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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.

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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Baltimore vs. Indianapolis Colts (from the Addai thread)

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  • Baltimore vs. Indianapolis Colts (from the Addai thread)

    Originally posted by RWB View Post
    The trash talk does make things interesting. Hopefully Ray will be checked for weapons before he enters the stadium. Sounds like the Ravens have a little bit of that Jacksonville chip on their shoulder. Doesn't make sense, since they did get a ring. I believe it comes back to jealousy in not getting those endorsement dollars like #18.
    I guess that must be it. I mean, I don't understand how people can hate the Colts otherwise. They're nice, classy, and don't really say much. But whatever, let them be angry. We'll just go in as we always do and take care of business. Hopefully with a win.
    Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

  • #2
    Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

    Originally posted by Suaveness View Post
    I guess that must be it. I mean, I don't understand how people can hate the Colts otherwise. They're nice, classy, and don't really say much.
    They're also the team that one night, Baltimore residents went to sleep with a football team, the next morning they woke up and that team was in Indianapolis.

    Not literally, but pretty close.

    I can see why Baltimore residents would be just foaming at the mouth over this. Some of that may have spilled over to the team.

    Of course the Ravens have a title and the Colts haven't in that time but I imagine they still don't think what Irsay did was a favor.
    The poster formerly known as Rimfire

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

      Originally posted by Suaveness View Post
      I guess that must be it. I mean, I don't understand how people can hate the Colts otherwise. They're nice, classy, and don't really say much.
      Well, there are 31 other teams out there...

      But you seem to want an explanation...

      For old-timers, associating the word "classy" with a team owned by the Irsay family is just hard to do. I'm sure Jim is classier than Bob - all he did was "threaten" to move the team, he didn't actually do it. I'm sure the players are classy, but in the grand scheme of things I'm not interested in paying enough attention to an Irsay-owned team to know if the players are classy or not. I doubt that I'm alone on that.
      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: Ravens promise to punish Addai

        Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post
        Well, there are 31 other teams out there...

        But you seem to want an explanation...

        For old-timers, associating the word "classy" with a team owned by the Irsay family is just hard to do. I'm sure Jim is classier than Bob - all he did was "threaten" to move the team, he didn't actually do it. I'm sure the players are classy, but in the grand scheme of things I'm not interested in paying enough attention to an Irsay-owned team to know if the players are classy or not. I doubt that I'm alone on that.
        Gee Jay - it wasn't that long ago our Pacers were considered classy.
        The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

          Originally posted by DisplacedKnick View Post
          They're also the team that one night, Baltimore residents went to sleep with a football team, the next morning they woke up and that team was in Indianapolis.

          Not literally, but pretty close.

          I can see why Baltimore residents would be just foaming at the mouth over this. Some of that may have spilled over to the team.

          Of course the Ravens have a title and the Colts haven't in that time but I imagine they still don't think what Irsay did was a favor.
          Don't forget, DK, that that Baltimore Ravens were once called the Cleveland Browns.
          "Sometimes, when you look Andy in the eyes, you get a feeling somebody else is driving." -- David Letterman

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

            Kauf-dizzle! Good to see you posting.
            You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

              Oh pleasy what Irsay did was hardly unclassy, Hmm city is threatening to steal my team right out from under me. Should I A) Let that happen B) Move.

              The vast majority of people would choose B, Baltimore has nobody to blame other than the gov't that threatened to steal his team.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                Originally posted by Destined4Greatness View Post
                Oh pleasy what Irsay did was hardly unclassy, Hmm city is threatening to steal my team right out from under me. Should I A) Let that happen B) Move.

                The vast majority of people would choose B, Baltimore has nobody to blame other than the gov't that threatened to steal his team.
                And why did the city of Baltimore threaten emminent domain?

                Because Bobby was throwing a fit about Memorial Stadium and conducting a not-well-kept secret negotiation with both Indy and Phoenix to move the team. Bobby was hardly the victim here.

                The people of Baltimore still feel that Irsay stole "their" team - and rubbed their noses in it when he kept the name that should've been reserved for that city.

                To the citizens of Baltimore, this is going to be a HUGE game. Huge. Yes, that is Art Modell's franchise and because of that the Steelers are supposed to be their biggest rival, but this is bigger.
                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: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                  Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post
                  And why did the city of Baltimore threaten emminent domain?

                  Because Bobby was throwing a fit about Memorial Stadium and conducting a not-well-kept secret negotiation to move the team. Bobby was hardly the victim here.

                  The people of Baltimore still feel that Irsay stole "their" team - and rubbed their noses in it when he kept the name that should've been reserved for that city.

                  To the citizens of Baltimore, this is going to be a HUGE game. Huge. Yes, that is Art Modell's franchise and because of that the Steelers are supposed to be their biggest rival, but this is bigger.

                  I seroiusly doubt that fan emnity rubs off on the players. How many of the Ravens players hail from the Maryland area to be infected by this hatred? Sure maybe a little hype, but as soon as the game starts it's football and all football.
                  Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                    Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post
                    To the citizens of Baltimore, this is going to be a HUGE game. Huge. Yes, that is Art Modell's franchise and because of that the Steelers are supposed to be their biggest rival, but this is bigger.
                    For some Jay I would agree, but considering the team moved here in 84 eventually the true hatred eventually does disappear after the oldies die off. I would think someone would have to be close to 30 to really remember and care what happened.

                    You can say all you want about Jimmy, but at the end of the day he didn't move the team from Baltimore and the team has remained in Indy.
                    You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                      Originally posted by Kaufman View Post
                      Don't forget, DK, that that Baltimore Ravens were once called the Cleveland Browns.
                      The difference was that the Browns moving was known publicly for a substantial period of time and there were efforts made to prevent it - which obviously didn't work. Not to say Cleveland fans couldn't or shouldn't be PO'd but the way that move was done was completely different from the cloak-and-dagger Colts move.
                      The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                        Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
                        I seroiusly doubt that fan emnity rubs off on the players. How many of the Ravens players hail from the Maryland area to be infected by this hatred? Sure maybe a little hype, but as soon as the game starts it's football and all football.
                        I agree... the players view the Steelers as their #1 rival.

                        But the fans are going to be a factor in this game, because this is "personal" to them.

                        Let's see, I was 14 when the Colts moved in, I'd been following the NFL prettly closely for a number of years, but I'd say anyone older than 35-40 and still living in Baltimore is probably salivating at this game.

                        Let's just say the Simons sell the Pacers to somebody that keeps the team in CFH for a few years, antagonizes and eventually alienates the local fan base, then moves the team to Jacksonville but keeps the "Pacers" name. Even if we got a new team, how many decades would it take us to forget that "Pacers" was "our" name before the new owner came along and stole it from us?
                        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


                        • #13
                          Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                          Originally posted by RWB View Post
                          You can say all you want about Jimmy, but at the end of the day he didn't move the team from Baltimore and the team has remained in Indy.
                          I don't pay enough attention to him to have an opinion.

                          He did miss a golden opportunity to undo some of his father's ill-will when the Browns moved. Just as the name "Browns" stayed with Cleveland, he should've allowed the Baltimore team to use the "Colts" name and picked a new name for his team.

                          His biggest problem is the inability to shake the Irsay name from his birth certificate. Unless someone is already inclined to be a Colts fan, its unlikely that anyone is going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Of course, his father has been out of the picture for while now, so as you & Geezer said, time will heal some of the wounds.
                          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


                          • #14
                            Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                            Originally posted by Jay@Section19 View Post
                            Let's just say the Simons sell the Pacers to somebody that keeps the team in CFH for a few years, antagonizes and eventually alienates the local fan base, then moves the team to Jacksonville but keeps the "Pacers" name. Even if we got a new team, how many decades would it take us to forget that "Pacers" was "our" name before the new owner came along and stole it from us?
                            I thought about that the other day. That would really fire me up big time.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Ravens promise to punish Addai

                              Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                              I thought about that the other day. That would really fire me up big time.
                              This is true and I would be personally upset. I would imagine that is how the 18,000 fans the Colts were averaging before they left Baltimore felt as well.

                              Read the following text and think why Donnie is concerned about hitting rock bottom with the Pacers. Kind of scary isn't it?

                              http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl...baltcolts.html

                              1982: Attendance begins to dwindle at Memorial Stadium as fans get fed up with Colts losing during a season interrupted by a 2-month strike. Actually the strike provided relief for the Colts, as the possibly avoided one of the worst seasons in NFL history. The Colts were simply awful, during a season, which saw them go winless while tying 1 game in a 9-game season.

                              1983: With the number 1 pick in the NFL Draft the Colts select QB John Elway from Stanford. However, Elway refused to go to Baltimore and threatened to play minor league baseball or in the newly formed USFL. Fearful the Colts would get nothing for his rights the Colts trade John Elway to the Denver Broncos, before he ever put on the horseshoed helmet. After starting the season with an overtime win in New England over the Patriots the Colts faced the Broncos in the home opener as Baltimore fans are hostile to Elway. However, fans get to see what they missed when Elway leads a game winning drive in the 4th. Despite losing out on Elway, and 1-year suspension for gambling to QB Art Schlichter, the Colts play solid football compiling a 7-9 record. However attendance lags, as fans continue to disapprove of the way Robert Irsay runs the club.
                              You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                              Comment

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