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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"

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

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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.

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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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Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

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  • Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

    Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 8:05 pm Post subject: Michael, Magic, and Larry to help pick Olympic team

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...RTS04/50602009


    Quote:

    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Larry Brown are among the who’s who list of stars who agreed today to help choose the men’s Olympic basketball team for the United States.

    Other former players on the list this week included David Robinson, Charles Barkley, Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson. Other coaches included Dean Smith, Bob Knight, John Thompson and Chuck Daly.




    They say Olympic team, i wonder if they mean the team for the qualifers and the World Championships. The rest of the world considers that to be the biggest event, it's about time we did the same. I like that they are taking this more seriously than they have before. So how bout it, who's your picks t be on the team? You know for sure Shaq won't be playing, Duncan hates FIBA (can't blame him) that leaves the US without 2 of the best players in the world. I also don't expect Kobe to accept an invite.

    My team, I based this on how the world plays the game and players i think could fit into a team concept.


    Coaches
    Coach K
    Mike D'Antoni
    Tubby Smith

    I like these Coaches because they all demand respect. The college game is more like the international game, i figured college coaches would have a better feel on how to develop game plans.


    Players

    Amare
    Garnett
    Lebron
    Hamilton
    Bibby

    Bench
    B.Miller
    J.O'Neal
    R.Allen
    Wade
    C.Billups
    S. Marion
    K. Hinrich

    Before you go off with your "ahhh this guy is stupid...he didn't put ___________ on the team" Let me explain my picks. I watch alot of the US teams losses over the past 3 years, most of them were due to them not playing together and not being able to shoot worth a damn. I'm still not convinced that the world is even with us, when we put a competant team on the court. I wanted to pick guys that are not one trick ponies unless they can shoot. Ben Wallace for as great as he is, imo would not be that much of a factor. On the offensive end, we'd be playing 4 on 5 for the most part.

    Most of these guys are great at two things atleast. KG has the total package, y'all just seen Amare play toe to toe with the best player in the world, evenly. Lebron's jumpshot is improving, and his D will improve this year under Mike Brown. Rip is a guy that can hit that mid range J, and with the shorter 3pt line, can give the US a outside shooter. Bibby played great in the 03 qualifers, i think he'd be the perfect pg for the team.

    The bench has a mix of guys that can play D, and step out and knock down a wide open jumpshot. Brad Miller adds something to the team that they didn't have in 04 (no, not a white player) a guy that can shoot the 15 footer, while guys like JO and Amare work in the paint. The guards are all decent shooters, Wade being maybe the worst but most explosive and best defender on the wings.

  • #2
    Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

    That's awesome; USA basketball is going in the right direction by letting these guys decide the team. Much, much better idea. Unless they totally screw it up.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

      Yeah, because we all know Jordan and Brown are so good at evaluating talent.

      As for your team, the only problem is half those guys turned them down last time.
      Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

        Who picked the players before? Was it just an 'unknown' comittee?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

          Originally posted by Kegboy
          Yeah, because we all know Jordan and Brown are so good at evaluating talent.

          As for your team, the only problem is half those guys turned them down last time.
          Did you not read it? It's not like it's just those two. It's a large comittee filled with great basketball minds.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

            I think it was Stu Jackson, and Stern might have had a say in it.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

              Originally posted by Hicks
              Did you not read it? It's not like it's just those two. It's a large comittee filled with great basketball minds.
              Yeah, I know, but those two names jumped out at me like a sore thumb. Combined with my unfondness of Bird, and the fact we have no reason to believe any of the other former players would be good at picking a team, I just don't see this going well.

              When they named Collangelo in charge, I thought, "Well, he wouldn't be my first choice, but they need one person who's accountable." Ever since I've seen about 56,000 names added to the decision making process, which spells trouble.
              Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                My team would go like this.

                Head coach:

                Mike D'Antoni

                Starters:

                Mike Bibby
                Dwyane Wade
                LeBron James
                Rasheed Wallace
                Jermaine O'Neal

                Bench:
                Kirk Hinrich
                Michael Redd
                Tayshaun Prince
                Brad Miller
                Trajan Langdon
                Maceo Baston
                Brian Cardinal

                D'Antoni's the coach because of his international experience. Langdon, Baston, & Cardinal would be happy to be there, allowing the coach to essentially play nine players, which is all you need to play. Langdon & Baston are American stars in Europe, which is why they're on the team.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                  Originally posted by shags
                  My team would go like this.

                  Head coach:

                  Mike D'Antoni

                  Starters:

                  Mike Bibby
                  Dwyane Wade
                  LeBron James
                  Rasheed Wallace
                  Jermaine O'Neal

                  Bench:
                  Kirk Hinrich
                  Michael Redd
                  Tayshaun Prince
                  Brad Miller
                  Trajan Langdon
                  Maceo Baston
                  Brian Cardinal

                  D'Antoni's the coach because of his international experience. Langdon, Baston, & Cardinal would be happy to be there, allowing the coach to essentially play nine players, which is all you need to play. Langdon & Baston are American stars in Europe, which is why they're on the team.
                  D'Antoni may have international experience, but I don't want a head coach in the WBC who can't coach defense. Put him on the coaching staff, but don't make him the head coach.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                    I think Mike Brown would be good, rookie or not.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                      Just players, whether they would accept or not, I don't know.

                      Maybe they'd be willing to play to re-establish American pride.

                      K. Garnett
                      T. Duncan
                      R. Wallace
                      J. O'Neal
                      S. O'Neal
                      R. Artest
                      T. Prince
                      R. Hamilton
                      D. Wade
                      J. Kidd
                      M. Bibby
                      K. Hinrich

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                        Wouldn't Baston be a foreign player or did he convert to an american?
                        "It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

                        ----------------- Reggie Miller

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                          in europe the defense is # 1. our offensive time was not long time ago 30 seconds, but was changed to 24, scores went to 50 per game. about the usa team.
                          PG Kidd, Wade
                          SG Hamilton, Allen, Iverson
                          SF Artest, LeBron
                          PF Garnett, J O'neal, Marion
                          C B Wallace, B Miller

                          I really hope, that allen joyn with the team. he made statement, that usa basketball should pay nba players some money for olympics, but i hope, that he have some national pride.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                            what about tracy mcgrady? And shouldn't artest be out there? I mean he is top 3 in defense! Which we sorely needed last time around.
                            "GIMMIE DAT!"-DANGER

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Larry, Michael, Bird, to pick olympic team.

                              Ron should be on the olympic team and if Larry is picking he would probably try to get him on the team. I dont want JO on the olympic teams anymore, he has trouble stay healthy as is, he doesnt need to go play extra bball.

                              Comment

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