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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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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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 hire Disney to upgrade service

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  • Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

    http://www.ibj.com/pacers-hire-disne.../article/44738

    Pacers hire Disney to help upgrade service



    The Indiana Pacers are turning to a Mickey Mouse operation in an attempt to make all Bankers Life Fieldhouse visitors’ dreams come true.

    In this case, Mickey Mouse connotes world-class, not rinky-dink.

    The Pacers recently entered a long-term contract with Orlando-based Walt Disney Co.’s Disney Institute, to polish customer service from top to bottom.>>

    The eyes of team executives from across the National Basketball Association will be watching to see if this deal pays off. The NBA is pushing for a league-wide relationship with Disney, but several other teams are taking a wait-and-see approach.

    Pacers executives didn’t hesitate to partner with the company known for its excellent customer service, extreme cleanliness and attention to the smallest details at its theme parks.

    “We think there’s a lot we can learn from a company like Disney,” said Rick Fuson, Pacers chief operating officer and executive director of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “We want our customers to think we go beyond whatever they imagined we’d do in fulfilling their needs and wishes.”

    That means examining every component of a visitor’s experience>>

    There isn’t one aspect of this organization this program won’t affect—from the box office to ticket takers, food service, ushers and security,” Fuson said.

    Although he wouldn’t say how much the initiative is costing the Pacers, sources familiar with the Disney Institute’s work said an extensive deal will cost a client about $100,000 annually. Though this move is being promoted by the league, the teams will be responsible for covering their own costs with Disney.

    “It’s a significant investment in terms of the staff, time, dedication and from the financial perspective,” Fuson said. “We think the final result will be well worth the cost.”

    Disney officials say its customer service methods are proven.

    “We have evidence first from the sustained success of Disney, but also from a number of clients, their testimonials and case studies,” said Disney Institute Programming Director Bruce Jones. “Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction goes up with our system. That leads to better employee retention and repeat business and that reverberates to the bottom line.”

    Indianapolis sports marketer David Morton has little doubt the relationship will pay dividends for the Pacers.

    “Disney is revered with regard to customer relations,” said Morton, president of Sunrise Sports Group. “Disney takes money out of your pocket nicer than anyone else. An approach like theirs can only help a company’s bottom line.”

    Disney had so many requests for customer service and operations advice that, in 1986, it formed Disney Institute as a separate consulting operation.

    While Disney has worked with a wide range of business interests, from manufacturing to health care, it started working with sports operations only in the last three to four years. One factor motivating sports companies to finely tune customer service is that more fans are staying home to watch games on TV.

    In 2010, Disney made one of its first major forays into sports, working with the organizers of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa.

    That same year, Disney signed a deal with the Orlando Magic and, in 2012, with the Brooklyn Nets. The NFL hired Disney to work with its customer-service employees at the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis after its disastrous 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, where hundreds of fans missed the game because temporary seat construction was deemed unsafe and weather issues closed stadium entrances.>>

    NBA officials were so impressed by Disney’s sports-related work that they called team leaders to Orlando this fall to discuss a league-wide initiative.

    Following the Pacers’ lead, the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs jumped in, as the Magic and Nets continue their Disney training.

    Part of the motivation for the program, NBA officials said, is to make the league known for consistently excellent service across all markets.

    Already, Fuson and Pacers Director of Customer Loyalty Sasha Williams have reported to Disney’s Orlando headquarters for three days of training. Within 30 to 45 days, Disney Institute officials will descend on Bankers Life Fieldhouse to train Pacers Sports & Entertainment employees from top to bottom, Fuson said, including contracted service providers. Disney officials will return throughout the year to continue training.

    “We’ve got good buy-in from our employees and contractors,” he said. “This is a building-wide initiative that will impact not only Pacers and Fever games, but everything else from concerts to ice shows, big events to small ones that we host here.”

    Danny O’Malia, a former grocery store executive who now runs an Indianapolis customer service consultancy, thinks the partnership with Disney is “brilliant.”

    “The Pacers have already done a lot in recent years to improve their customer service, and I think this is something that can really set them apart in the market,” said O’Malia, who is a Pacers season-ticket holder. “I think the Pacers have learned the hard way it’s not always just about winning and losing.”

    Some of Disney’s basic tenets include treating visitors as guests; being not only helpful, but gracious; and making events not only pleasurable, but memorable. But Disney officials stress that a certain local flavor to service is equally important.

    Disney will train PS&E managers how to treat and reward their employees, in order to reinforce consistent positive behavior toward visitors. The customer service initiative will include a program that allows visitors to recognize workers for excellent service, Fuson said.

    “We’re not prescriptive in that we tell people what to do,” Disney’s Jones said. “We don’t offer a 10-step process or a manual. We share the Disney approach and help [clients] think about what that might look like applied in their organization. We help them define the ideal employee behavior and customer experience and help them align their culture to achieve those things.”•>>

    >>

  • #2
    Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

    I think this would've been a more interesting experiment when the team wasn't on the rise. If the product is either incredible or incredibly cheap, people will often compromise on customer service. Have you ever tried to get help at Wal-Mart?

    On the bright side, this could be a way to fine tune a well oiled machine, to ensure excellence from the product on the floor to the experience in the concourse. For $100k I think its a great move and its not bad for PR either.
    Check out my autographed 1972-73 Topps basketball project

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

      I can't think of a better company to try to emulate in terms of customer service than Disney. Disney Parks are stupid clean, everyone's friendly and very helpful.

      Then again, I thought the CS was perfectly fine everytime I've been to BLF the last few years, I don't know how necessary this really is.


      This is both sides of my brain working against each other. I don't really know what to think about this right now.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

        This can only be good. Disney World, for example, is amazingly well run and staffed.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

          I hope they do more than just train people. I've always felt the people I deal with at BLF and PS&E are already the best part of the organization. What I'd really like to see is for the Disney CS team to come in and actually audit the different customer experiences and suggest improvements (or review improvements already suggested by attendees).
          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


          • #6
            Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

            Originally posted by Deadshot View Post
            I think this would've been a more interesting experiment when the team wasn't on the rise. If the product is either incredible or incredibly cheap, people will often compromise on customer service. Have you ever tried to get help at Wal-Mart?

            On the bright side, this could be a way to fine tune a well oiled machine, to ensure excellence from the product on the floor to the experience in the concourse. For $100k I think its a great move and its not bad for PR either.
            I think the latter is probably more likely the case. It seems to me that the Pacers are prepping themselves for the increased exposure and rise in attendance at BLF games. It's great that attendance is up for Pacers games but now they want to ensure that everyone has a great experience at the games so that they leave thinking about the next time they can come back and experience that again.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

              Honestly, all I need is a second ketchup station at the food stands.
              You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

                Originally posted by BillS View Post
                I hope they do more than just train people. I've always felt the people I deal with at BLF and PS&E are already the best part of the organization. What I'd really like to see is for the Disney CS team to come in and actually audit the different customer experiences and suggest improvements (or review improvements already suggested by attendees).
                Exactly.

                If they audit the customer experiences, in my opinion they would need to emphasize doing as much as possible to make the in arena experience something that cannot be duplicated at home. This should go beyond simply being in a building with an average of 14,000 of your closest friends (regardless of what team they happen to root for) with the primary non-game entertainment being presented during times that many people leave their seats to get concessions or go to the bathroom - halftime and the other quarter breaks - coupled with goofy competitions or Pacemate performances at timeouts.

                I am not certain what that might be, but if anybody could create something it would be Disney.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

                  $100,000 sounds really cheap for this service, don't you think?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

                    I couldn't agree with you more. I've been able to get to a few games since I live in Chicago but when I get tickets they are always friendly. I have to say I was more impressed when they called me to buy playoff tickets. That really sets the tone.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Pacers hire Disney to upgrade service

                      When you are considering customer service shifts you are talking about generating a magical experience. One of the number one problems Disney Parks had was that the visitors wanted to see Mickey. But you can't just throw 15 guys in a Mickey suit, just like a mall can't have two Santa stations. So how do they remedy the problem. By having a Mickey Parade. Seeing Mickey became an magical experience far greater than taking a picture with him next to a fountain.

                      This move, I am willing to bet, is more about making the Pacer experience magical to not just the avid fan like you and me. But for the casual fan. If families are dumping $140+ for this experience. You better make it worth their time. If not they'll just go to a Colts game. Or a Butler game. Or save and save and save and go to the magical kingdom of Disney Land.

                      Comment

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