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

A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

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

  • A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

    Originally posted by vapacersfan
    My fear is now that the other dude is gone to the military (or will be soon) she may start messing with me again.
    oh no! and she is hot too you say? wirst nightmare come true!

    seriously, the only thing i can say is : it seems you like girl "C" the most and as i ve understood she lives pretty far away from you. so, when you tell me that she s joking around or playing with you, that ain t good. if you wanna have a long distance relationship, confidence is a very important thing. When you start something with her, you better be convinced that she s also 100% into it (just ask her, i guess)

    strange that i m giving you this advice as me not being the greatest love expert on earth, probably one of the wirst; hope it helps somehow anyway

    i wish there was more of that sort of drama in my life (it keeps you busy)

    regards,

    R
    Word on the street is he doesn't want your money, he only wants to please your ears...
    Bum in Berlin on Myspace

  • #2
    Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

    Good God, I stopped reading at a certain point. I'm 19, I'm engaged to a girl who I've known since I was 12. I never lived this type of lifestyle. I just sorta passed it by, not on purpose, but it just happened.

    But it sounds to me that you just need to pick one. One and one alone, and it should be the one that not only makes you the happiest but equally as important the one that you make the happiest.

    If you have this complex web of situations, then you know each person in that web has their own web. Just pick one, and then work thru all the tough times while not second-guessing yourself. Don't keep the others around as opportunities or fallback plans. Just commit.

    Oh and like always the truth shall set you free.
    House Name: Pacers

    House Sigil:



    House Words: "We Kneel To No King"

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

      You know VA, maybe you shouldn't even think about it, if both sides, meaning you and she (whoever 'she' may be) is supposed to happen it will. I'm not trying to feed you a line of crap about destiny, just that maybe if the both of you are aware how you feel abot eachother it would help.

      The worst type of relationship is a one sided one. Just directly ask 'Girl C' how she feels, if she doesn't feel the same way you do, then one awkward moment is easier to go through than many, which might result in either of you not really liking each other, or somebody getting hurt.

      Good Luck with what ever you choose to do!
      Life without water is tough, life without air is hard,life with one leg only is wobbly, Life without Reggie Miller, is impossible.

      Do Not Trade Austin

      Originally posted by Conrad Brunner
      Veteran Austin Croshere, the longest-tenured Pacers player on the roster, has proven reliable when called upon, invariably ready to step in regardless of the circumstance.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

        I'm confused. Whatever happened to the girl you went away with during the playoffs last year?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

          Originally posted by vapacersfan
          DD, thats cool.

          Im in no rush to get married, but I dont see negativly upon anyone who does young.

          As for a update:

          I was at my parents house for the Notre Dame-Michigan game, and girl "A" came over to my house and broke up with me.
          Um, can't say I blame her. Sounds like you were looking for the BBD (Bigger Better Deal) and perhaps she sensed that. Don't mean to be harsh, but good for her for moving on. I see that quite a bit here in LA. Both men and women playing it loose in the event or hope that something better comes along. I don't understand that mentality, nor do I want that kind of drama in my life. And I certainly don't like to see someone get played like that—leading someone on just enough to keep them around in the event you can't find something better, or until something better comes along. C'mon, vapacersfan, don't tell me you're one of those jerks. :shakehead

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

            Originally posted by vapacersfan
            Hey, you can think whatever you want of me. I wont lose any sleep over your (or anyone else's) opinion
            Um, then why did you come on here seeking opinions if you don't care what anyone has to say? Seems to me you're wasting your time and anyone else's that might take the time to read and respond to your (long) post.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

              Originally posted by vapacersfan
              It's called "The Shout Box". It's meant for rants.

              If you dont wan to read the "long" rant, then do yourself a favor and dont read it. Then you dont have to respond to it

              I never came here seeking opinions. I know there is no right answer, if there was I would pay some expert to tell me what to do. Unfortunately its not that simple..............
              Originally posted by vapacersfan
              I generally am against asking questions like this (no offense to you guys, but I just don’t like doing it) but I am curious as to what you guys think of my situation.
              Apology accepted.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                Well girl A has atleast made this "situation" a little less complicated now, good for her and good for you, I guess. I think you should stay away from Girl B IF you really feel you want to commit to someone and don't want to feel guilty cheating on the guy she's going with.

                Is he a friend of yours? IF so, that would be an absolute "NO-NO" for me personally, I like to keep in check with my own values and ethics and this would mean an absolute breach for me, but hey, I don't know your situation and your life, just telling what I would do.

                I would go for girl C, you already got "no", so why not try to go for "yes" without taking risks nothing ever happens, so go for her and let her know you are serious about her and while a lot of woman don't like "directness", maybe one of the first things you should talk about or that you should "gently" let loose in a conversation is that you are disgusted by people playing with other people's feelings, you could always use a friend who that has happenned to as an example, she'll understand the hint and try to assure or comfort you if she's serious about trying to get "something going". The best thing is to just let things come together, just ask her out with some friends and if things go "ok" than ask her out, just the two of you and see what happens, but only if you really want to, don't force things... they ALWAYS notice that (). Just have fun and try to talk a little more with her about some topics (trust forinstance) and see what she has to say or what she thinks about that. If you don't feel comfortable just take it easy and stay in contact/regular friends with her, maybe that's what she wants.

                Regards,

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

                2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                  Originally posted by vapacersfan
                  Thats the tricky part.

                  He is a friend of mine (sort of, co-worker) but neither of them will admit they are dating.......

                  They might as well be, though.

                  Your advice is good on the last one, but she is 2 hours away. That makes it more complicated to "go out with her and friends"
                  Hey ... I know what you are talking about my current girl doesn't even live in the same country as I do now , but that's ok with me ... for now .

                  Strange she didn't give you a call, but maybe she had a good reason like a big test coming up, just call her up and ask her when she's coming over again or... if you feel really good about her try to get a day off at work and meet her, just take a little bit of risk and don't let girl B try to interfere by simply not informing her of it until after.

                  Anyway, if girl C says no, you know where you stand with her. I would stay away from girl B. But, IF you really like her just ask the guy directly "are you dating her? I need to know now", offcourse all confidentiallity that you like her is gone after that ... not only against him and her, but probably the whole workfloor, because if I'm making a good guess there's a lot of young people there and word can go VERY fast than.

                  Regards,

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

                  2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                  2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                    Originally posted by vapacersfan
                    BTW, good to see that work out with you and your girl. Personally I swore I would never do a long term relationship, I have just seen to many of them fall apart...but good for you!
                    Jerk.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                      In this world, there are really three types of people.

                      The first one is the guy that has business aspirations. A career dominated life-style, a guy with his eyes truly on the prize. This guy has little time to build a seriously relationship, with his busy schedule and perhaps a stronger passion in building his career. Most likely, he'll fall in love once or twice, but won't have a strong family, but most likely will have a pretty rich financial setting.

                      The second one is the guy that wants a family. While this guy isn't as common as guy 1, or the soon to be listed guy 3, they do exist, and one is the author of this post. This guy is looking for one girl, and one girl only. This guy will have his heart broken several times in his life, or if he's lucky, he'll find the right girl and have a nice family, but most likely a weaker financial situation.

                      The third and final guy is the guy we all hate and secretly want to be sometime. This guy dates around and can get any girl he wants pretty much. And it's hard to understand why. He's a selfishly rude jerk. But for some reason, those qualities attract girls that most guys only wish they could have. But this guy dedicates most of his time to being a 'player' and won't ever accumulate a vast ammount of wealthy, just a vast ammount of STD's and child support bills.

                      Now, va, I think people are mistakenly labeling you as guy 3. But I think it should be apparent that you're guy 1. You have your goals set, and you don't want to have any serious relationships in the way of all that. Women are nice, relationships are nice, but they do hold you back of your goals. I'm engaged right now, and I'm at the same age you are. We're on our way to two seperate life styles. I'm probably gunna have a family and a wife, but not have the great financial life-style. I'm taking college coarses online starting October 9th, but whether I'm able to have a successful career is yet to be determined.

                      I will say this; don't go for girl c, don't go for girl b. Girl b can only give you perhaps sex, but I don't think you'll get anything relationship wise from her. You're also backstabbing your friend. If he's away in the marines, and he's not seeing her, maybe a tapping here or there won't be to bad.

                      Girl c is to far away. I'm sorry, but long distant relationships don't work out. I bet you anything she's already had plenty of guys trying to get in her pants. You need to keep your eyes on the prize and don't let her be a distraction.

                      Now, I'm not saying this from my personal beliefs, because I have a strong relationship that I'm proud of and am very happy with. But judging from your information, I'd say that you are the guy number 1 that has career goals set and is hell bent on making them. Maybe you'll find love, maybe you'll just find short term happiness, but whatever you do, I leave you with this bit of information. In your lifetime, you will never, ever, and I mean ever, find eternal happiness. It doesn't exist.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                        Originally posted by vapacersfan
                        notice I said "I swore"

                        means I have, or may in the future change my mind

                        I still think they are risky, as some people may not feel as guilty.....

                        but if/when they do work, more power to ya!
                        :shakehead

                        You missed it...

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                          Originally posted by vapacersfan
                          lmfao, I mean long distance, ohh man I am so slow......
                          There ya go.

                          You no longer have the liberty to make any Canadian jokes.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: A HARDCORE RANT FROM ME

                            Originally posted by vapacersfan
                            That was deep.

                            Good read, thank you...
                            It was the final thought on Jerry Springer two weeks ago. 'Three guys could be my babies daddy!' It just took a little bit of editing to make it apply to you.

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X