Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

If you could made the perfect player . . .

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

    Originally posted by Kstat
    I would call him, "Ron Jermaine-Reggie Hoiberg".......
    An insanely talented, good guy with a clutch shot who could be mayor one day. And plays some solid defense, too.

    Or ...

    A psychotic poser who likes to spit on things and has absolutely no athletic ability.

    I like it.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

      How about this guy...


      Cobra Emporer


      The true origins of the man known as Serpentor have never been confirmed by the world's intelligence community. Accounts of Serpentor's "birth" come mainly from captured agents of Cobra, and these accounts seem fantastic. Even so, there is some evidence to support these claims. What follows is mostly based on rumor and the belief of several Cobra witnesses.

      The Cobra scientist Dr. Mindbender had an incredibly ambitious idea. To assure Cobra's success, the organization needed a great warrior to lead it into battle. But, instead of trying to find such a man, why not create him? Mindbender was undoubtedly a genius, but his scientific methods went far beyond what any reputable scientist would attempt. He postulated that by using cloning technology combining the DNA of several ideal candidates, a new, perfect soldier could be created. But instead of using existing genetic materials, Mindbender would combine the genes of history's greatest warriors. Cobra Commander was willing to let Mindbender attempt it, and authorized the use Cobra's resources to that end.

      With the help of Destro and the Baroness, Mindbender broke into tombs, museums and mausoleums to find the remains of history's most famed soldiers. Among these men were Julius Caesar, Napolean, Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Genghis Khan. Once that was complete, Mindbender set up a laboratory in the Museum of Antiquities in the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Highly advanced computers and medical equipment combined the dead men's DNA into a single pattern. He encoded the pattern into a lifeless, clone body. That would give the warrior the best mental and physical potential of all the great soldiers. To give the new being memories, Mindbender simply entered data into the brain as one would a computer -- with the help of the late Dr. Venom's Brain-wave Scanner -- and historical fact became several lifetimes of memories. In addition, Mindbender connected himself to the scanner to instill a loyalty to Cobra in his creation. In the midst of the final stage of the project, the G.I. Joe team staged an invasion of Springfield. The Joe team member Ripcord had been captured while working undercover in Springfield and was strapped into the scanner, giving the Doctor's creation a limited knowledge of the Joes' plans.

      As the battle raged outside, the new being named Serpentor (a name chosen by Mindbender because it had "a snake-like ring to it") came to life. Some later came to believe that at that moment, something metaphysical happened, and Serpentor truly was the amalgamation of all those famed soldiers. He was at first confused and unsure of his own identity. "Serpentor? Is that my name? I seem to remember others, but 'Serpentor' will do for now." Dressing himself in a snake-shaped cowl from a nearby museum display case, Serpentor proceeded to correctly predict the Joes' next action, impressing the assembled Cobras. Reluctantly, they allowed Serpentor to lead their troops against the Joes in a holding action to give Destro and the Baroness time to evacuate the town. In the fighting that followed, Serpentor led the attack personally, displaying not only his tactical skills but his charismatic leadership. The Joes were surprised by the sudden appearance of this great leader, and were nearly overwhelmed. All the while, Serpentor rallied the troops in a way that the other Cobra leaders never had. Eventually, Springfield was evacuated and all of Cobra's forces escaped, leaving the Joes with an embarrassing failure and no evidence of Cobra's subjugation of the town.

      As the citizens of Springfield journeyed to Cobra Island via a squadron of helicopters, Cobra Commander was furious. He scolded himself for not having realizing that history's greatest warriors were also great leaders and conquerors. The troops reportdely loved Serpentor and would follow him to the ends of the earth. As the 'copters approached the landing field on Cobra Island, the Commander ordered Tomax and Xamot to set up Crimson Guard snipers, with orders to assassinate Serpentor before he could usurp his authority. Serpentor realized what was about to happen and had the pilot land his helicopter inches away from where Cobra Commander waited. He lept out of the 'copter and embraced Cobra Commander as if he were a long-lost brother. The snipers were unable to fire on him, and in the speech that followed, Serpentor proved to be a moving speaker. The crowd of Cobra troops and their families were so taken by him, that the Commander knew he could never go through with the assassination.

      After his arrival, Serpentor did everything he could to endear himself to the troops. He even labored with them as they built new structures on the island, much to the Commander's disgust. He gained allies in the Baroness -- who had become increasingly enamoured with him -- and Dr. Mindbender -- who was mostly pleased with himself for his success in creating Serpentor. Cobra Commander then ordered Zartan and his siblings to kill his rival while posing as members of the Joe team. The plot failed when the Baroness threw herself in front of Serpentor, refusing to let him be killed. Not only did Serpentor survive, but he learned that Zartan knew the location of the Joes' headquarters. He planned an assault on the Pit, forcing the Commander to go along with him, threatening to reveal the assassination attempt to his troops. The invasion of the Pit was soon underway. The Joes were suspended at the time, so it was relatively easy for Cobra to get to the Pit. Serpentor would have led troops into the underground headquarters, but he was stopped by the Commander who wouldn't allow Serpentor to command his men. Impressed with the Commander, Destro joined him. In the battle that ensued, Hawk and the officers destroyed the Pit to stop the invasion. Destro and the Commander were presumed dead, and the rest of the Cobras escaped back to Cobra Island. Unknown to anyone at the time, Destro and the Commander were still alive underneath the rubble of the Pit.

      With Cobra's leader out of the way, Serpentor wasted no time in taking control of the organization. He brought Cobra into the weapons market, selling Terrordrome launch bases to any nation that could afford him. Included in the deal were military advisors from Cobra, helping them get a foothold in various nations. The first buyer was the war torn country of Sierra Gordo, where a new provisional government had been formed after a recent revolution. Another faction in the nation was not happy with the new government and staged their own "counter-revolution", gaining the support of the United States and the Joes. As the fighting escalated, Serpentor himself arrived to help, but the Joes had already captured the Terrordrome and dismantled it. Hoping to secure the only complete set of plans for the launch bases, Serpentor sent Major Bludd to pose as Destro and retrieve the plans from his castle in Scotland. Again, Serpentor's scheme failed thanks to the Joes and the true Destro's unexpected return.

      Despite some setbacks, Serpentor went ahead with his new vision of Cobra. For a time, he remained in charge, proclaimed the Cobra Emperor by his troops. Months after he first took over Cobra, he was shocked when a mysterious stranger arrived on Cobra Island, claiming he was the true Cobra Commander, returning to take command. Serpentor was suspicious, and with good reason. The imposter was really Fred VII, a Crimson Guardsmen who had recently shot the true Commander and left him for dead. After questioning Fred for hours, Serpentor finally saw a way to prove his identity. The Baroness arrived, and it was known that she knew what the Commander looked like unmasked. Fred and the Baroness climbed into a transport helicopter away from prying eyes and the imposter revealed his identity to the Baroness. But instead of exposing him, she told him he had just gained a silent partner, and then proclaimed to the troops that their Commander had returned. Serpentor suspected that he was being lied to, but there was nothing he could do about. Not long afterward, he learned the truth, but for the sake of the troops, he allowed the deception to continue. After a brief power struggle, the two men's anger got the better of them at a special ceremony on Cobra Island and a public argument soon turned into a fist fight. Eventually, all of Cobra took sides, and island was soon thrust into a civil war.

      As the fighting began, Serpentor was supported by Dr. Mindbender, Tomax, Xamot and the Crimson Guard. Fred VII's side included the Baroness, Zartan, the Dreadnoks and the army of Vipers. Despite his superior tactical knowledge, Serpentor's side was outnumbered and he was about to lose the war until Dr. Mindbender had an idea. Just before the fighting started, Cobra had stolen a top secret "black box" from the Joe team that contained some of the military's most advanced electronics. The Pentagon was desperate to get the device back, and Mindbender guessed they'd do almost anything. As Serpentor's representative, Mindbender proposed a deal: they would return the black box in exchange for the Joes' help in defeating Cobra Commander. The Pentagon reluctantly agreed, deciding that Serpentor's rule as "Emperor" was a monarchy, while Cobra Commander's was a dictatorship.

      The Joes arrived on Cobra Island and the battle raged on for days. Hawk and Serpentor were constantly at odds, both believing they should be in command of the operation. Hawk also felt that Serpentor was acting too recklessly, putting himself in too much danger while leading his armored divisions atop a HISS tank. But, he could barely resist, reveling in the battle as the men he was created from always had. The combined forces of Serpentor and the Joes were overrunning Fred VII's defenses, and he began to panic. Upset by Fred's indecisiveness and inept leadership, Zartan had had enough. He climbed atop a tank, pulled back his bow and fired an arrow toward Serpentor's HISS tank. The arrow struck the Cobra Emperor right between the eyes, killing him. Dr. Mindbender had been sitting next to Serpentor and stopped the tanks, jumped out of his own and ran towards Fred's forces. He quickly made a deal, saving himself now that Serpentor was gone. Both Hawk and Zartan were disgusted, but the war was over and Serpentor was no more. Mindbender preserved his body in the island's land-locked freighter, hoping to find a way to revive his creation, but the body was lost when the true Cobra Commander returned and buried it under tons of rock.

      During his short life, Serpentor became a dangerous threat to the Joes, even as he wrested power from Cobra Commander. For a time, he was Cobra's most loved leader. Whether or not he could be considered the descendant of the great historical figures from which he was created, Serpentor felt as if he had been all those men. Ruthless, ambitious, cunning and charismatic, Serpentor may have led Cobra to its goal of ruling the world, if not for a single arrow.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

        The height of Bird.
        The power of Shaq.
        The speed of AI.
        The shooting touch of Jordan.
        The hang time of Jordan.
        The hands of Jordan.
        The competitiveness of Jordan.
        The clutchness of Jordan.
        The court vision of Magic.
        The athleticism of VC.
        The footwork of Hakeem Olajuwon.
        The mind of Jordan.


        Or...

        Michael Jordan.

        Bias? Me? No.... I would never.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

          Originally posted by Savior-Self
          The height of Bird.
          The power of Shaq.
          The speed of AI.
          The shooting touch of Jordan.
          The hang time of Jordan.
          The hands of Jordan.
          The competitiveness of Jordan.
          The clutchness of Jordan.
          The court vision of Magic.
          The athleticism of VC.
          The footwork of Hakeem Olajuwon.
          The mind of Jordan.


          Or...

          Michael Jordan.

          Bias? Me? No.... I would never.

          you know...ive been waiting on ur response to this thread....though, i must admit...i thought it was gonna be a little different....

          i thought it was gonna be something like this....god already made the perfect basketball player....

          his name was Michael Jordan

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

            Originally posted by foretaz

            you know...ive been waiting on ur response to this thread....though, i must admit...i thought it was gonna be a little different....

            i thought it was gonna be something like this....god already made the perfect basketball player....

            his name was Wilt Chamberlin
            Originally posted by foretaz

            you know...ive been waiting on ur response to this thread....though, i must admit...i thought it was gonna be a little different....

            i thought it was gonna be something like this....god already made the perfect basketball player....

            his name was Arvyddas Sabonis (before the knee injury)
            There. Fixed it for you.
            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


            • #21
              Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

              Originally posted by Jay@Section204
              There. Fixed it for you.
              u know...im not sure who got the worst end of the stick....

              sabas for not being able to play in the nba in his prime......

              or , we the fans, for not being able to watch him play in the nba in his prime

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

                I saw him in Bloomington in 1983.

                Even a crippled Sabas was quite a player for the TrailBlazers in the late 1990s.

                You could see it in his eyes when they played Shaq in the playoffs, [Russian Accent] "Just a few years, and I could make you look the fool, you overweight American... Ouch, my knee!!"[/Ruskie]
                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


                • #23
                  Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

                  Originally posted by rabidpacersfan
                  How about this guy...


                  Cobra Emporer


                  The true origins of the man known as Serpentor have never been confirmed by the world's intelligence community. Accounts of Serpentor's "birth" come mainly from captured agents of Cobra, and these accounts seem fantastic. Even so, there is some evidence to support these claims. What follows is mostly based on rumor and the belief of several Cobra witnesses.

                  The Cobra scientist Dr. Mindbender had an incredibly ambitious idea. To assure Cobra's success, the organization needed a great warrior to lead it into battle. But, instead of trying to find such a man, why not create him? Mindbender was undoubtedly a genius, but his scientific methods went far beyond what any reputable scientist would attempt. He postulated that by using cloning technology combining the DNA of several ideal candidates, a new, perfect soldier could be created. But instead of using existing genetic materials, Mindbender would combine the genes of history's greatest warriors. Cobra Commander was willing to let Mindbender attempt it, and authorized the use Cobra's resources to that end.

                  With the help of Destro and the Baroness, Mindbender broke into tombs, museums and mausoleums to find the remains of history's most famed soldiers. Among these men were Julius Caesar, Napolean, Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Genghis Khan. Once that was complete, Mindbender set up a laboratory in the Museum of Antiquities in the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Highly advanced computers and medical equipment combined the dead men's DNA into a single pattern. He encoded the pattern into a lifeless, clone body. That would give the warrior the best mental and physical potential of all the great soldiers. To give the new being memories, Mindbender simply entered data into the brain as one would a computer -- with the help of the late Dr. Venom's Brain-wave Scanner -- and historical fact became several lifetimes of memories. In addition, Mindbender connected himself to the scanner to instill a loyalty to Cobra in his creation. In the midst of the final stage of the project, the G.I. Joe team staged an invasion of Springfield. The Joe team member Ripcord had been captured while working undercover in Springfield and was strapped into the scanner, giving the Doctor's creation a limited knowledge of the Joes' plans.

                  As the battle raged outside, the new being named Serpentor (a name chosen by Mindbender because it had "a snake-like ring to it") came to life. Some later came to believe that at that moment, something metaphysical happened, and Serpentor truly was the amalgamation of all those famed soldiers. He was at first confused and unsure of his own identity. "Serpentor? Is that my name? I seem to remember others, but 'Serpentor' will do for now." Dressing himself in a snake-shaped cowl from a nearby museum display case, Serpentor proceeded to correctly predict the Joes' next action, impressing the assembled Cobras. Reluctantly, they allowed Serpentor to lead their troops against the Joes in a holding action to give Destro and the Baroness time to evacuate the town. In the fighting that followed, Serpentor led the attack personally, displaying not only his tactical skills but his charismatic leadership. The Joes were surprised by the sudden appearance of this great leader, and were nearly overwhelmed. All the while, Serpentor rallied the troops in a way that the other Cobra leaders never had. Eventually, Springfield was evacuated and all of Cobra's forces escaped, leaving the Joes with an embarrassing failure and no evidence of Cobra's subjugation of the town.

                  As the citizens of Springfield journeyed to Cobra Island via a squadron of helicopters, Cobra Commander was furious. He scolded himself for not having realizing that history's greatest warriors were also great leaders and conquerors. The troops reportdely loved Serpentor and would follow him to the ends of the earth. As the 'copters approached the landing field on Cobra Island, the Commander ordered Tomax and Xamot to set up Crimson Guard snipers, with orders to assassinate Serpentor before he could usurp his authority. Serpentor realized what was about to happen and had the pilot land his helicopter inches away from where Cobra Commander waited. He lept out of the 'copter and embraced Cobra Commander as if he were a long-lost brother. The snipers were unable to fire on him, and in the speech that followed, Serpentor proved to be a moving speaker. The crowd of Cobra troops and their families were so taken by him, that the Commander knew he could never go through with the assassination.

                  After his arrival, Serpentor did everything he could to endear himself to the troops. He even labored with them as they built new structures on the island, much to the Commander's disgust. He gained allies in the Baroness -- who had become increasingly enamoured with him -- and Dr. Mindbender -- who was mostly pleased with himself for his success in creating Serpentor. Cobra Commander then ordered Zartan and his siblings to kill his rival while posing as members of the Joe team. The plot failed when the Baroness threw herself in front of Serpentor, refusing to let him be killed. Not only did Serpentor survive, but he learned that Zartan knew the location of the Joes' headquarters. He planned an assault on the Pit, forcing the Commander to go along with him, threatening to reveal the assassination attempt to his troops. The invasion of the Pit was soon underway. The Joes were suspended at the time, so it was relatively easy for Cobra to get to the Pit. Serpentor would have led troops into the underground headquarters, but he was stopped by the Commander who wouldn't allow Serpentor to command his men. Impressed with the Commander, Destro joined him. In the battle that ensued, Hawk and the officers destroyed the Pit to stop the invasion. Destro and the Commander were presumed dead, and the rest of the Cobras escaped back to Cobra Island. Unknown to anyone at the time, Destro and the Commander were still alive underneath the rubble of the Pit.

                  With Cobra's leader out of the way, Serpentor wasted no time in taking control of the organization. He brought Cobra into the weapons market, selling Terrordrome launch bases to any nation that could afford him. Included in the deal were military advisors from Cobra, helping them get a foothold in various nations. The first buyer was the war torn country of Sierra Gordo, where a new provisional government had been formed after a recent revolution. Another faction in the nation was not happy with the new government and staged their own "counter-revolution", gaining the support of the United States and the Joes. As the fighting escalated, Serpentor himself arrived to help, but the Joes had already captured the Terrordrome and dismantled it. Hoping to secure the only complete set of plans for the launch bases, Serpentor sent Major Bludd to pose as Destro and retrieve the plans from his castle in Scotland. Again, Serpentor's scheme failed thanks to the Joes and the true Destro's unexpected return.

                  Despite some setbacks, Serpentor went ahead with his new vision of Cobra. For a time, he remained in charge, proclaimed the Cobra Emperor by his troops. Months after he first took over Cobra, he was shocked when a mysterious stranger arrived on Cobra Island, claiming he was the true Cobra Commander, returning to take command. Serpentor was suspicious, and with good reason. The imposter was really Fred VII, a Crimson Guardsmen who had recently shot the true Commander and left him for dead. After questioning Fred for hours, Serpentor finally saw a way to prove his identity. The Baroness arrived, and it was known that she knew what the Commander looked like unmasked. Fred and the Baroness climbed into a transport helicopter away from prying eyes and the imposter revealed his identity to the Baroness. But instead of exposing him, she told him he had just gained a silent partner, and then proclaimed to the troops that their Commander had returned. Serpentor suspected that he was being lied to, but there was nothing he could do about. Not long afterward, he learned the truth, but for the sake of the troops, he allowed the deception to continue. After a brief power struggle, the two men's anger got the better of them at a special ceremony on Cobra Island and a public argument soon turned into a fist fight. Eventually, all of Cobra took sides, and island was soon thrust into a civil war.

                  As the fighting began, Serpentor was supported by Dr. Mindbender, Tomax, Xamot and the Crimson Guard. Fred VII's side included the Baroness, Zartan, the Dreadnoks and the army of Vipers. Despite his superior tactical knowledge, Serpentor's side was outnumbered and he was about to lose the war until Dr. Mindbender had an idea. Just before the fighting started, Cobra had stolen a top secret "black box" from the Joe team that contained some of the military's most advanced electronics. The Pentagon was desperate to get the device back, and Mindbender guessed they'd do almost anything. As Serpentor's representative, Mindbender proposed a deal: they would return the black box in exchange for the Joes' help in defeating Cobra Commander. The Pentagon reluctantly agreed, deciding that Serpentor's rule as "Emperor" was a monarchy, while Cobra Commander's was a dictatorship.

                  The Joes arrived on Cobra Island and the battle raged on for days. Hawk and Serpentor were constantly at odds, both believing they should be in command of the operation. Hawk also felt that Serpentor was acting too recklessly, putting himself in too much danger while leading his armored divisions atop a HISS tank. But, he could barely resist, reveling in the battle as the men he was created from always had. The combined forces of Serpentor and the Joes were overrunning Fred VII's defenses, and he began to panic. Upset by Fred's indecisiveness and inept leadership, Zartan had had enough. He climbed atop a tank, pulled back his bow and fired an arrow toward Serpentor's HISS tank. The arrow struck the Cobra Emperor right between the eyes, killing him. Dr. Mindbender had been sitting next to Serpentor and stopped the tanks, jumped out of his own and ran towards Fred's forces. He quickly made a deal, saving himself now that Serpentor was gone. Both Hawk and Zartan were disgusted, but the war was over and Serpentor was no more. Mindbender preserved his body in the island's land-locked freighter, hoping to find a way to revive his creation, but the body was lost when the true Cobra Commander returned and buried it under tons of rock.

                  During his short life, Serpentor became a dangerous threat to the Joes, even as he wrested power from Cobra Commander. For a time, he was Cobra's most loved leader. Whether or not he could be considered the descendant of the great historical figures from which he was created, Serpentor felt as if he had been all those men. Ruthless, ambitious, cunning and charismatic, Serpentor may have led Cobra to its goal of ruling the world, if not for a single arrow.
                  And now I know.......and.....knowing is.....
                  Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: If you could made the perfect player . . .

                    It could be argued that, in the past, when "perfect players" came along rules were changed to diminish the effect of an individual on the game.

                    Today when "perfect players" (or even "less-than-perfect players" come along) the interpretation of the rules is changed to make the player look even more spectacular.

                    pfoo, I say. Just pfoo.
                    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

                    Working...
                    X