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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"

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"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

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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.

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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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Dampier in his own words

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  • #1

    Dampier in his own words

    One on one with Erick Dampier

    by Chris Navalta
    For the past seven years, center Erick Dampier has grown tiresome of listening to five different coaches while playing for the Golden State Warriors.

    Now, he's going to spend the summer listening to himself.

    Dampier has the chance to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent this offseason. And after putting together the best statistical year of his career, the man they call 'Damp' will definitely weigh out his options this summer.

    "I've wanted out for a while," Dampier said. "And I figured the only option to get out was to go and play hard. I worked hard over the summer. I worked really hard. (Former Warriors assistant coach) Clifford Ray was a big part of that. He was a big motivational factor for me. My family too. So, I just took it in stride, I went out, worked hard, and tried to make myself better. At the same time, I still wanted to try and help make the team better. I knew that if I played hard, some good things would happen for me."

    Last season, Dampier and the Warriors finished with 38 wins and were in playoff contention until the last week of the regular season. With the following season in mind -- along with possibly opting out of his contract -- Dampier dedicated last summer to the weightroom and the basketball court.

    Starting the season with nearly an entirely different team, along with Adonal Foyle on the injured list, it was Dampier's time to shine. Before he knew it, he was seeing plenty of double-double performances in the Warriors box score night after night.

    With the loss of nearly 60 percent of the team's offense in the offseason (Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas), that put Dampier as the go-to guy inside the paint. And the decision to give him the ball more has paid dividends.

    "With Antawn and Gilbert being gone, that just opened up the door for a lot of other people," Dampier said. "That was the time for most people to step their game up and show what they're capable of. When Antawn was here, he commanded a lot of shots. So, we had to put him in the box in order for him to get shots. With Gilbert, he was able to get his offense going anytime because he had the ball in his hands 90 percent of the time. So with those two gone, I thought that really gave me the opportunity to step my game up and just go out and really play."

    Putting up the best numbers of his career, Dampier has been able to turn the heads of fans and media, who are now saying he is arguably in the top three among best centers in the powerhouse Western Conference. But for Dampier, he wasn't the least bit surprised by his performance.

    "It didn't surprise me at all," Dampier said. "I always thought that was something I was capable of doing. Over the last couple of years, it was just a matter of whether or not I was going to get the opportunities. I was preaching to the coach, I was preaching to the General Manager to just give me the opportunity -- at least some touches in the box -- so I could present a presence. Finally, Eric (Musselman) began to listen to me. He started throwing the ball to me a little bit more. I just now showed what I'm capable of doing."

    Dampier's season ended abruptly with just eight games to go when he injured his ankle in a road game against Toronto. Still, it was a satisfying season.

    "It was a good year," Dampier said. "At times, I felt I could have had better games. I think I'm capable of playing a lot better. I'm planning on going into the off-season and work extremely hard. I don't want people to say: 'Hey, Erick was playing hard just because it's his contract year'. That's not even the case. If you look at last year, I wasn't the system. But I was playing hard. For me, the biggest thing was to just come into this season and be consistent. I wanted to play hard. And I did the whole season."

    Dampier began his career in 1996, when he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers. After his rookie season, he was traded to the Warriors, along with Duane Ferrell, for Chris Mullin. Since then, he's seen five different coaches with five different philosophies (P.J. Carlesimo, Garry St. Jean, Dave Cowens, Brian Winters and Eric Musselman). The Warriors hadn't made the playoffs once during Dampier's tenure. And it didn't help that the frequent turnover held from flourishing his talents as a player.

    "When you have five or six different coaches (in seven years), the system changes. And when a new coach tries to implement their system, it's whether or not players buy into it. I learned a lot from all of those coaches. But it was just harder on us, going season after season not knowing the foundation for the team. Once we used on coach's system, another one came in. But that goes along with the business. The organization has to make changes."

    While he's seen plenty of changes within the Warriors organization, Dampier has also seen changes within himself -- physically and mentally.

    "I think I've evolved a lot," Dampier said. "I probably didn't work as hard back then as I do now. Because I've seen the rewards that follow if you go out and work hard. I think I play this game harder now because I'm here, I want to be comfortable around my surroundings and I want to be on a good team. I figured if I was going to get out of Golden State, the only was I was going to do that was to play my way out. And I just took that in stride over the summer. And I think it's very important that I keep working hard and improve my game. I think I'm definitely capable of playing a lot better. So, I'm going to go out and work hard this summer. And hopefully, I can take my game to another level."

    Dampier also credits Foyle, his closest friend and teammate, for his progress as a player. Both Dampier and Foyle are the longest-tenured Warriors and have been pretty much the only constant the team has had over the past seven years. And despite the two players competing for the same position, they have a mutual respect for each other.

    "You always want a good center behind you," Dampier said. "And I thought Adonal and myself complemented each other. We've been here for seven years, we're the best of friends and we both want each other to succeed. It's now getting to the point where he wants to start. So, who knows where we go from here? He's a great guy to play with. I wish I could have him on my team always. But he wants to be a starter and I want a chance to be an All-Star. Who knows where the future will take us?"

    Dampier should be taking advantage of the free agent market this summer. He'll be listening to offers from plenty of NBA teams that will be in dire need of a strong presence in the paint. Dampier hasn't put much thought as to where he'd like to play next year. But he has a pretty good idea what that team should have in order to lure him there.

    "I definitely want to play with a point guard, with a good shooting guard," Dampier said. "I wouldn't mind going to the East. I have a chance to be an All-Star there. I wouldn't say money is a factor. But hey, all of us want to be taken care of. I've been in the league for 7-8 years. So, I'm pretty much taken care of financially. So, I don't think money is a big issue. So, we'll see what happens. There are going to be some doors that's going to open up for me. There may be some possible sign-and-trades. It'll just be a matter of whether or not the Warriors are willing to do it."

    Dampier has also dedicated himself to community service. Back in his hometown of Jackson, Ms., he built the Erick Dampier Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps children's dreams come true.

    "I started the Erick Dampier Foundation about two years ago," he said. "We help underprivileged kinds go to camps all around the world. We're doing a lot in the community now. We're trying to find a place in my hometown to house the Erick Dampier Foundation. I want to go back home and build a boys and girls club. We're just trying to help the youth. It's my way of giving back. I feel if I can change just one kid's life, put a smile on one kid's face, I'll feel like I did a good deed."

    For more information on the Erick Dampier Foundation go to www.erickdampier.org

    http://www.adonalfoyle.com/the_game3.shtml
    ---

    Do ya feel lucky, punk?
    Mickael Pietrus Le site officiel
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Dampier in his own words

    If Larry offers him the MLE, and he says OK, I certainly won't complain.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Dampier in his own words

      But what are the chances of the Pacers offering the MLE?
      Mickael Pietrus Le site officiel

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Dampier in his own words

        But what are the chances of the Pacers offering the MLE?
        Oh, probably slim to none unless we've already made some kind of trade to give us a bit of $$$, or we trade for him via sign-and-trade with GS.

        Maybe if Al demands a trade this summer (I'm not saying I think he will or will not), they'd take Al.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Dampier in his own words

          But what are the chances of the Pacers offering the MLE?
          Oh, probably slim to none unless we've already made some kind of trade to give us a bit of $$$, or we trade for him via sign-and-trade with GS.

          Maybe if Al demands a trade this summer (I'm not saying I think he will or will not), they'd take Al.
          Maybe we can get another guard out of that too.

          But here's to Al staying here FOREVER
          Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Dampier in his own words

            Maybe if Al demands a trade this summer (I'm not saying I think he will or will not), they'd take Al.
            I'm sure Al would be attractive. But that would mean taking Pollard also. Unless Foster and change are available too.

            I'm trying to think realistically about this. Of course, GS has been known to get screwed before too.
            Mickael Pietrus Le site officiel

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Dampier in his own words

              I would love to see Dampier in a Pacers uniform next year
              Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Dampier in his own words

                If we let KA and Brewer walk, and let's say Brezec get selected in the expansion draft...would that leave enough room for the MLE? Not sure, just hoping someone out there knows...

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Dampier in his own words

                  isn't the salary cap bigger next year than it was this year ?
                  Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Dampier in his own words

                    If we let KA and Brewer walk, and let's say Brezec get selected in the expansion draft...would that leave enough room for the MLE? Not sure, just hoping someone out there knows...

                    MID-LEVEL SALARY EXCEPTION -- This exception is also called the "Middle Class Exception." This exception says that a team can offer any player a contract equal to the average NBA salary every year, even if they are over the cap. This exception is new to the current CBA, and was "ramped up" to the average salary over a period of four years Here is the value of the mid-level salary exception for each year of the CBA:

                    98-99 $1.75 million
                    99-00 $2.00 million
                    00-01 $2.25 million
                    01-02 $4,538,000
                    02-03 $4,546,000
                    03-04 $4,917,000



                    This exception may be split and given to multiple players. It may be used for contracts of up to six years in length. Signing a player to a multi-year contract does not affect a team's ability to use this exception every year. For example, a team can sign a player to a six-year contract using this exception and still use the exception the following year to sign another player.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Dampier in his own words

                      isn't the salary cap bigger next year than it was this year ?
                      I'm pretty sure the Commisioners office announced recently the salary cap would actually be slightly smaller next year, but there's always a chance I've been and just completely made that up.
                      Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Dampier in his own words

                        Free agents after this season:
                        Jamison Brewer 638,679
                        Kenny Anderson 1,070,000
                        James Jones 366,931

                        Player options after this season:
                        Anthony Johnson 814, 679

                        Players that the Bobcats might claim:
                        Primoz Brezec 861,600

                        Possible retirees after this season:
                        Reggie Miller est. 5,000,000

                        Kenny will walk. He wants to play and he can't be satisfied with the court time he's received the last half of the season. 1,070,000 trimmed.

                        At this time, that's about the only player that I'd be certain will not be here next season. And that means that either the Pacers will be satisfied with a re-signed Brewer as the third PG, will begin giving Freddie more minutes at PG in the PG portion of his combo-guard role, or they will have to sign an additional PG. And that evem assumes that AJ will not opt out.

                        I think it would be great to have Dampier, especially if he were willing to sign to the MLE (which I doubt). But if Reggie retires, we will still be in bad need of another guard with perimeter shooting abilities.

                        So, to go after Dampier while possibly also having to acquire a decent shooting guard or even a point guard would most certainly require trading one or two players, even with the MLE available this summer.

                        If we lose a couple of free agents, maybe a player to the Bobcats, and especially if Reggie retires, this summer will be very interesting for the Pacers.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Dampier in his own words

                          isn't the salary cap bigger next year than it was this year ?
                          It's compilcated and depends on Basketball related income for the present year. So it won't be determined until after the season is over.
                          I'm fairly sure that the Commish office just announced the cap would be down, and luxury taxes would be kicking in recently. There was a big uproar about it, at least in terms of the luxury tax because some people refused to believe that it was going to kick in. But maybe I'm dreaming. It's very possible.

                          PS- Will, I was joking in the Bonds thread. I guess I didn't use any smileys, so it was hard to tell. Sorry.
                          Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Dampier in his own words


                            PS- Will, I was joking in the Bonds thread. I guess I didn't use any smileys, so it was hard to tell. Sorry.
                            Oh okay, no problem! I thought you were getting upset so I just do what I always do and quit the thread. I'm not here to upset people.

                            Have a banana!

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Dampier in his own words

                              isn't the salary cap bigger next year than it was this year ?
                              It's compilcated and depends on Basketball related income for the present year. So it won't be determined until after the season is over.

                              Comment

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