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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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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Cowher calls it quits

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  • Cowher calls it quits

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2720242

    Cowher set to quit as Steelers' coach after 15 seasons

    By Len Pasquarelli
    ESPN.com



    Ready to end the suspense over his future, and prepared to step aside for at least one season, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher will announce at a Friday news conference that he is retiring after 15 seasons with the team.

    Operating on a timeline established during a Tuesday morning meeting with Steelers ownership, Cowher was originally set to return to Pittsburgh next Monday to reveal his plans. But after driving to his new home in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, and spending several days with his family there, Cowher apparently decided there was no need to delay a decision that has been one of the NFL's worst kept secrets in recent weeks.

    Cowher apprised Steelers owner Dan Rooney on Thursday afternoon that he had made up his mind and saw no sense in delaying an announcement until next week. The Steelers on Thursday night announced the Friday news conference, which is set for 1 p.m. ET. Although the team did not announce a decision, word of Cowher's resignation was delivered to his assistant coaches.

    The consensus among high-ranking team officials, and sources around the NFL for several weeks, was that Cowher, 49, would retire to spend more time with his family. In fact, it would have been stunning if Cowher had returned from his North Carolina hiatus and announced he was coming back to the team to fulfill the final year of his current contract.

    There has been rampant speculation since last May, when it was revealed that Cowher and his wife had purchased a home in Raleigh that 2006 would be his last season with the team. That speculation was fueled when contract discussions between the Steelers and Cowher's representative failed to produce an extension to his deal.

    It's believed the Steelers offered Cowher a two- or three-year extension that would have raised his salary into the $6 million range at the back end of the deal. Cowher is believed to earn about $4 million per year under his existing contract and some feel he will return after a year away from the game, and having recharged his batteries, and sign a more lucrative contract elsewhere.

    He has been purposely cryptic about his plans but, in a late-season conference call with Carolina-area media, Cowher acknowledged he would resolve his status for the future shortly after the season ended.

    Cowher huddled early Tuesday morning with Dan Rooney and team president Art Rooney II before driving to Raleigh to join his wife and the couple's youngest daughter, who lived there all season. During the Tuesday meeting, Steelers ownership did not attempt to press Cowher for a more expeditious decision on his future, and agreed that he should take some time to deliberate.

    What altered the timetable, which called for a decision next week, is unknown. A source on Thursday night said the Steelers did not force Cowher to accelerate his decision-making process for fear the team might lose some of its own potential in-house candidates to other teams.

    Within the Steelers' inner circle, it had been widely accepted that a decision would come early next week, and that Cowher would likely walk away from the NFL for at least a year. One organizational source said that he felt Cowher "had one foot out the door" as early as last spring. Cowher has conceded that, after the team's Super Bowl XL victory 11 months ago, he considered retirement.

    Once his existing contract with the Steelers expires following the 2007 season, he would be free to seek employment elsewhere. If Cowher exits the game now, many believe he will explore jobs in broadcasting for the 2007 season.

    Typical of Pittsburgh management, the Steelers will allow the situation to play out, and will then react accordingly. Even though the Steelers slumped to 8-8 in 2006, the roster remains a talented one, and the club is capable of a quick rebound.

    For those reasons, and the stability and support of ownership, the Pittsburgh vacancy will be regarded as the plum job of all the current openings. Steelers management is confident it will find a suitable successor.

    In-house candidates almost certainly would include assistant head coach Russ Grimm and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, both of whom are candidates for other current openings around the league as well.

    By making his decision known Friday, Cowher gives the Steelers the ability to talk to some of the assistant coaches currently in the playoffs. The NFL gives teams looking for head coaches until Sunday night to set up and conduct interviews with coaches currently in the playoffs. That could put the Steelers in position to talk to Cam Cameron of the Chargers and Ron Rivera of the Bears among other assistants.

    In his 15 seasons, Cowher has compiled a 161-99-1, including playoff games. Under his stewardship, the Steelers have won eight division titles, earned 10 playoff berths, advanced to the conference championship game six times, appeared in two Super Bowl games and won one.

  • #2
    Re: Cowher calls it quits

    Well, I (for one) am actually surprised at his decision. Nevertheless, I wish him the best. He was an awesome coach, and I was glad he stuck around long enough to win us (the Steelers, lol) a Super Bowl. Even with the horrible start we had to the season, he and his staff almost managed to get the team into the playoffs--in the AFC! What a testament to his God-given skills and abilities as a head coach. Hats off to Coach Cowher! Thanks for the memories.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Cowher calls it quits

      What a sad day for fans of high quality, hard hitting football.

      Bill Cowher is the best coach in all professional sports.

      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


      • #4
        Re: Cowher calls it quits

        Thanks for the "spitting" moments, and for the high quality fans comment that is a whole other issue I am not going to get into..but he was a great coach and really expressed his feelings to his players...each of the players have something they can never let go...his saliva.
        |Bears 3-5 - Bulls 0-4|Aren't we just on a roll?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Cowher calls it quits

          MSA,

          Have you put any thought into who you'd like his successor to be?

          I haven't put much thought into it, but I know who I want... Dom Capers.

          I want continuity on the defensive side of the ball (3-4, zone blitz). Other than Dick LeBeau, nobody knows the zone blitz better than its co-architect.

          I'm very depressed today.
          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


          • #6
            Re: Cowher calls it quits

            I think "retire" is an awfully strong word, considering how young he is. I expect him to coach again in the next 10 years.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Cowher calls it quits

              He didn't retire. He resigned from the Steelers organization..He wont coach next year, but he will be back. I can guarantee it.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Cowher calls it quits

                Among other tidbits,

                He clearly did not "retire."

                People close to him said, "It didn't have to end this way."

                The Steelers lowballed him in his extension last summer, and that pretty much sealed this fate.

                Apparently he and Art Rooney II aren't on the best of terms lately.

                The family "motive" is a convenient story, but there's a lot to this.

                In two to three years, he could be back in Pittsburgh making the $$$ he's worth, or somewhere else making the $$$ he's worth.
                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


                • #9
                  Re: Cowher calls it quits

                  Although I trust the Rooney's to make a great decision, if they don't even interview Dom Capers I'll be dumbfounded.
                  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


                  • #10
                    Re: Cowher calls it quits

                    Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post
                    In two to three years, he could be back in Pittsburgh making the $$$ he's worth, or somewhere else making the $$$ he's worth.
                    If I had to take a WAG at this, my guess is Parcells has one more season in him - then Cowher can expect a call from Jerry Jones.

                    Actually I just kind of hope this because Steelers fans will tie themselves in knots over it.
                    The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Cowher calls it quits

                      Better there than Cleveland, which has decided to not fire Romeo since Cowher won't be avialable this spring.

                      Cowher coaching anywhere other than Pittsburgh is going to be hard to take.
                      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


                      • #12
                        Re: Cowher calls it quits

                        Jay,

                        I don't think Jim Mora would be all that bad. Junior, that is.

                        Comment

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