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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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Latest Insider Article

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  • Latest Insider Article

    http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns...had&id=2029408

    Reggie plays redemption song for PacersBy Chad Ford, ESPN Insider
    Chad Ford Archive

    INDIANAPOLIS – Ten years from now, you're going to tell your kids, maybe your grandkids, about how Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers helped save the NBA.

    You'll tell them how the Pacers persevered through one of the ugliest incidents in the history of the league.

    You'll tell them how the Pacers battled through suspensions, injuries and hopelessness without excuses.

    You'll tell them how a 39-year-old jump shooter, years past his prime and in the last season of his career, found within himself not only the courage to compete, but the resolve to inspire the few healthy remaining teammates he had to do the same.

    Someday, you'll talk about the improbability of it all.

    You'll recall how the Pacers started 17 different players, some of whom barely belonged in the CBA, let alone the NBA.

    You'll relate how they had 20 different players in uniform and 28 different starting lineups.

    They began the season with the credentials of a contender. After the Nov. 19 brawl with the Detroit Pistons and the Palace of Auburn Hills patrons, the Pacers had the résumé of a lottery team.

    Through it all, they had the heart of a champion.

    That's high praise for a team that's won just 38 games and still isn't assured that it'll be in the playoffs.

    After the scorn and ridicule. After being written off when suspensions and injuries ravaged their roster – the Pacers have turned from exiles to the exalted.

    In the course of six months, the Pacers have evolved from the terrible story that everyone was shouting about into the best story few are discussing.

    "Anything that can happen to a pro team has happened to us in a major way this year," Jermaine O'Neal said. "But no one is talking about what this team is doing. No one is taking about what this team has done. It's so easy to talk about what hasn't gone right. But, take your top three players and take half of the season away and can they compete? They can't.

    "We have heart. It overshadows everything. It overshadows talent. It overshadows adversity. We may be wounded inside and out. But no one will ever be able to question our hearts."

    The Pacers' stout hearts were on display March 31 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers were fighting for their playoff lives against the best team in the league, the Miami Heat.

    Shaquille O'Neal was dominating Scot Pollard down low, finishing the game with 24 points and 13 boards. Dwyane Wade was slithering through a porous Pacers' defense on the way to a 37-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist game. Damon Jones was wreaking havoc on the perimeter, going 5-for-5 from 3-point range and 10-for-13 overall from the field on the way to a 27-point night.

    The Pacers were outmatched throughout the whole game. With no interior scoring (just 22 of their 114 points came in the paint) and their three best players out of the lineup, there were at least five separate occasions when a Pacers' victory seemed inconceivable.

    But every time the Heat threatened to pull away, Miller would come off a series of picks and launch an off-balance jumper that would swish through the basket.

    With the Pacers down three with just 10 seconds remaining, everyone in the building knew who was getting the ball. With the crowd chanting "Reg-gie! Reg-gie", the Pacers set up an elaborate set of picks to get Miller free. The Heat were so concerned with Miller that they left Stephen Jackson wide open at the top of the key. Jackson swished a jumper at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

    After the Pacers fell behind by four in overtime, Miller took over again, scoring eight points in a 12-point run to put the game away. Miller ended the game with 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting.

    That was not too shabby for a 39-year-old who claims he's retiring at season's end.

    As the seconds evaporated in yet another improbable victory, the crowd chanted "One more year! One more year!"

    After the game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle found the right words to describe it all.

    "Don't underestimate greatness," Carlisle said of Miller. "Tonight was a performance for the ages. … What he's doing right now is what legends are made of, without question."

    Miller was a tad more humble.

    "Just winning ball games, that's what it's all about, " said Miller as he deflected questions about his retirement and his role on the team.

    On every step of the Pacers' journey toward redemption, it's been Miller who's led the way.

    As good as he's been in the past – think about the 25 points he scored in the fourth quarter against the Knicks in 1994 or the eight points in eight seconds against the Knicks in 1995 – what Miller is doing now is even more remarkable.

    In March, Miller averaged 19 ppg – a mark he hasn't achieved since the 1997-98 season. He stepped up huge when his team needed him the most, providing a 39-point performance against the Lakers and a 36-point night against the Trail Blazers.

    He's taken an entire team on his skinny, aching back and is carrying it to the finish line – both on and off the court

    The Pacers can't exactly say that they saw it coming.

    "You could see that Reggie still had something left in spots," Pacers CEO and president Donnie Walsh said. "But no, I don't think any us really knew. Since Jermaine and Ron Artest came, the offense was really set up for them. Reggie was fine deferring to the younger players all the time."

    But with both O'Neal and Artest out, Carlisle went back into the archives and dusted off an old offense from 10 years ago, when Reggie was the primary scorer on the team.

    The results have even Larry Bird gushing.

    "Reggie's just been remarkable. This is how great players respond to adversity," said the president of basketball operations. "It's how great players want to go out … shooting."

    But it's been Miller's heroics off the court that have made the biggest difference to the Pacers.

    "I've gained more respect for Reggie Miller as a truly great player and a great leader who is willing to lead by example," Carlisle said.

    "He doesn't say much, contrary to what people may believe about him and his personality. But he has an enormous impact on the resolve of the team. If you want a reason why this team hasn't given up, I don't think you need to look any further than Reggie."

    His teammates agree.

    "Reggie Miller has been the key," O'Neal said. "Reggie is energetic, like he's 20 years old. Having a great leader like Reggie, he's never gotten down. He's still fighting. It's inspired every one of us."

    The Pistons-Pacers' brawl was supposed to change the game. Damage the reputation of the league. And end the Pacers' season.

    None of that has happened. Reggie wouldn't let it happen.

    Hours after the Nov. 19 brawl, Carlisle addressed his team on the plane.

    "I said I knew that some bad things were going to happen to this team because of what happened," Carlisle remembers.

    "I knew there were going to be big suspensions. But I promised the guys that we'd become a better team because of it. That this would bring our team closer together."

    Carlisle's prediction on both points proved to be uncanny. The suspensions were unprecedented. Artest was suspended for the season. Jackson got 30 games. O'Neal was lost for 15 games.

    If that wasn't bad enough, the Pacers injury situation has been unbelievable. Starting point guard Jamaal Tinsley's been out 31 games because of injuries. Jonathan Bender has missed 64 games. Starting center Jeff Foster has missed 21 games. Backup center Scot Pollard has been out 32. Miller has missed 16 games. O'Neal has missed another 15 games because of injury.

    Yet, through it all the Pacers have matured from a bickering team at the start of the season into a close-knit group, pulling for the same goal.

    "Trial and tribulation make you stronger," O'Neal said. "The best thing about this team is that we've never given up. It was so easy for us to sit back and say this is not our year. But not one time have we not talked about making the playoffs and competing for a championship. No one has ever stopped talking about it."

    That's been deliberate, according to Carlisle and O'Neal.

    "No matter what we said, it wasn't going to change anything," O'Neal said. "So we had to come to together as a team and deal with it. In life, there are consequences. Our team has dealt with it. We learned that the way to fix what happened was to go on the court every night, play at high level and win basketball games.

    "We did it for our fans and we did it for ourselves."

    The results have been remarkable. Just two weeks ago, the Pacers' playoff chances looked slim.

    The team was barely hanging on to eighth place and had upcoming games against the playoff-bound San Antonio Spurs, Pistons, Bulls, Heat and Wizards on the schedule. Against all odds, the Pacers have won four of those five and moved up two spots into the sixth seed in the East.

    Barring a last-minute collapse, the Pacers will be in the playoffs – and will scare the heck out of the Heat, Pistons or Boston Celtics in a first round matchup. The Pacers have beaten the Heat three times, beaten the Pistons twice in Detroit, and have won two out of three against the Celtics.

    With O'Neal claiming that his rehab of his injured shoulder is ahead of schedule and that he'll be ready for the playoffs, the Pacers have become the proverbial team no one wants to meet in the first round.

    Even with O'Neal, the Pacers, on paper, don't have the talent to make a team such as the Heat or Pistons sweat. Tinsley likely won't be back. Artest will be watching from home. And their bench looks like the walking wounded.

    But before you write off the Pacers one last time, remember that for them, their journey is personal. Their motivation is love.

    "I know Reggie's going to hate this," O'Neal says, his voice cracking with emotion. "He always tells us that we should do it for ourselves. I just want to do everything I can to make sure he goes out the way he deserves. … with the crowd chanting 'Reg-gie! Reg-gie!' and a trophy held high above his head."

    Whether they actually achieve that goal is irrelevant.

    In a game rife with selfishness and pride, Miller and the Pacers have given NBA fans a reason to believe again in the game, its players and the power of redemption.

  • #2
    Re: Latest Insider Article

    Great article

    If that does not get you fired up for the remaining games and the playoffs, nothing will.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Latest Insider Article

      An awesome article from Chad ford.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Latest Insider Article

        Wow!
        The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Latest Insider Article

          "I know Reggie's going to hate this," O'Neal says, his voice cracking with emotion. "He always tells us that we should do it for ourselves. I just want to do everything I can to make sure he goes out the way he deserves. … with the crowd chanting 'Reg-gie! Reg-gie!' and a trophy held high above his head."
          He diserves it

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Latest Insider Article

            Amen


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

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Latest Insider Article

              That was GREAT! From the first sentence...SUPER ARTICLE! Speaking of super..Do u think Reggie will bring the superman tee out this year?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Latest Insider Article

                Originally posted by NotLosingButWinning
                "Don't underestimate greatness," Carlisle said of Miller.
                That was for u 3ptmiller

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Latest Insider Article

                  No way in HELL Ford wrote that. Kerr is the only guy I could imagine writing that.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Latest Insider Article

                    What a tearjerker!

                    Reggie is awesome. His rookie year, I was still in elementary school and I'm older than Mcgrady and Blowbe. I can't believe what I see everytime he has one of those games where he carreis the team.. Reggie is the man.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Latest Insider Article

                      Originally posted by ABADays
                      Wow!
                      Ditto. That was the first word that came to me as I completed reading the article.

                      I usually don't like Ford's articles. So many times, I just feel as though he is re-hashing what we've already heard or what is obvious. So, I would agree with D4G's sentiment that a guy like Ford is incapable of writing an article like this one.

                      It takes a lot to move me. So my congratulations to Mr. Ford. His article moved me.

                      I only hope that fans throughout the country read this article and feel the same way. Despite adversity to the nth power, we're not just still standing. We're prevailing.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Latest Insider Article

                        Great article! And, PB, that would be sweet if he did. Well, to win a playoff series the Pacers will need a "super" performance....
                        Super Bowl XLI Champions
                        2000 Eastern Conference Champions




                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Latest Insider Article

                          That is one of the best articles I've ever read.

                          I'm saving it on my computer...I will look back on it years from now just to remember what a truly inspiring and emotional season this has been.

                          The Pacers could lose in the first round - hell they could get swept...they could not even MAKE playoffs at this point and I will still look back at this season and think "what a year". True, I've missed my favourite player for the entire season - but these guys have played their hearts out every game...just like Ronnie would do. And that almost makes me put Ronnie's suspension behind me at times.

                          Just an inspiring season. Great, great article.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Latest Insider Article

                            Wow Also! Too bad this is an insider article vs. an article anyone could read on Espn.

                            Water

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Latest Insider Article

                              Hell yes.

                              And Hicks, you MUST put this article on the Reggie Miller site or something.
                              Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

                              Comment

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