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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.

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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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Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

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  • Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

    Robbery at Chicago home of Heat forward Walker
    By The Associated Press
    July 10, 2007

    CHICAGO (AP) -- Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker's home in Chicago was robbed Monday, the player's agent said.

    Police and witnesses said two offenders held Walker and at least one other person at gunpoint during the robbery, Chicago broadcasters reported from the scene in the city's River North neighborhood Monday night.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    Walker's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the incident took place but said he could not give specific details.

    "He's OK," Bartelstein told The Associated Press. "There was a robbery. It's a scary thing. It's a terrible thing. He's trying to get himself back together. Police are there and he's getting it taken care of."

    Chicago Police spokesman Hector Alfaro said officers responded to a robbery at a home in the neighborhood about 7:30 p.m. EDT, but could not confirm that the home belonged to Walker. A vehicle, cash and jewelry were reported stolen and there were no injuries, Alfaro said.

    Bartelstein said Walker was with a relative at the time of the incident.

    Walker was not available for comment. The Heat were aware of the incident, a team official said, but had no other comment while they attempted to gather facts.

    In July 2000, Walker -- then a Boston Celtic -- was the victim of an armed robbery along with NBA center Nazr Mohammed as they sat in a vehicle waiting for a restaurant on Chicago's South Side to open. Police said at the time that three men approached and demanded cash and valuables, which included a $55,000 wristwatch.

    Walker, a three-time All-Star, averaged 8.5 points with Miami this past season and was a key part of the Heat's run to the 2006 NBA championship.

    The Chicago native was part of the 1996 NCAA championship team at Kentucky and an all-state player at Mount Carmel High School.

    AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

    (Lifted from RealGM)
    ============================

    Well ya gotta admit, the dude LOOKS like a victim.
    Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

  • #2
    Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

    I realize that I'll never make even 1/10th of the money 'Toine has made, but I still think that if you're stupid enough to wear a $55,000 wrist watch, you deserve to get it stolen.
    "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

    - Salman Rushdie

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

      Originally posted by mellifluous View Post
      I realize that I'll never make even 1/10th of the money 'Toine has made, but I still think that if you're stupid enough to wear a $55,000 wrist watch, you deserve to get it stolen.
      What? Are you serious?

      Nobody DESERVES to get robbed, or have a gun pointed at them. Trust me, I know first hand how bullets feel.

      That's like saying if I can afford to buy a Lamborghini or Ferrari then I deserved to get car jacked. Or if I can buy a million dollar home, I deserve to get broken into while I'm out of town and have everything taken.

      I'm sorry, maybe it's because I got shot last year and this involves gunplay, but I never say things to people like this online, but just shut the **** up. You have no idea what you're talking about.

      -- Steve --

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

        Originally posted by Pacersfan46 View Post
        What? Are you serious?

        Nobody DESERVES to get robbed, or have a gun pointed at them. Trust me, I know first hand how bullets feel.

        That's like saying if I can afford to buy a Lamborghini or Ferrari then I deserved to get car jacked. Or if I can buy a million dollar home, I deserve to get broken into while I'm out of town and have everything taken.

        I'm sorry, maybe it's because I got shot last year and this involves gunplay, but I never say things to people like this online, but just shut the **** up. You have no idea what you're talking about.

        -- Steve --

        For real!!!
        R.I.P. Bernic Mac & Isaac Hayes

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

          Originally posted by mellifluous View Post
          I realize that I'll never make even 1/10th of the money 'Toine has made, but I still think that if you're stupid enough to wear a $55,000 wrist watch, you deserve to get it stolen.
          She had it coming. What was she thinking dressing all sexy when she knew that a rapist might be out there someplace watching her.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

            I'm trying to figure out why it is this same guy is robbed TWICE.

            How many pro ball players ever get robbed the first time, let alone a second???
            Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

              It's a good thing that he didn't get shot.


              Of course, when Antoine Walker is around, nobody else EVER gets to shoot.

              The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                It was probably a Heat fan trying to get back some of the ill-gotten money Walker has "earned" the last couple years.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                  It's usually from hanging around the wrong crowd. Either someone within your friend circle is backstabbing, or setting you up for someone else to backstab you, or you yourself are too friendly and allowing folks you hardly know into your crib or inner circle.

                  That's at least when it comes to your house being robbed. Yeah, it could've just been your house was picked at random from nice houses, but mostly likely it was someone who had been there before, or was informed by someone who had been there before.

                  You just can't have randoms over or throw parties at your place which involve a decent group of people you hardly know, it's sad, but it's true... you gotta watch who you trust b/c even family members can turn there back on you when they get cut off.

                  As for the 1st time, it sounds like a car jacking, which could happen to anyone. Especially if you're parked and sitting for a nice period of time in what is likely a nice car. He was sitting waiting for a restaurant to open... not sure what type of area they were in, but the car thing seems more likely then the house thing.

                  Being a high profile athlete is never gonna help the cause either

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                    Originally posted by Pacersfan46 View Post
                    What? Are you serious?

                    I'm sorry, maybe it's because I got shot last year and this involves gunplay, but I never say things to people like this online, but just shut the **** up. You have no idea what you're talking about.

                    -- Steve --
                    Of course I'm not serious. I know that nobody deserves to get robbed. I've certainly never been involved in any sort of negative situation involving a gun, so I'm certainly not speaking from experience in any way. In short, I'm wrong, and I'm sorry that my hyperbole has pushed so many buttons.

                    I guess my point really was that you cannot deny that conspicuous consumption increases your chances of being a victim of violence and/or robbery. The great thing about America is that we all have the right to wear a $55,000 watch. The other side is that when you choose to wear a piece of jewelry that's worth at least twice as much as many people make in an entire year, you're making yourself a target.
                    "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

                    - Salman Rushdie

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                      Originally posted by mellifluous View Post
                      Of course I'm not serious. I know that nobody deserves to get robbed. I've certainly never been involved in any sort of negative situation involving a gun, so I'm certainly not speaking from experience in any way. In short, I'm wrong, and I'm sorry that my hyperbole has pushed so many buttons.

                      I guess my point really was that you cannot deny that conspicuous consumption increases your chances of being a victim of violence and/or robbery. The great thing about America is that we all have the right to wear a $55,000 watch. The other side is that when you choose to wear a piece of jewelry that's worth at least twice as much as many people make in an entire year, you're making yourself a target.
                      I think in regards to that incident it had more to do with the car they were in rather than the watch that 'Toine was wearing.

                      I have a feeling the criminals noticed that two guys were probably sitting in a Beamer or some other luxury car in Chicago's South Side (which from what I've heard is a rough area) and decided that that was their best bet to make some cash.

                      Basically it comes down to the same point but, yeah, just pointing that out.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                        He was too slow to catch the thief....(they forgot to mention that in the statement I think)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                          More details.

                          Reportedly, he was tied up with duct tape and his house is in a really nice community.

                          http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2932161

                          Concern runs deep for Walker following robbery

                          ESPN.com news services

                          Updated: July 11, 2007, 12:21 PM ET

                          As Miami coach Pat Riley expressed relief over the news that Heat forward Antoine Walker was not injured during a robbery at the player's Chicago home, Walker's mother said her son is coping as best he can.



                          "Antoine called me after the incident was going on. He was hysterical on the phone when I first talked to him," Walker's mother, Diane, said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune Tuesday.

                          Riley said he has not spoken with Walker, and the player has not been interviewed. Walker and one of his relatives were held at gunpoint while multiple robbers took a car, cash and jewelry from the three-time All-Star's offseason residence Monday night.

                          "[It's] devastating for a parent to go through ... to know your child had been treated that way," Diane Walker told The Tribune. "We are just grateful he was not injured, that he is still here. God blesses us every day, every minute of the day."

                          Authorities have not provided specific details about the robbery. The Tribune, citing an unidentified source, said the assailants entered Walker's $4.1 million home in Chicago's River North neighborhood through the garage, ordered Walker into the house, and held a handgun to his head as his ankles and wrists were bound with duct tape. The intruders reportedly were wearing masks and shielding their eyes.

                          "He acted as if he knew Antoine and was talking to him about knowing the consequences of the robbery," the source told the newspaper. Walker was able to free himself from the tape after the robbery.

                          The source also told The Tribune that Walker, a Chicago native, has been packing his belongings.

                          "He's gone, baby," the source said.

                          Riley said he's spoken to Walker's agent, Mark Bartelstein, who told the coach that Walker is OK.

                          "It's what it is. It had to be a terrifying ordeal for him," Riley said Tuesday night. "Until I speak with him, I don't have any knowledge other than what I've heard from other people."

                          The vehicle taken in the robbery was found, abandoned, in Chicago on Tuesday morning. Police have not announced any arrests in the case.

                          According to The Tribune, Walker's neighborhood includes multimillion-dollar residences owned by the likes of actor Vince Vaughn and Juanita Jordan, the ex-wife of Michael Jordan. High-tech security equipment, as well as regular Chicago police patrols, protect the area, the newspaper said.

                          Three policemen, who arrived at the home to investigate in the early afternoon, declined to comment for The Tribune, as did several of Walker's associates.

                          In July 2000, Walker -- then a member of the Boston Celtics -- was the victim of an armed robbery along with NBA center Nazr Mohammed as they sat in a vehicle waiting for a restaurant on Chicago's South Side to open. Police said at the time that three men approached and demanded cash and valuables, which included a $55,000 wristwatch.

                          Walker averaged 8.5 points with Miami this past season and was a key part of the Heat's run to the NBA championship the year before.

                          Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
                          Read my Pacers blog:
                          8points9seconds.com

                          Follow my twitter:

                          @8pts9secs

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                            River North is pretty ritzy. Its the old-money part of Chicago just north of the loop.

                            This hasn't really been "news" up here, what with Urlacher sending a bunch of obscene/ demeaning text messages "he doesn't remember" to the mother of his child and a Channel 5 news reporter getting fired for going swimming with the estranged husband of a woman that's been missing for a couple months while trying to get the story.

                            Funny town...
                            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


                            • #15
                              Re: Non-Pacer related: "twan Walker robbed AGAIN

                              Damn, getting duct taped at gun point is hardcore. I feel bad about making jokes about his watch earlier.
                              "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

                              - Salman Rushdie

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