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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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Ask the Expert-08/16/06

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  • #1

    Ask the Expert-08/16/06

    http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/

    August 16, 2006

    Ask the Expert
    Posted by Mike Wells

    I’m sure we’re all thinking the same when I say I thought the deal for Al Harrington would be done. Every time it seems like a deal is about to be finalized, there’s some kind of hang up. Most of you guys will probably disagree with me because of how you feel about him, but I thought Bob Kravitz’s column was pretty funny Wednesday. I don’t think Bob is actually sitting at home every day waiting for me to call him to tell inform him the deal is finally done. Sekou Smith and I are the ones waiting around for the deal to be done. I still think Harrington will be a Pacer when it’s all said and done.

    Let’s answer some questions now…

    (Warren) Question: Can you explain WHY the Pacers are working on a Sign-and-Trade with Atlanta for Harrington, vs. simply SIGNING Al? Certainly I see the value to Atlanta in a Sign-and-Trade, but I'm mystified as to why it benefits the Pacers! Seems to me that giving up a #1 Draft Pick is terribly expensive.... for an Un-Restricted Free Agent! Why are teams simply not laying the cash out for Al (whatever amount is required)?
    Thank you.

    Answer: This is a rather simply answer, Warren. The Pacers can sign Harrington outright, but they can’t offer him anymore than the midlevel exception, which is about $5 million. Harrington doesn’t plan on taking that much of a pay cut. That’s why the Pacers are offering the future first round draft pick and trade exception for Harrington. I’ve received numerous emails from fans saying Harrington isn’t worth that much. I don’t think that’s too much for a player that’s probably going to average around 17 or 18 points a game. The Pacers have to offer something because teams like Denver, Golden State and the Lakers are waiting for the deal to fall through.


    (Jamison) Question: There has been a lot of talk about who the Pacers should pick up as free agents, but not a whole lot on who they should trade away. Sooner or later they need to address their biggest problem from last year, and that is Jackson. I don't see him fitting in with this new style of play at all. I cannot imagine Carlisle loosening up to enough to allow Jackson to be Jackson. Its obvious he isn't going to change.

    Answer: I’m sorry to inform you but Jackson will likely be back for his third season with the Pacers. He’ll also be the starting shooting guard, again, unless coach Rick Carlisle decides to shake things up. I don’t agree when you say you can’t imagine Carlisle loosening things up next season. Pacers officials have been more than outspoken in saying they’re changing their style of play. They can’t get away with just pounding the ball to O’Neal in the post. O’Neal will face constant double and triple teams in the post if they do that because the Pacers currently aren’t much of a 3-point shooting team outside of Sarunas Jasikevicius, and there’s no guarantee he’ll even be in the rotation or on the team next season. It will be interesting to see the Pacers make the transition to be a more athletic team.

    (B. Williams) Question: Although I can't stand the Pacers, I am a big fan of Jimmy "Snap" Hunter, a playground legend in Memphis. I've noticed that he has been in the Pacers training camp for the past two years. Does he have a legitimate shot at finally making the team this year.

    Answer: Hunter has been impressive during his time with the Pacers in training camp and summer league. He has two things going against him, however. The Pacers are stacked in the backcourt and he’s a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. The Pacers thought highly enough of him to give him a partially-guaranteed contract of about $100,000. With more moves expected following the Harrington deal, it’s uncertain at this moment to say if Hunter will make the final roster. The one thing he has in his favor is that he shoots the ball well.

    (Jeremy) Question: Mike, Who do you pick in a two on two matchup between the team of Reggie Miller/Rik Smits versus Marquis Daniels/Jermaine O'Neal? Here are the guidelines...Consider each player at the top of their game, no injuries, playing half court, and indoors. Playing to 15, win by 2, baskets inside the three point line are good for one point, and outside the three are good for two points. Ball out to non-scoring team after each bucket. No goal tending, max of 5 seconds in the lane, and players call their own fouls. I pick Reggie and Rik. What do you think?

    Answer: Daniels and O’Neal are more athletic than Smits and Miller, but I’m going to pick Smits and Miller to win the game. I have to go with those two because I can see Miller sagging off Daniels the entire game to help Smits in the post against O’Neal. Daniels has made just 24 percent of his 3-pointers. Daniels will have to earn Miller’s respect from the perimeter by knocking down some outside shoots or at least being able to attack the basket despite having Miller playing several feet off him.

    (John) Question: If the Al Harrington deal falls through, where do you see the Pacers heading to fill the void? There has been some talk of Randolph from Portland...is this really a viable option? It seems like he would be a pricey option and with his checkered past it seems he would be more trouble than he is worth.

    Answer: Just like I’ve said about Bonzi Wells in the past, Randolph is not coming to Indiana. The Trail Blazers have no interest in trading Randolph. They made that clear when they traded away point guard Sabastian Telfair. They felt Telfair’s up tempo style didn’t fit in with Randolph’s style, which is more halfcourt oriented.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

    Originally posted by Mike Wells
    I’m sorry to inform you but Jackson will likely be back for his third season with the Pacers. He’ll also be the starting shooting guard, again.
    If this happens......

    if this happens, I am going to drop my anti-Jackson signature and cope with it like a man!

    But I still think moving Jackson is the right thing to do for the team, and that the man has trade value. Box him with one or two of our current excess of players-under-contract and bring back a shooter.

    Good column by Mike Wells.
    And I won't be here to see the day
    It all dries up and blows away
    I'd hang around just to see
    But they never had much use for me
    In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

      Where are we going to get a shooting guard that is better than Jax? I think he's going to be here.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

        Marquis Daniels?
        Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
        Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
        Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
        Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
        And life itself, rushing over me
        Life itself, the wind in black elms,
        Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

          We could trade Jax and Jeff for Joe Johnson. Hey it works. Doubt Atl would do it though.
          I think KP is a Captain Planet fan. He believes that the collective will of five decent starters can outweigh the power of top-level talent. Too bad Herb won't cut the check for their Planeteer rings.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

            Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
            Where are we going to get a shooting guard that is better than Jax? I think he's going to be here.
            That's one question... the other question is whether the team can keep a player that is SOOOOOO out of favor with the ticket buying public that they openly grumble and boo him at home games.

            Apparently (if they really do keep him) they don't think he's crossed the point of no return with the fans. I imagine the PR wing of the local media and Pacers.com will soon be working overtime on image enhancement. ...but Sjax is going to have to work on it too. And the team (read: coach and even upper brass) are going to have to make sure and minimize certain aspects of his game/demeanor instead of allowing him to be put into certain situations.

            I think it's most likely a lost cause at this point (without a new coach or else Carlisle will seriously need to reinvent himself) because I think the fans have spoken and I don't think Sjax can be rehabbed enough that the existing lack of fan support won't end up causing a setback for him. Then it will be a spiral.

            But hey... what do I know...

            -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

            • #7
              Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

              Originally posted by indyman37 View Post
              We could trade Jax and Jeff for Joe Johnson. Hey it works. Doubt Atl would do it though.

              I think Jax would off himself before going back to Atlanta

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                Originally posted by Bball View Post
                Apparently (if they really do keep him) they don't think he's crossed the point of no return with the fans. I imagine the PR wing of the local media and Pacers.com will soon be working overtime on image enhancements.

                Suggestions:

                1. pass out red handkerchiefs with the Pacers logo to all the fans.
                2. pass out large foam hands with fingers in "funny shapes."
                3. start keeping stats of "shots to passes" ratio, or of "seconds saved" from the shotclock by shooting early.
                4. issue a poster with Jackson and Sarunas posing together, smiling at each other.
                5. giving a prize to the tv viewer who predicts which Pacers' player will be the first to drop his defensive assignment to jaw with a ref during the fourth quarter.


                (all in good fun, y'all, all in good fun)
                And I won't be here to see the day
                It all dries up and blows away
                I'd hang around just to see
                But they never had much use for me
                In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                  I like the point he made about Daniels. With no outside shot it nullifies his strength ( slashing to the basket). Also we had no real three point threat last year either 'til Peja got here 40 some games into the season. That didn't stop us from pounding the ball into JO, did it?
                  I'm in these bands
                  The Humans
                  Dr. Goldfoot
                  The Bar Brawlers
                  ME

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                    Originally posted by Putnam View Post
                    -snip-
                    5. giving a prize to the tv viewer who predicts which Pacers' player will be the first to drop his defensive assignment to jaw with a ref during the fourth quarter.


                    (all in good fun, y'all, all in good fun)
                    Would that be the Miller Lite 4th Quarter *****out?

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                      BBall - here is the marketing team's solution on Mood Ring's appeal (sorry, I mean Jack, that's my new nickname I just came up with at RATS ).

                      WIN GAMES. End of story.

                      People will not give a if the team wins games with Jack on the floor. He'll become a fan darling along with any players part of the winning. Sure some of the staunch haters, the ones most entrenched in disliking players at all costs will simply go with "yes they won but..." all the time, but tickets will sell, fans will cheer when he hits shots, and all will be right with the world.


                      I'm not saying that marketing strategy will work, as in its possible the team won't win games. But if they don't then I doubt any other marketing will fix things anyway, and not just for Mood Ring.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                        Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post

                        WIN GAMES. End of story.

                        People will not give a if the team wins games with Jack on the floor.

                        The Pacers won the brawl game with Jack on the floor, but his behavior overshadowed the win on that occasion.

                        Nevertheless, Seth, you make a good point. Winning makes a lot of things OK. If Jackson and plays well and behaves himself and the team stays above .600, I'll shut up. I just don't believe it will happen that way. The man is who he is.
                        And I won't be here to see the day
                        It all dries up and blows away
                        I'd hang around just to see
                        But they never had much use for me
                        In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Ask the Expert-08/16/06

                          Well I sure as F hope they aren't trying to overcome something as bad as the brawl. And actually if Ron had only been suspended 10 games and the other guys only 2-3 and the team returned to rolling through the season Pacers fans wouldn't have cared a bit.

                          As it was a majority of fans remained behind Ron until his trade request, and he wasn't even helping the team for most of that time. Unlike Jack he had the benefit of association with the 03-04 output and caught a lot more slack.

                          Comment

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