey, yes.


                      Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk
                      Senior at the University of Louisville.
                      Greenfield ---> The Ville

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                        I've looked into it. With sports it makes it nearly impossible. Until the day it is opened up more on the internet, there is no way I can do it right now. I would love to, but just way too much of a hassle.

                        I'm waiting for the day Google TV or Apple TV really take it serious and add more channels.


                        @Pacers24Colts12

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                          I'm payin for FOUR tv's with 1 dvr. Also telephone and fax lines along with unlimitied US longdistance (why? I have a cellphone) and VOI (never used). The only reason I keep Uverse is ...I dunno why. Big Ten Network I guess, although I rarely watch it. THe little tv I DO watch I could get off of the local channels....so why DO I continue???


                          Perhaps after the elections.
                          Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                            We canceled our cable 3 months ago.

                            I hate missing some of my TV shows, but short of sports I have found it cheaper to purchase shows a la carte.

                            Of course, my fiance argues she likes just being able to flip the tv on randomly at times, but we do have netflix to help with that if she just wants to sit and watch the tube for a couple of minutes

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Ditching Cable/Satellite?

                              Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                              I'm on fiber optic with MetroNet, and they sent me a letter weeks ago stating that their prices would also being going up.

                              The reason it happens across the board is the television companies keep upping THEIR prices TO the providers, and it pressures them to pass that onto customers to keep the ship afloat (or at least the profit margins afloat at a level they're comfortable with). It's happening to everyone.

                              I tend to blame the TV networks/companies for this. They keep raising their rates because at least up until this point, they know we'll mostly keep paying for it.

                              My hope is that Internet revenues climb enough (via sponsors) that more and more TV companies will just bypass Satellite/Cable/Fiberoptic and just provide it straight through the Internet.

                              The side effect will probably be the cost of our broadband Internet going up, but the hope is it's still cheaper to pay just for your ISP and at least your 'TV' content will be a la carte once it's online. I'm thinking a live, streaming, HD-quality feed of a channel (like NBC, or Comedy Central, or CNN or whatever else) that you pay to be able to view on a monthly basis. Plus on-demand archives of shows like we somewhat already have now.

                              The trick is making the money work for everybody. Cheap enough that viewers aren't paying more than they already are for TV providers, profitable enough for the companies.
                              This is what I hope for and imagine happening sooner than later. ESPN is already doing it. You just have to have Timer Warner/Verizon/Brighthouse to get full access to watchespn.com

                              The biggest thing about money is that ads on internet streams is just not comparable to TV right now.

                              Sports are the biggest drawback to this plan, as I would miss out on TNT/NBAtv games. ESPN puts theirs on espn3 so you can watch them. League Pass is also pretty reasonable for a broadband pass. I thought I would miss the big ten network too, but the only time i watch it is for PSU games, pretty much only football games too, and the majority are on ESPN3. And with the ways of the internet I can find any sporting event I want, its just gonna be lower quality.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X