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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.

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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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Just Curious....

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  • #16
    Re: Just Curious....

    Raised a buddhist, now I'm not so sure what's going on.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Just Curious....

      raised non religiously, became christian, not sure as of now
      STARBURY

      08 and Beyond

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Just Curious....

        Raised Catholic, then became an atheist, then agnostic, then flip flopped between atheist and agnostic, then a believer in a God/Gods but didn't choose a side, then christian, and then back to Catholic.
        Originally posted by Natston;n3510291
        I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of the 3 T.J.s working for them, and that ain't bad...

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Just Curious....

          Let me put the snakes back in the coolers and address this topic....


          -Bball
          Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

          ------

          "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

          -John Wooden

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Just Curious....

            Originally posted by Isaac@Section216
            I'm agnostic. I can't say what I believe one way or another, because I have absolutely no idea. Anything is plausible, but I think its very likely that we are just a growth, and a complete accident. There is no reason or meaning to life.

            I can't say that I know that for sure, which is why I don't say that I'm "atheist" but its the most likely scenario in my opinion.

            ^^^^What he said. I believe in right and wrong..that regardless of who's right, whether it be the Hebrews, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, etc, etc....that if there is a God, then He isn't a vengeful God and would not be so consumed with pride that you wouldn't get into heaven simply because you didn't worship him....you would be judged on the entirety of your actions.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Just Curious....

              [QUOTE=Chauncey]^^^^What he said. I believe in right and wrong..that regardless of who's right, whether it be the Hebrews, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, etc, etc....that if there is a God, then He isn't a vengeful God and would not be so consumed with pride that you wouldn't get into heaven simply because you didn't worship him....you would be judged on the entirety of your actions.[/QUOTE]

              Well, one would think so. It makes perfect sense to me, but then since your sins are forgiven, it doesn't matter how you have behaved, ONLY that you have faith. This is what sticks in my craw. Am I confused? Good deeds and behavior matter less than faith alone? Anybody with some religious experience care to school me on this?

              Oh good (God), now I'm getting religious advice over the internet.
              Don't thank me, I'll kill ya.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Just Curious....

                Originally posted by Knucklehead Warrior
                Well, one would think so. It makes perfect sense to me, but then since your sins are forgiven, it doesn't matter how you have behaved, ONLY that you have faith. This is what sticks in my craw. Am I confused? Good deeds and behavior matter less than faith alone? Anybody with some religious experience care to school me on this?

                Oh good (God), now I'm getting religious advice over the internet.
                James 2:14-26

                What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

                But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

                You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

                You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless. Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

                In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.



                Originally posted by Natston;n3510291
                I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of the 3 T.J.s working for them, and that ain't bad...

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Just Curious....

                  not an atheist but no completely specified religion.. just believe there is a god and thats all i believe i need

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Just Curious....

                    Originally posted by naturallystoned
                    James 2:14-26

                    What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

                    But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

                    You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

                    You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless. Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

                    In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.



                    THANK YOU!

                    Nowwwww, what about deeds without faith? Is it possible for a person to be on good behavior, do good deeds, and still be confused or doubtful about his faith? i.e. Do the deeds confirm the faith, even if the individual is uncertain he has faith?

                    I assume a person can say he is agnostic, but still perform at the same level as someone who has strong faith, therefore both faith and deeds are needed.

                    Thanks for the scripture. Got any others?
                    Don't thank me, I'll kill ya.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Just Curious....

                      Originally posted by Knucklehead Warrior
                      THANK YOU!

                      Nowwwww, what about deeds without faith? Is it possible for a person to be on good behavior, do good deeds, and still be confused or doubtful about his faith? i.e. Do the deeds confirm the faith, even if the individual is uncertain he has faith?

                      I assume a person can say he is agnostic, but still perform at the same level as someone who has strong faith, therefore both faith and deeds are needed.

                      Thanks for the scripture. Got any others?
                      "The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23)

                      "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

                      The most common misconception about being accepted by God and entering into heaven, and perhaps the most common misconception about Christianity in general, is that God's approval is something which has to be earned or merited. He will only love us and accept us if we happen to be good enough.
                      God doesn't judge by the number of good deeds you do, or the number of bad. A person can only sin once, doubtful but this is theoretically, and do thousands upon thousands of good things, and if he doesn't believe in that Jesus was sent to absolve us of our sins he won't have a place in Heaven.

                      http://www.christianity.co.nz/faith1.htm
                      Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Just Curious....

                        Thanks again.
                        Thanks for the link. I'm going over it now.
                        Don't thank me, I'll kill ya.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Just Curious....

                          I was born as a muslim, but was never 100% religious, today im not even 0% religious. Im maybe a bit agnostic (just as the rest of Yugo "muslims" are, Agnostic or Atheists or not 100% religious, well.. almost all!), ... but never atheist.

                          The truth is out there, I believe there is SOMETHING out there, i dont call that "god/jesus/buddha" but i call it "Allah" because even tho im not a religious Muslim I believe in "Allah", people think that its a GOD or something and used only by muslims / arabs... It means a great Force or a Spirit, the most powerfull Force/Spirit/Phenomenon... formless, shapeless... something u just cant explain and something you just cant ignore its existance... Its not a HE or SHE.. but its maybe an IT, Its in YOU, Its in your soul, its in your father, sister, mother, brother, friend.. you can breathe it, you can not see it but if you really believe then you can feel it presense... and there is NO such other thing existing... The ONE and ONLY.

                          Because i couldnt find ONE Normal English/My Language Word for all of this i believe in, i had it right infront of my eyes... this is what "ALLAH" means. Well..... that or "THE FORCE" from STAR WARS

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Just Curious....

                            I'm agnostic. But I think hydrogen is pretty swell. Here's something I wrote.......Is a man different then the other animals? To say that we are would be implying that we are from another world and not the children of Earth. We are either the smartest of all the animals or we were all generated from Adam and Eve. We all know how ridiculous it is to think that all the people and the races here on Earth came to be by the creation of two humans. So then we must be the product of millions of years of evelution by biological organisims. This is concerete scientific fact. To believe otherwise is simply foolish. Science has brought us all these revelations about our origon. When you are sick you go to the doctor and trust that he will know how to heal you. Doctors don't go to Theological schools. They study Science at universities. Science. When you walk into a large building you trust it will not come crashing down on you. Architects don't go to Theological schools. They study science at a university. So you do believe in science don't you? Why then would you not believe science when it comes to Creationism? You do want to think for yourself, don't you? You do want to find out the truth about why we are here. So do I.

                            Now we know that we are indeed the products of millions of years of evelution. We are the smartest of all the animals to ever walk this planet. But, Animals we are. You're just so smart you don't even realize your animal instincts. Every human emotion can be traced down to primitive behavior in animals. Why are attractive people attractive? The real reason is attractive people are the ones who look the healthiest and have the best genes to pass down to a new generation. Big breasts? Yes. Subconsciously your animal instinct is telling you her large breasts means she is a fertile female ready to pass down your seed. But we are so smart we never think of it that way. You just "feel" large breasts are hot. You weren't consciously thinking about having children. You get angry, animals do to. Dog's growl. You get lonley. Lost wolves cry for their pack. You feel something when a loved one dies. Elephents are known to visit the graves of lost loved ones 20 years after the other elephant died.

                            We are animals. We crave food, water, sex, shelter. We just do them with a complexity unmathced in the animal kingdom. Listen to your instincts. Think about things you just "feel". You feel you need to eat. No one else need to tell you that you are hungry.

                            What if your muture adult brain and consciosness were suddenly generated on an empty Earth. There you stand, the only human alive. You've never spoken to or seen another human. What things would you be able to figure out on your own? Many things. Looking into the sun hurts your eyes. When you are thirsty you drink water. Fire is hot and you shouldn't touch it. Large animals are scary and should be avoided. Anything you found out would be a universal truth. Anyone else in the situation would be able to independently come to the same conclusion. The same is true with religion. If there is a truth to it all humans should be able to come to the same conclusion on their own. Obviously that is not the way it is. So all notions of religion are incorrect. Take gravity for example. If Newton had not discovered it someone else would have. Would you have found Christianity on your own on that desserted Earth. No.

                            Pay attention to the things you feel. Second guess everything you have learned from other people. Never trust religion or the goverment because someone tells you to. Think for yourself.

                            All the first civilizations had a sun god. The earth revolves around the sun. The sun heats the earth to the correct tempature for liqued water. The sun provides us with light and esential vitamins. No life would exist on this planet without it. Were they on to something?

                            The revelation of the sun caused me to want to go one step further. Hydrogen. The first element in the Periodic Table. The first element to ever exist. The element from which all other elements were generated. Hydrogen makes up 75% of the universe. It is present in water and almost every organic chemicle. Hydrogen fuels the sun and all other stars. Is hydrogen the blood of the Gods? The father of all living things?

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Just Curious....

                              [QUOTE=Knucklehead Warrior]
                              Originally posted by Chauncey
                              ^^^^What he said. I believe in right and wrong..that regardless of who's right, whether it be the Hebrews, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, etc, etc....that if there is a God, then He isn't a vengeful God and would not be so consumed with pride that you wouldn't get into heaven simply because you didn't worship him....you would be judged on the entirety of your actions.[/QUOTE]

                              Well, one would think so. It makes perfect sense to me, but then since your sins are forgiven, it doesn't matter how you have behaved, ONLY that you have faith. This is what sticks in my craw. Am I confused? Good deeds and behavior matter less than faith alone? Anybody with some religious experience care to school me on this?

                              Oh good (God), now I'm getting religious advice over the internet.
                              See, this is one thing I never got. How on earth can you say one person is ~GOOD~ and one person is ~EVIL~, thus deserving eternal punishment or reward. Maybe I just think in too many shades of gray, but this whole thing just doesn't make any sense to me. I'm sure you could give me an example of some individuals who are really bad or really good, but aren't the vast majority of people just kind of muddling along somewhere in the middle? The whole idea just doesn't make any sense to me.
                              "If you ever crawl inside an old hollow log and go to sleep, and while you're in there some guys come and seal up both ends and then put it on a truck and take it to another city, boy, I don't know what to tell you." - Jack Handy

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Just Curious....

                                I think religion is a scourge.

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