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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

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

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Nets game a must win?

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  • #16
    Re: Nets game a must win?

    Yes, a must win. But it blows my mind that a team with a 31- 9 record (us) even has a chance at the post season. That is one problem with the NBA.
    Avatar photo credit: Bahram Mark Sobhani - AP

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    • #17
      Re: Nets game a must win?

      Originally posted by odeez View Post
      Yes, a must win. But it blows my mind that a team with a 31- 39 record (us) even has a chance at the post season. That is one problem with the NBA.
      Fixed.

      I wish we had a 31-9 record......
      Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Nets game a must win?

        So what have we got... 12 games left? We need to go 10-2 to avoid a losing record.

        Have we went 10-2 at any stretch this season?

        Ouch... the spiral continues. We'll be lucky to go 2-10. Is that bad enough for a top ten pick?

        -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


        • #19
          Re: Nets game a must win?

          Originally posted by Bball View Post
          So what have we got... 12 games left? We need to go 10-2 to avoid a losing record.

          Have we went 10-2 at any stretch this season?

          Ouch... the spiral continues. We'll be lucky to go 2-10. Is that bad enough for a top ten pick?

          -Bball
          Hate to say it, but I hope 2-10 does mean a top ten pick. To be honest, it sounds more interesting then going to the playoffs at this point. It was heart breaking watching the CAVS beat us at home last night. Seeing their bench laugh and joke around, while we hung our heads low. Watching Snow blow by TINS to score and 1. This team just doesn't have it, and you can't just turn it on. The switch on this season has been off since the All Star break, and come the end of the season, heads should roll, starting with RC.
          Avatar photo credit: Bahram Mark Sobhani - AP

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          • #20
            Re: Nets game a must win?

            The good news here is that the last 8 games are against relatively weak opponents. But I still don't like our chances if we get to them at 31-43. 33-41, and we still have a chance.

            Yes, the NJ game is damn near a must-win, as is the Orlando game. SA is likely to beat us into the ground, and we likely won't fare well against Detroit either.

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            • #21
              Re: Nets game a must win?

              Originally posted by Sh4d3 View Post
              The good news here is that the last 8 games are against relatively weak opponents. But I still don't like our chances if we get to them at 31-43. 33-41, and we still have a chance.

              Yes, the NJ game is damn near a must-win, as is the Orlando game. SA is likely to beat us into the ground, and we likely won't fare well against Detroit either.
              My alter ego started a thread over on IndyStar/Pacers forum that sums up the Pacers chances of getting back to the post-season. If anyone is interest, give it a read.

              They do have a chance, but it's very slim at this point. Their chances depend more on what the Nets/Orlando do moreso than what the Pacers themselves do from here on out. But, YES! These next 2 games are definate MUST WINS to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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              • #22
                Re: Nets game a must win?

                Originally posted by Bball View Post
                So what have we got... 12 games left? We need to go 10-2 to avoid a losing record.

                Have we went 10-2 at any stretch this season?

                Ouch... the spiral continues. We'll be lucky to go 2-10. Is that bad enough for a top ten pick?

                -Bball
                Yes....I think a 33-49 record is good enough to earn us the 9th or 10th worst record in the league.

                But it probably won't matter....Stern will probably rig it so that we end up with the 14th pick in the draft.
                Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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                • #23
                  Re: Nets game a must win?

                  I don't understand the people with the whole attitude that "anything can happen in the playoffs" what? we're gonna suddenly flip a switch and all of the problems we've had during the course of the season will magically fix themselves so that it's even? I'm sorry but there's a difference between optimism and reality folks. These forums are reaching a completely new level of denial.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Nets game a must win?

                    Originally posted by TheDon View Post
                    I don't understand the people with the whole attitude that "anything can happen in the playoffs" what? we're gonna suddenly flip a switch and all of the problems we've had during the course of the season will magically fix themselves so that it's even? I'm sorry but there's a difference between optimism and reality folks. These forums are reaching a completely new level of denial.
                    I'm not saying we'll flip a switch, but here lately, we've been competing pretty well against playoff bound teams. We've been in striking distance during most games, and just choke it away. All this is happening without Marquis Daniels, if he's not done for the season, and actually getting healing/getting healthy, then his impact could make a difference for this teams on both sides of the floor come playoff time

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                    • #25
                      Re: Nets game a must win?

                      I'm sorry I don't mean to be so rude and negative but if we end up putting ourselves out of playoff contention and without a draft pick it will just put the exlamation point to an already disappointing season. I think a draft pick would be a better consolation prize than making the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Nets game a must win?

                        Originally posted by pwee31 View Post
                        I'm not saying we'll flip a switch, but here lately, we've been competing pretty well against playoff bound teams. We've been in striking distance during most games, and just choke it away. All this is happening without Marquis Daniels, if he's not done for the season, and actually getting healing/getting healthy, then his impact could make a difference for this teams on both sides of the floor come playoff time
                        So then in the playoffs, with our renewed play, we could be in the playoff games until the end only to choke it away?

                        Keep in mind, the team we'd face in the playoffs would be a right 'fare' team, not a 'fair' team for our standard of play.

                        Let this season die the death it deserves. Make management face up to the failure they put on the floor this season (and the past one too) both in record AND failed goal (playoffs).

                        -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


                        • #27
                          Re: Nets game a must win?

                          I don't see the pacers intentionally tanking anything. Every playoff game they play is more money into the franchise to help keep it from losing money.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Nets game a must win?

                            Originally posted by Gyron View Post
                            I don't see the pacers intentionally tanking anything. Every playoff game they play is more money into the franchise to help keep it from losing money.
                            The very fact that JONeal is hobbling around out there while playing 38+ minutes a games is testament enough to convince me that TPTB don't want to tank but try for the Playoffs. Unfortunately, I think that no matter how hard they try...their bets isn't good enough.
                            Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Nets game a must win?

                              So many are acting like getting a top 10 pick will solve things, or heal us a little. We have no idea what the offseason plans are, we have no idea how some of the great college players will turn out in the NBA. I'd much rather see the players we KNOW we have show some heart, and come together to try and make a push. What could be more positive then knowing that the team you have is capable of winning.

                              Granted our PG situation most likely is the biggest problem. Our PG contract is nuts like the majority of positions that need upgraded. The draft isn't the only way to get better, now is it a given that your "top 10" pick will pan out... there's a lot of things involved!

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                              • #30
                                Re: Nets game a must win?

                                Originally posted by pwee31 View Post
                                What could be more positive then knowing that the team you have is capable of winning.
                                getting a lottery level point guard in the draft to make Tinsley expendable.

                                I am willing pray to God Zeus and Budha or any other Major/Minor God for a loss if they're willing to help out.

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