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

Deion calls for all professional athletes to pitch in $1,000 toward Katrina relief

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

  • Deion calls for all professional athletes to pitch in $1,000 toward Katrina relief

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2150006

    OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Baltimore Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders challenged all professional athletes to donate at least $1,000 apiece through payroll deductions to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

    Flanked by teammates and Louisiana natives Ed Reed and Alan Ricard, Sanders on Friday called for each team in the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, as well as other pro sports, to help him reach a goal of $1.5 million to $3 million for the cause.

    "The recent devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath of her wrath, there has been a loss of life, property, finances, homelessness and a multitude of atrocities. The people affected by this disaster is astronomical," Sanders said.

    "As citizens of this country, we need to unite to help our brothers and sisters in their time of need. We must all stretch the boundaries of the giving as far as we are able to, knowing we will enrich the lives of others."



    On Thursday, Louisiana native Warrick Dunn -- the NFL Man of the Year in 2004 -- made an emotional plea to NFL players to contribute at least $5,000 apiece to relief efforts, saying players have a moral obligation to help. The Falcons running back said the Saints shouldn't have to give, but getting the 53 players on the 31 other teams to donate the $5,000 would boost the relief effort by more than $8.2 million.



    The Ravens players also called for fans to donate money, clothing and supplies to the ravaged Gulf Coast.

    "Through unity, we can touch thousands," Sanders said. "This is in our own backyard. We feel this. Ed, Alan, feel this. I have friends, relatives that feel this pain. Help in any way you can."

    Added Reed, "This is my backyard, this is a city we walked on just last week to play a game we love to play. This is real. Football is something we get to do, basketball, baseball. We're reaching out to other athletes."

    Reed and the Ravens were in New Orleans to play the Saints at the Superdome just days before Katrina struck.

    Reed's high school jersey was retired at St. Rose, La., in suburban New Orleans a week ago.

    "It hurts us to talk about it," Reed said. "We know how bad it is in New Orleans, Alabama and Mississippi. These families don't have things to eat. Me being from down there, I know it's a lot worse than what we see on television. ... People see dead bodies around. It's horrific."

    Reed, last season's NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has established a Web site, www.reedhurricanerelief.com, for people to donate funds to the American Red Cross.

    The Ravens organization, which plans to donate $25,000 in addition to the players' efforts, will collect donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina on Sept. 11 when the team opens the season against the Indianapolis Colts.

    Reed and Ricard said they have been in contact with family members, but not all of them.

    "It hurts your heart to see New Orleans, the place where I'm from, looking like a Third World country," Ricard said.

    In other Katrina developments:

    • The New Orleans Saints, driven from the Superdome by the hurricane, will play their home opener against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. It is not clear, however, when the game will be played.

    NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Friday the game, scheduled for Sept. 18, is being moved to the Giants' home in East Rutherford, N.J. Story

    • Tulane hasn't quite figured out how yet, but it is going to play football this season.

    Students are being allowed to enroll in "nine of the leading higher education associations," according to a statement from Tulane president Scott Cowen. That means the school's athletes will also be able to play sports this fall. Story



    • ESPN.com's Andy Katz is reporting that the entire Tulane athletic department could call Texas home. A decision is expected by the end of Labor Day weekend. Story



    Peyton and Eli Manning, who grew up in New Orleans, will fly to Baton Rouge, La., Saturday on a plane carrying relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

    The brothers will leave from Indianapolis on a plane sponsored by the PeyBack Foundation. The flight will be carrying 31,000 pounds of nonperishable items including diapers, baby formula, pillows, water and Gatorade that will be delivered to the American Red Cross.

    • Fats Domino and his family spent two days with LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell after being rescued from the floodwaters of the hurricane. The 77-year-old R&B singer and his family are friends with the family of Russell's girlfriend, sports information director Michael Bonnette said. Story

    • Several of NASCAR's drivers and teams have set up programs and funds for contributions to the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

    Jimmie Johnson and sponsor Lowe's will donate $480 to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts for each of the 250 laps Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet completes on Sunday at California Speedway. In addition, Lowe's will donate $4,800 and Johnson and his wife Chandra will donate $48,000, regardless of the race outcome.

    Robby Gordon Motorsports will donate $7 for each lap his No. 7 Chevrolet completes for the remainder of the 2005 Cup season to the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund, which sponsor Harrah's Entertainment established to assist its employees experiencing the after-affects of the tragedy. Additionally, the team will donate 10 percent to the fund from its merchandise sales for the rest of the season.

    Penske Racing South also has started a hurricane relief fund within its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. The team will gather monetary donations throughout the next two weeks with all proceeds being sent to the American Red Cross. Penske Corp. headed by team owner Roger Penske, has said it will make a matching donation.

    • The thoroughbred meet at Fair Grounds in New Orleans that had been set to begin in November was canceled while racing officials try to locate hundreds of displaced employees.

    Churchill Downs, which bought the Fair Grounds in October, has been trying to account for 500 employees and survey the damage at the track near downtown New Orleans, Churchill president Thomas Meeker said.

    The meet, scheduled to run from Thanksgiving Day through March, could be held at another track near Shreveport in northern Louisiana, Meeker said.

    • The Sun Belt Conference is temporarily moving its offices from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

    The conference's offices are located on the 23rd floor of the Pan American Life building, not far from the Superdome. Flooding in the area has made the building inaccessible, and it has also sustained some wind damage, commissioner Wright Waters said. The league office should be up and running by Wednesday.

    • The sister of Central Florida's Javid James, who was out of contact with her family for several days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, was found safe in Tennessee.

    Tahirah James, 18, had not been heard from since the storm made landfall Monday. The story received national exposure during Thursday night's UCF season opener at South Carolina, when James spoke to ESPN and pleaded for information on his sister's whereabouts.

    • Jockeys at Del Mar will take a plunge to raise money for victims. Virtually the entire jockey colony volunteered to be dunk-tank targets Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the track near San Diego.

    For $10, fans will get two baseballs and two chances to drop the jockeys into a tub of water, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club agreed to match whatever funds are raised.

    • The U.S. Tennis Association canceled the $50,000 men's Challenger event scheduled in Covington, La., the week of Sept. 12. A new USTA men's Challenger event will be scheduled for the week of Oct. 24 at a site to be determined.



    • The Houston Texans raised more than $2.5 million with a fund-raising drive during Houston's preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.



    • Sheila Johnson, president and managing partner of the Washington Mystics, donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts.

    Mystics guard Temeka Johnson hails from New Orleans and All-Star Alana Beard is from Shreveport, La.

    Although Temeka Johnson's home suffered considerable damage, her family members were able to move to a safe location. The Alana Beard Foundation in Shreveport is collecting items for the victims.

    • San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos will match all contributions up to $150,000 made by fans at the team's opener against Dallas on Sept. 11.

    • Serena Williams, who has already said she'll donate $100 for every ace she hits the rest of the year, is also offering up her U.S. Open earrings. Williams is sporting a pair of $40,000 platinum chandelier earrings with 13 carats of diamonds, and said she and designer Erica Courtney will put them up for auction on the WTA Tour Web site after the Open. "That would be a lot more than the aces," Williams said.

    • The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks announced plans Friday to donate $100,000 to the American Red Cross. Additional money will come from an in-arena action held at the Sparks' playoff game against Sacramento earlier this week and from in-arena auctions held at each Lakers home game during the month of November. Also, the Lakers Youth Foundation will make a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

    • The San Diego Padres will hold donation drives on Sept. 7 and 10 at Petco Park. The Padres, along with 14 other clubs hosting games on Sept. 7, will collect funds from fans for the American Red Cross relief effort. Major League Baseball will match what is collected in ballparks that day, up to $1 million.

    • The Arizona Diamondbacks will donate all proceeds from tickets purchased for their series against the Milwaukee Brewers later this month to the American Red Cross relief efforts. The Diamondbacks will also conduct a "Pass the Hat" donation campaign that will start with the players and extend to the fans during their game against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 16.

    • The Colorado Rockies said revenue from tickets sold on Sunday for their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers would be donated by the team's foundation to the McCormick Tribune Foundations Hurricane Katrina relief fund. The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match 50 percent of the first $2 million donated to the fund, the team said.

    Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.



    This is a fantastic idea. There isn't a single pro player that can't afford a measly $1K to help these people out. I would donate if I could, but as a full-time college student on a very fixed budget who is getting raped by increasing gas and on-campus parking costs, I can't afford to.
Working...
X