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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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Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

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  • #46
    Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

    As to aliens, I personally think there is WAY to much information out there, too much lack of explaination, too many photos from all over the world and odd sightings for me to think there aren't aliens of some kind and they are visiting us.

    Life on another planet doesn't have to resemble our own to make it valid "intelligent life". Is it possible that aliens exist in a dimension other than ours? Have they mastered faster than light travel? Could they exist inside a planet we thought lifeless? Could they exist in our oceans?

    Thing we have to remember is how long the human race has been here and how long it took us to learn the power of flight. What if there is a civilization out there way, way older than us that has not only mastered it, but done so in a way that is undetectable to us. I think we have a certain arrogance that if it ain't like us, then it isn't intelligent.

    I wonder about people who don't believe in aliens/ufos. Have they ever actually taken the time to educate themselves outside of the sensationalistic tv show?

    I get kind of anal sometimes when I'm curious about something and I'll go through a brief period of reading all I can about it. (My devil worship curoisity phase scared the crap outta me.) I read a ton of books on J. Allen Hynek and about project blue book and different groups that study UFOS, unexplained atronomical 'lights" and goverment reports. There's just too many discrepanies out there to discount there are aliens of some sort.

    I had to actually search for this quote. I faintly remembered it, but couldn't remember it exactly. It was just a random theory, but it makes you think:

    "I hold it entirely possible that a technology exists, which encompasses both the physical and the psychic, the material and the mental. There are stars that are millions of years older than the sun. There maybe a civilization that is millions of years more advanced than man's. We have gone from Kitty Hawk to the moon in some seventy years, but it's possible that a million-year-old civilization may know something that we don't ... I hypothesize an 'M&M' technology encompassing the mental and material realms. The psychic realms, so mysterious to us today, may be an ordinary part of an advanced technology."

    As to ghosts, I dunno. evidence on ghosts is far more subjective and there aren't photos, lights in the sky, unexplained reports from astronomers, etc, like the aliens/ufo thing. Do I believe in ghosts? I dunno. I'm extremely skeptical, BUT let me relay something a little weird that happened to me and youj tell me.

    An old girlfriend, years ago, wanted to go to a psychic, but she didn't want to go by herself. After she begged me for a while, I told her I would go with her for company, but I would not get a reading. So we get there and she pleads with me to do first. I told her I didn't believe in psychics, but if that gave her the courage to do it, then I'll begrudgingly do it.

    Long story short, the psychic told me there were three departed spirits watching over me. I'm like "yeah, yeah". She could only make out one of them and she said his name was Carl, he was tall and he had close ties to me.

    Well, I told my mom about it and was scoffing. I had an uncle Karl, who was short and had died some years ago, but that's the only Karl I could think of. Mom kind of froze. When I asked her what's up? She told me that my grandfather, whom I never knew, died on my very first birthday. I never knew that. He was tall and a military man.

    His first name? Carl.

    Now bear in mind, I was very non-forthcoming with information to the psychic. How did she come up with the name Carl and him being tall and watching over me? It's the only name she mentioned.
    Hey! What're you kicking me for? You want me to ask? All right, I'll ask! Ma'am, where do the high school girls hang out in this town?

    Comment

    • #47
      Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

      Originally posted by Skaut_Ech View Post
      As to aliens, I personally think there is WAY to much information out there, too much lack of explaination, too many photos from all over the world and odd sightings for me to think there aren't aliens of some kind and they are visiting us.

      Life on another planet doesn't have to resemble our own to make it valid "intelligent life". Is it possible that aliens exist in a dimension other than ours? Have they mastered faster than light travel? Could they exist inside a planet we thought lifeless? Could they exist in our oceans?

      Thing we have to remember is how long the human race has been here and how long it took us to learn the power of flight. What if there is a civilization out there way, way older than us that has not only mastered it, but done so in a way that is undetectable to us. I think we have a certain arrogance that if it ain't like us, then it isn't intelligent.

      I wonder about people who don't believe in aliens/ufos. Have they ever actually taken the time to educate themselves outside of the sensationalistic tv show?

      I get kind of anal sometimes when I'm curious about something and I'll go through a brief period of reading all I can about it. (My devil worship curoisity phase scared the crap outta me.) I read a ton of books on J. Allen Hynek and about project blue book and different groups that study UFOS, unexplained atronomical 'lights" and goverment reports. There's just too many discrepanies out there to discount there are aliens of some sort.

      I had to actually search for this quote. I faintly remembered it, but couldn't remember it exactly. It was just a random theory, but it makes you think:

      "I hold it entirely possible that a technology exists, which encompasses both the physical and the psychic, the material and the mental. There are stars that are millions of years older than the sun. There maybe a civilization that is millions of years more advanced than man's. We have gone from Kitty Hawk to the moon in some seventy years, but it's possible that a million-year-old civilization may know something that we don't ... I hypothesize an 'M&M' technology encompassing the mental and material realms. The psychic realms, so mysterious to us today, may be an ordinary part of an advanced technology."

      As to ghosts, I dunno. evidence on ghosts is far more subjective and there aren't photos, lights in the sky, unexplained reports from astronomers, etc, like the aliens/ufo thing. Do I believe in ghosts? I dunno. I'm extremely skeptical, BUT let me relay something a little weird that happened to me and youj tell me.

      An old girlfriend, years ago, wanted to go to a psychic, but she didn't want to go by herself. After she begged me for a while, I told her I would go with her for company, but I would not get a reading. So we get there and she pleads with me to do first. I told her I didn't believe in psychics, but if that gave her the courage to do it, then I'll begrudgingly do it.

      Long story short, the psychic told me there were three departed spirits watching over me. I'm like "yeah, yeah". She could only make out one of them and she said his name was Carl, he was tall and he had close ties to me.

      Well, I told my mom about it and was scoffing. I had an uncle Karl, who was short and had died some years ago, but that's the only Karl I could think of. Mom kind of froze. When I asked her what's up? She told me that my grandfather, whom I never knew, died on my very first birthday. I never knew that. He was tall and a military man.

      His first name? Carl.

      Now bear in mind, I was very non-forthcoming with information to the psychic. How did she come up with the name Carl and him being tall and watching over me? It's the only name she mentioned.
      Just remember... Carl likes mustard on his biscuits ahhhh hmmmm

      Comment

      • #48
        Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

        Extraordinary claims require extraordinary scientific evidence.

        If alien crafts visit us all the time, show me a fragment, a piece of metal maybe, not from earth.

        If ghosts exist, produce one in a controlled setting, where all physical measurements can be documented and authenticated.

        I'm a scientist and I guess it is ingrained in me to be a skeptic and to assume a negative until someone proves a positive WITH HARD DATA.

        People still believe in the Loch Ness Monster, and year after year people come forward and admit to fabricating the hoaxes that believers continue to cite as their best evidence.
        The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

        Comment

        • #49
          Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

          Do I believe in ghosts? Depends when and wheree i am if you understand what im getting at

          Do I believe in aliens? Yes

          Do I believe in UFOs? Yes


          Well i did think i saw one on tv then i noticed it was just Cassel...

          Comment

          • #50
            Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

            Originally posted by PaCeRs_GuRL View Post
            Ahh. Those stories were kind of scary/spooky.

            Has anyone ever felt that quick breeze when alone? (No, it's not the AC )

            I liked "Are You Afraid of the Dark" though. It was a great show.
            Nickelodeon? yeah i remember a long time ago i used to be scared of that show...

            Comment

            • #51
              Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

              Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

              Yes and Not Really.

              Comment

              • #52
                Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

                I have reason to believe you are all aliens.
                I'm trying not to hold it against you.

                Comment

                • #53
                  Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

                  The best part about this thread is every time I open page 2 I get to see Monument Circle and Leisure Suit Larry again.

                  Man, that was priceless.
                  This space for rent.

                  Comment

                  • #54
                    Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

                    Bump...

                    ...in the night.
                    You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
                    All that fiber optic gear / still cannot take away the fear / like an island song

                    - Jimmy Buffett

                    Comment

                    • #55
                      Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

                      Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                      The best part about this thread is every time I open page 2 I get to see Monument Circle and Leisure Suit Larry again.

                      Man, that was priceless.
                      Super Bowl XLI Champions
                      2000 Eastern Conference Champions




                      Comment

                      • #56
                        Re: Do you believe in Ghosts/Aliens?

                        Originally posted by pacertom View Post
                        I think that Ghosts are a combination of practical jokes, hallucinations, and overactive imaginations.

                        I beleive that life exists elsewhere in the universe but that no intelligent extraterrestrials have ever visited Earth due to the mind-boggling distances involved.

                        I do believe in Sam Cassell.
                        Exactly the same here!

                        Comment

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