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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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The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

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  • #16
    Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

    RIP

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

      Well, we've said that we needed a center that can hit a 10-12 foot jump shot.

      I'd take Rasheed at center, because he can not only hit the shot, he can play excellent defense and cover the boards as well. He would have been our "X" factor, just as much as he was Detroit's.

      However, I think that Ben at center would also put us over the top as well.

      Rip at guard would be nice, but acquiring a better SG is not nearly as important to this team as expanding the skill set at the center position.

      I think replacing the center would make a much bigger difference in the success of our offense, and would work out better defensively as well.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

        This is a difficult question. You could make a case that any of the 5 switches would improve the Pacers. Ron is better than Tay, but we all know what Ron brings.

        So the question is what switch would bring the most improvement to the Pacers chances of winning.

        J.O. and Sheed are equal. Ron and Tay even with Ron's baggage is not an improvement. So we can rule out those two positions. I'd take any of the three other switches. Ben is better than Jeff and Dale, heck he's better than those two combined. But I don't know if that would really change our team. Rip is better than Jax, but not as much as Billups is over Tinsley. Has Billups ever missed a game?

        Billups is the clutch player on the Pistons, he loves pressure, and I love his defense, and I love having a big point guad. He is the leader on that team, he is the spokesman So switch Bill for Tins, and I think that would imrove the pacers more than the other moves

        I did not consider trading Sheed for Jeff/Dale because that is not applicable.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

          Ben would be the most useful, but then I'd have to burn myself.

          Billups. Actually, I believe he would be equally as useful to this team.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

            Ben Wallace, Ben Wallace, Ben Wallace.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

              Sheed

              I think he could solve a lot of our problems at the 4/5.

              Picture he and JO on the floor disputing a messed charge.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                Originally posted by kidthecat
                Sheed
                If that a$$-hole ever becomes a Pacers I will have to pick a new favorite team.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                  Originally posted by MSA2CF
                  I looked for strength of character before I chose; that made the decision quite simple.

                  And after seeing what Chauncey Billups said about "all they've had to overcome this year," I'm not so sure how intelligent a guy like that is seeing as how their situation(s) (if you can even call them that) were miniscule in comparison to ours...
                  This HAS been a difficult year for the Pistons and their fans. Indiana definitely had a worse year, a tragic year. Still, that doesn't mean Detroit didn't have a hard year. Let me explain:

                  So many things changed from last year. For instance, it's exhausting -- just as a fan -- to have every team playing their best basketball against your team night in, night out. Suddenly, there's no such thing as an upset unless your team loses.

                  Plus, the Pistons didn't look hungry for months. It's understandable, they barely had any time off. When the season started, it was hard to get excited. You're still thinking about last year and the great triumph it was, when suddenly there's a new mountain to climb, only this one's more challenging. And without the thrill of the playoffs - the Finals, specifically - November games just don't mean anything. Add to that a cast of new teammates and an emptiness where Corliss and Memo and Mike James used to sit (let alone Mike Woodson and Herb Brown).

                  And the league changed so much and so fast. Shaq in Miami, TMac down in Houston, the New Super Phoenix. Former foes were vanquished (Lakers, Nets). It was disorienting.

                  The defensive rules changed. It felt like they weren't allowed to do anything they did the year before. Constant whistles. Teams were getting 100 points frequently. It felt like the league offices were handcuffing us, because who wants a boring champion?

                  Larry Brown came into the season as an Olympic failure, which seemed to steal some of his vitality. Then he went in for surgery. We started losing. Gar Heard looked afraid. We all felt frustrated.

                  Ben's brother died. He took a leave, and we lost some more. When he returned, he seemed sad and unfocused.

                  Then our main rival came to town for the first time. They laid a great game on us, devastating an already frustrated team. Ben pushed Ron. Ron laid down. Someone threw a cup. Etc.

                  After that, something was clearly missing. Larry started bad mouthing everything. The Pistons seemed reluctant to play with heart. In the blink of an eye, they went from being America's Underdog to "Everything that's wrong with the NBA." It affected the team's psyche, even though Ben was the only Piston who did anything wrong.

                  And another thing, the Pistons developed a very bad habit: they started spotting their opponents 20 point leads halfway through a game. What followed was almost a nightly chase during the 3rd and 4th quarters. It got to the point where a 20 point deficit didn't seem so deep a hole. If that's not an indication that something wasn't right in their brains....

                  Larry started talking about New York. And he said his health wasn’t good enough. Rumors said he was losing his team.

                  Meanwhile, the youngsters were running away with the game. The Suns, Heat, Bulls, Cavs, so forth, were becoming the darlings of the league.

                  But here’s the biggest thing of all. No matter what they say, I’m telling you that the Pistons have been grappling since last June over whether they truly are champions, or if they are just the fluke team that happened to catch LA and Indiana and New Jersey at just the right times. Losing twice to the Bobcats, once to the Hawks, losing in Phoenix and Seattle, losing twice at home to Indiana, on and on, it’s been at the back of their minds, if only subconsciously.

                  And now, after being down three series in a row, to have one last chance to prove our worth, we can all look back and remember what a long, hard year it has been.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                    Ben Wallace!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                      Nice synopsis, BabbleOn.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                        Originally posted by Hicks
                        Ben would be the most useful, but then I'd have to burn myself.
                        LOL I could not have put that better myself.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                          Originally posted by BabbleOn
                          This HAS been a difficult year for the Pistons and their fans. Indiana definitely had a worse year, a tragic year. Still, that doesn't mean Detroit didn't have a hard year. Let me explain:

                          So many things changed from last year. For instance, it's exhausting -- just as a fan -- to have every team playing their best basketball against your team night in, night out. Suddenly, there's no such thing as an upset unless your team loses.

                          Plus, the Pistons didn't look hungry for months. It's understandable, they barely had any time off. When the season started, it was hard to get excited. You're still thinking about last year and the great triumph it was, when suddenly there's a new mountain to climb, only this one's more challenging. And without the thrill of the playoffs - the Finals, specifically - November games just don't mean anything. Add to that a cast of new teammates and an emptiness where Corliss and Memo and Mike James used to sit (let alone Mike Woodson and Herb Brown).

                          And the league changed so much and so fast. Shaq in Miami, TMac down in Houston, the New Super Phoenix. Former foes were vanquished (Lakers, Nets). It was disorienting.

                          The defensive rules changed. It felt like they weren't allowed to do anything they did the year before. Constant whistles. Teams were getting 100 points frequently. It felt like the league offices were handcuffing us, because who wants a boring champion?

                          Larry Brown came into the season as an Olympic failure, which seemed to steal some of his vitality. Then he went in for surgery. We started losing. Gar Heard looked afraid. We all felt frustrated.

                          Ben's brother died. He took a leave, and we lost some more. When he returned, he seemed sad and unfocused.

                          Then our main rival came to town for the first time. They laid a great game on us, devastating an already frustrated team. Ben pushed Ron. Ron laid down. Someone threw a cup. Etc.

                          After that, something was clearly missing. Larry started bad mouthing everything. The Pistons seemed reluctant to play with heart. In the blink of an eye, they went from being America's Underdog to "Everything that's wrong with the NBA." It affected the team's psyche, even though Ben was the only Piston who did anything wrong.

                          And another thing, the Pistons developed a very bad habit: they started spotting their opponents 20 point leads halfway through a game. What followed was almost a nightly chase during the 3rd and 4th quarters. It got to the point where a 20 point deficit didn't seem so deep a hole. If that's not an indication that something wasn't right in their brains....

                          Larry started talking about New York. And he said his health wasn’t good enough. Rumors said he was losing his team.

                          Meanwhile, the youngsters were running away with the game. The Suns, Heat, Bulls, Cavs, so forth, were becoming the darlings of the league.

                          But here’s the biggest thing of all. No matter what they say, I’m telling you that the Pistons have been grappling since last June over whether they truly are champions, or if they are just the fluke team that happened to catch LA and Indiana and New Jersey at just the right times. Losing twice to the Bobcats, once to the Hawks, losing in Phoenix and Seattle, losing twice at home to Indiana, on and on, it’s been at the back of their minds, if only subconsciously.

                          And now, after being down three series in a row, to have one last chance to prove our worth, we can all look back and remember what a long, hard year it has been.
                          Very nice, I also like how you didn't describe the brawl as when, "The evil tyrant Ron Artest ran into the stands and started beating a man to death" Like most Piston fans see in their eyes. Though, not many here.
                          Super Bowl XLI Champions
                          2000 Eastern Conference Champions




                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                            Originally posted by BabbleOn
                            And without the thrill of the playoffs - the Finals, specifically - November games just don't mean anything.
                            How could 11/19 not mean anything to the Pistons' players? They had a game against their top rivals from the year previous. I'm not living in the past, but please don't trivialize your team's sound thumping that night (during the game).

                            Now, if that wasn't your intention, then I apologize. Great post by the way (except for that one part that I may have misunderstood).
                            "If I have the ball, I will shoot it, you have to believe that," - Stephen Jackson

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                              Originally posted by PHC Fan
                              How could 11/19 not mean anything to the Pistons' players? They had a game against their top rivals from the year previous. I'm not living in the past, but please don't trivialize your team's sound thumping that night (during the game).

                              Now, if that wasn't your intention, then I apologize. Great post by the way (except for that one part that I may have misunderstood).

                              He's not trvializing it when he says this about it!

                              "Then our main rival came to town for the first time. They laid a great game on us, devastating an already frustrated team. Ben pushed Ron. Ron laid down. Someone threw a cup. Etc."

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: The Pistons player you want on the Pacers ?

                                ben.....bens like artest....if hes on another team u, more than likely, dont care for him....if hes on ur team, u love him....hes strong, he rebounds and defends like a monster....put him next to jo and ron in the front court and wow....

                                with every word that comes out of billups' mouth, i find myself liking him a lil less...

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