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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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Bonzi to the Pacers?

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  • #91
    Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

    Originally posted by Kraft
    Grammar is good. I like a well-placed elipse. And a solid italicized word is money. Bold doesn't do much for me, except when you're trying to make subheads.

    But I write for a living. WTF do I know?

    It's writing. The key is remembering your readers. Make them care. Make them read on. Make them want to respond. If you don't, then what's the point?
    Exactly. I write for a living as well.

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

      Originally posted by foretaz
      see...some people will just never be happy...no matter what u do...and trust me im not interested in pleasing everyone, in case u cant tell....

      im not certain that i will stick with this...i havent had a chance to look very deep into it to decide what im ultimately gonna do....

      what i said was there is a very personal reason for the purple and it wont change....i also said my font has zero to do with emphasizing or getting people to read my posts...ive said before....thats a persons choice...

      however, i did mention being a bit of a rebel...and thats probably exaggerating in this case....it simply is wanting it to see something different from the monotony....my personal preference...as i said, with all the options...i really dont know why everyone chooses to use the same....

      but really....why do u continue to care so much about my font and why i do what i do with it??? do u really see how ridiculous that is????

      dont worry about it....u worry with urs...ill worry with mine....
      First of all, I'm not the only one who has brought this up to you more than once. And politely, I might add. Secondly, this is an open forum, and anything that distracts from the natural flow of conversation is maddening. It's pretty simple really.

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

        Originally posted by Harmonica
        Exactly. I write for a living as well.

        well guess what....i know u will be shocked to know that i dont...but thats still not really the point...

        this is a message board....i utilize it in this way...i type like i talk...i type thoughts....i dont type on here as if i were writing a professional piece for others to critique....

        with that in mind...i have decided to write a couple of 'pieces' -i feel it might be worthwhile...and when i do this it will be in a much different style....i will spend a lot of time on them and they will be more than just thoughts off the top of my head...but will be a much more indepth look at a couple of pertinent issues....

        and really....shouldnt u spend more time writing and less time worrying about what font i use when talking to others????

        feel free to proofread my pieces when i post them....preferably privately or elsewhere because this sort of discussion is so far off topic....well u know...and hey...bottom line is im far more interested in content than i am in how that content is delivered....im a smart guy...i can usually figure most things out...how bout u?

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

          Originally posted by Harmonica
          First of all, I'm not the only one who has brought this up to you more than once. And politely, I might add. Secondly, this is an open forum, and anything that distracts from the natural flow of conversation is maddening. It's pretty simple really.
          as i said before....there have been a few that have mentioned it-that they didnt like it....as i also said there are far more that have told me they rather like it and to not worry bout some on here that are far too uptight...

          as far as politely...u may need a review in manners....some have been polite....i think i mentioned some had been a$$sholes when doing so....ill let u guess which category i put u in-not that it matters...

          ur right it is an open forum...u should remember that...and people are fairly free to do as they would like....and ur right it is simple-what u think might be distracting, maddening, and disturbing the flow-others might not....

          and last time i checked....ur personal feelings on the matter arent that important...u obviously get some sort of kick out of this as u have been the one that keeps beating it into the ground....a simple review of this thread should point that out to u-but u probably cant follow along as it doesnt flow very well...

          oh the madness...whatever will we do...

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

            Can't speak for Harmonica, but I'm a busy guy. If you want me to read it then you should be concerned about both content and delivery, each needs to be compelling and I'm not sure one is any more important than the other.

            Forums are about communication, this isn't a blog/ monologue that nobody else ever reads. If you want to blog, that's fine, do whatever makes you happy. If you want to communicate, you should consider your audience first and foremost.
            Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
            Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
            Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
            Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
            And life itself, rushing over me
            Life itself, the wind in black elms,
            Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

              guys, guys ON TOPIC, PLEASE?!

              Regards,

              Mourning
              2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

              2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

              2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                Well, I personally feel like if you have to do little things to 'break the monotony' then maybe it runs deeper than personal preference. I had never even noted that there was so much monotony around that a change was needed. I think it sometimes gets monotonous reading all these posts and threads, but font size and color don't come into the equation in my book.

                There is nothing wrong with change. Change is good. But; change for change's sake, or to fight the boredom isn't always for the best. I've found that change when change is necessary is great and healthy. This personal need to set oneself apart from the pack sounds like a good idea, but usually causes more problems than it solves.

                This case is a classic example of that. People are spending more time debating about someone's font size and color than about the issues that brought us here to begin with. At this point, it is nothing more than an unneeded distraction. Might as well call this place "Prose Digest." I don't mean to point fingers. I'm just stating the fact that if there was some level of conformity, the conversations could get ugly over basketball issues instead of getting ugly over writing and posting styles.

                This post is slowly turning into a social commentary, and that was not my intention when I started...Oh well, I might as well finish.

                Change just to 'be different' or to express individuality typefies the difference between the current generation and the last few. Back in the day, people did what was right because it was right, because it was for the collective good more than the individual good. Nowadays, it seems most people are so concerned with themselves that they don't do the right thing unless it involves personal gain.

                People only want to be responsible for their own little existence and largely ignore things that would make a difference for everyone. This world we live in is a direct result of 30 years of that attitude. In this day and age, you have to teach your kids from the moment they are born that they have to watch their backs 24/7, that this world is a cold, hard place and that they should concentrate on making sure they don't get taken advantage of or abused in some way.

                I'm not trying to say that someone's font size and color is responsible for the decline of modern civilization, but there is a point there. Not sure if I stated it very well, but it's there.

                The point is: choosing individuality and then complaining when it gets noticed seems like asking for problems to me. Maybe people should choose to post in such a way that the point of one's post is what gets people to reply, rather than HOW they post. No name calling, no blame placing, just an observation.

                And it is ONLY MY OPINION.



                RESIDENT COUNTING THREAD PHILOSOPHIZER

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                  Originally posted by Jay@Section204
                  Can't speak for Harmonica, but I'm a busy guy. If you want me to read it then you should be concerned about both content and delivery, each needs to be compelling and I'm not sure one is any more important than the other.
                  i understand where ur coming from here...believe it or not....

                  and as i said...im not unreasonable...the vast majority of comments i had received before led me to believe that those of u that had complained were in the minority....and im not the type who cares about pleasing everyone-let alone who cares if someone i dont really know reads what i have to say or not....

                  but i will say this...and its my own opinion...and the way i approach it....i could personally care a less how someone delivers their message....i pretty much care about content and content only when IM reading what someone else has to say...the fact that they have bad grammar or speak in broken english or whatever....makes no difference to me....and the other side is true as well.....you can pretty it up all u want....if theres no real message....then i could really care a less...

                  i think there are a lot of people out there that just like to *****....and those that do will find something to ***** about, one way or another....and what they have to say will have zero bearing on my actions....

                  u, urself said that this was much better...that u could follow it....harmonica on the other hand wants to continue to *****....nevermind that most all those that had a problem before have spoken up saying they like it....

                  so in case its not obvious....i could really give a **** about what harmonica says or thinks at this point....and i think that might well have been his goal all along...if so...congrats

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                    Back in 1988, in the Muncie Mall, Bonzi threatened to beat me up for making eye contact with him. If I remember correctly, he also assaulted his girlfriend in college.

                    Dude's a **** box. Hope the Pacers' can see that.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                      I don't like the guy either, but he was what ... 12 in 1988??? I remember a guy I had some fights with back than, but who is now one of my best friends, actually. People do change overtime, certainly when they grow up.

                      Doubt that anything like that could be the case with Bonzi though, he really seems like a perfect target for our "haterade" IF we were to get him. Hell... would there even be enough Haterade to go around for everyone with Bonzi in Indy??? I have my doubts .

                      Regards,

                      Mourning
                      2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                      2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                      2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

                      Comment


                      • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                        I think Bonzi Wells would be a fabulous addition to the Pacers franchise. We have lost Reggie Miller and Bonzi's talent could help fill the huge hole that Reggie's departure has created. While it's true he has had more than just a few problems in his career, I'm sure he could put that all behind him if he was able to come back home.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                          what's up with the colour change??? Don't want to hijack this thread into THIS topic AGAIN, but ehh...
                          2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                          2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                          2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

                          Comment


                          • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                            Originally posted by Mourning
                            what's up with the colour change??? Don't want to hijack this thread into this topic AGAIN, but ehh...
                            lol...i was making a point....dont worry...

                            Comment


                            • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                              Originally posted by foretaz
                              I think Bonzi Wells would be a fabulous addition to the Pacers franchise. We have lost Reggie Miller and Bonzi's talent could help fill the huge hole that Reggie's departure has created. While it's true he has had more than just a few problems in his career, I'm sure he could put that all behind him if he was able to come back home.
                              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


                              • Re: Bonzi to the Pacers?

                                Originally posted by foretaz
                                I think Bonzi Wells would be a fabulous addition to the Pacers franchise. We have lost Reggie Miller and Bonzi's talent could help fill the huge hole that Reggie's departure has created. While it's true he has had more than just a few problems in his career, I'm sure he could put that all behind him if he was able to come back home.
                                Classic Foretaz,


                                You must be a rebel.

                                Comment

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