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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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Sassan's thank you to Reggie

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  • #31
    Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

    Originally posted by grace
    You bet he would.

    If the mods move or delete his posts it's just going to make him mad and he'll say he's being picked on again. Things will degenerate until he gets a warning which he will inevitably ignore to the point where he gets banned AGAIN. Which will lead him back to RATS where he will about how bad we all are. I for one don't want to ride that merry-go-round again.
    You're right, it is like a merry-go-round. We start a one place, make a complete cycle of different phases, and end up at the same place we started.
    House Name: Pacers

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    House Words: "We Kneel To No King"

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    • #32
      Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

      Maybe you should activate the "poster attitude adjustment" feature.
      You know, the one that gives you an electrical shock through your keyboard
      when the poster becomes offensive. : )
      {o,o}
      |)__)
      -"-"-

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

        Since this has turned into a bring back Sassan discussion, I'll throw my two cents in.

        If I never read another post from him, or as it seems these days, folks posting stuff for him , I will be an extremely happy guy. I don't like his posts. I don't like how dissmissive he is of other's opinions and I don't like his lack of respect for others. From what I know of him, I plain old don't like him. He almost single-handedly disrupted the old other forum. I can count on one hand the posters over the years who grate on my nerves to the point that they make reading a forum an unpleasant experience, and he's in the top three easily.

        Yeah, I know I can just put him on "ignore", but invariably, he'll be quoted and I won't be able to avoid him. Am I being petulant? Maybe, but if I never hear the name Sassan again, it'll be too soon.
        Hey! What're you kicking me for? You want me to ask? All right, I'll ask! Ma'am, where do the high school girls hang out in this town?

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

          My two cents:


          It's up to Hicks, it's his board. Whatever he decides, I can and will respect that.

          I've been personally offended by some of Sassan's comments, and I think I'm in the majority of posters on that one. I've also enjoyed reading his posts and looking at his pictures.

          Now, do I want him back because he's a nice guy, and a decent poster, and because I want good to triumph and all to be right in Pacer Nation (the fictional place, not the user) or do I want him back for my own selfish, greedy reasons of wanting a little more insight or insider's presence?

          That is the question we should be asking.

          Do we want him back for HIM or for US?

          I was about to type a sentence that said, "You know he'll flame out and get banned again sooner or later", but I think that is being unfair. I don't know anything.

          If it was up to me, I'd give him another (LAST) shot. If he messes up again, go Myles Brand on his a$$......



          RESIDENT COUNTING THREAD PHILOSOPHIZER

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          • #35
            Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

            I don't think any of us has a grudge or personal vendetta against Sassan, see btown's post above. Shade IMs with him, Hicks did at one point as well IIRC. I don't recall ever having any personal problems with the guy on my end either.

            By all accounts, people who have either a. met him in person or b. talk to him through IM are of the opinion that he's a nice guy and he means well but sometimes goes over the line and he knows that, but it's not really what he's about, etc. Essentially, I get the impression that he's a good guy. That's cool, I don't have any reason to dispute that. However, his ability to interact with others in a respectful fashion and to exercise some personal restraint when faced with differing opinions seems to go out the window when he's on a message board. That's the issue, not that someone doesn't like him, or doesn't like Ron or whatever.

            If he could avoid being such a divisive and disruptive force and show some respect for other people and their opinions (which is a two-way street btw) I don't think he'd have any problem avoiding a ban around here. Re: lifting the ban: Has it been discussed? yeah. Will it be discussed again? I'm sure it will. Will Sassan be back? probably, at some point..

            Trying to get back in through trickery or by using other people's logins is probably not helping your case very much. It's more than a bit irritating and doesn't really endear you to whoever has to go 'fix' it. It's not personal thing at all. Hell, come up to the Bay Area for the Pacers game next year and we'll have a couple of beers at the game or elsewhere. I've got no personal issues with you.
            Mickael Pietrus Le site officiel

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            • #36
              Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

              Re-instate Sassan!

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                Originally posted by indygeezer
                Ya know, reading that thread has given me some pause to think again.

                He probably wouldn't like me at all because I grew up in small town Indiana and just represent my family. It's who I am, afterall I grew up as a poor backwoods farmer and I gotta represent....
                I read it too - and I believe I lost at least 10 IQ points.

                Never mind what I said about letting him back in. Count me as completely neutral since I won't bother reading his posts anyway ...
                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

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                • #38
                  Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                  As much as I think he's a nice guy......

                  We've given Sassan 15 chances already. If we let him back, he's just going to get himself banned again. Go ahead and give him another shot, but its just going to be the same result.

                  Did you read the crap he says about us on RATS?

                  It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                  Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                  Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                  NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

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                  • #39
                    Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                    How many chances has he been given already?

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                      Let Sassan back he is a Pacers fan after all.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                        so...this is the spoiled little rich kid that has been arguing with me over on RATS about SJax keeping it real?!?!? I know I don't post here often, or for very long, but before I had ever been to this site, I knew that Sassan was the biggest troublemaker on this board.

                        If I saw something about PD, I saw something about Sassan, and it was never anything good.

                        FWIW, I think this is the kid from the Richard Pryor movie "The Toy". He needs to NOT get what he wants for once in his life, and to realize that the world does not revolve around him and his ever-changing moods.

                        It's not my board, but if we are voting, I'm voting no. The "keeping it real" thread told me all I need to know about this kid, and that is that his view of the world is demented at best. If you let him back...it's the same as it ever was, only worse, because once again, the kid has manipulated you into doing what he wants you to do.

                        I'm beside myself that I even got into a discussion with this spoiled brat regarding what it's like to grow up in hard times. He hasn't seen a hard day's work in his life.
                        Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
                        - Margaret Mead

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                        • #42
                          Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                          Originally posted by TripleThreat
                          so...this is the spoiled little rich kid that has been arguing with me over on RATS about SJax keeping it real?!?!? I know I don't post here often, or for very long, but before I had ever been to this site, I knew that Sassan was the biggest troublemaker on this board.

                          If I saw something about PD, I saw something about Sassan, and it was never anything good.

                          FWIW, I think this is the kid from the Richard Pryor movie "The Toy". He needs to NOT get what he wants for once in his life, and to realize that the world does not revolve around him and his ever-changing moods.

                          It's not my board, but if we are voting, I'm voting no. The "keeping it real" thread told me all I need to know about this kid, and that is that his view of the world is demented at best. If you let him back...it's the same as it ever was, only worse, because once again, the kid has manipulated you into doing what he wants you to do.

                          I'm beside myself that I even got into a discussion with this spoiled brat regarding what it's like to grow up in hard times. He hasn't seen a hard day's work in his life.
                          No disrespect to you 3threat, but how can u say he's a spoiled kid that has never had a hard day's work? Do u know him personally? Are you his lifetime neighbor and u know this for a fact? I find what you said to be biased and judgemental based on your brief first impression opinion of him. You dont know him, his family, or what kind of life he has lived. You dont know where he is from or where his family is from or anything about what his family is currently going thru. You may assume things based on the fact that he is young and travels to Pacers games but what you dont know is that he works hard as a mortgage officer and he works in the import/export business. He earns his money just like you and I.

                          Frankly, I like Sasson as a person and I think he is the ultimate Pacers fan, but I could care less if he is allowed back here, It's not my decision, it's not my board, and it's just a message board. Again 3threat, no disrespect to you or anyone else. I'm just here to talk Pacers, not who is allowed in the treehouse.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                            Wasn't Sassan supposed to launch his own site? I know he registered reggiemillerlegacy.com but I don't think anything is up there at the moment.

                            And has he even asked to be reinstated to this forum?

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                              Originally posted by Harmonica
                              How many chances has he been given already?
                              Off the top of my head I'd say at least 4.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Sassan's thank you to Reggie

                                Originally posted by efx
                                Wasn't Sassan supposed to launch his own site? I know he registered reggiemillerlegacy.com but I don't think anything is up there at the moment.

                                And has he even asked to be reinstated to this forum?
                                I'm amazed that he'd want to be allowed to come back, since he BASHES this forum at every opportunity.....

                                and yes, he is supposed to start his own pacer message board soon.

                                It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                                Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                                Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                                NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

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