Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

    If there aren't any major moves in the EC, here is what I think of the teams.

    Detroit Pistons- plain and simple:getting weaker every offseason. If C-web is not returning, they will only have Mcdyess. I think they will be a 4 seed in the playoffs.

    Chicago bulls- will win the confrence. #1 seed. This group is coming together and will challenge any WC team.

    Cleveland Cavs- Still a good team, but I think LeBron is in JO's position. He is carrying the team. Without him, they would be a 20 win team. He has had ankle probrlems and it could prove to be a problem. I see them as a 5 seed.

    Milwaulkee Bucks- still very weak. Not a playoff team. Even though Redd will be one of the highest scoring players in the league, they need another star next to him to really do some damage. 10'th in the East.

    Philedelphia 76'ers- will be a better team, yet, they probrably will get 9'th place in the East.

    Miami Heat- Weak. I would put them in 3'rd. Shaq is getting weaker and DW is the only other guy on the team that is really good, but they will make a playoff push.

    Charolette bobcats- Finally Playoffs for them. i give them the 8 seed. they will definately be over .500.

    New York Knicks- I see in the 6'th seed. they will be a dangerous team this season.

    atlanta Hawks- still very weak. 11'th place.

    Orlando Magic-#2 seed. Very great and dangerous team. their cap space in the next 3-4 years will really suck.

    New Jersey nets- Will not make the playoffs but they will look good this year.

    Boston Celtics- will be much better this year with Ray allen but still need a healthy PP.

    Toronto Raptors- 7'th seed. pretty healthy.

    Indiana Pacers- 5'th place. Will shock everyone and Obrien will win COY.

    so it this was true, the playoffs would turn out to be

    Chicago vs. Charolette
    Orlando vs. Raptors
    Heat vs. Knicks
    Detroit vs. Pacers

    Chicago vs. Orlando
    Pacers vs. Heat
    Chicago vs. pacers

    Yeah I think the P's can be in the 5 seed and ECF. Just watch. I like Raps vs pacers because it really comes down to JO vs CB. and we match up really well to Miami.

    This is just my prediction. It might sound unrealistic to some, but I can hope can't I??
    Last edited by pianoman; 07-26-2007, 12:27 PM.
    Passion, Pride, Playoffs, Pacers

  • #2
    Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

    so it this was true, the playoffs would turn out to be

    Chicago vs. Charolette
    Orlando vs. New Jersey
    Heat vs. Knicks
    Raptors vs. Pacers
    Sweet...we don't even make the playoffs.

    hopes and dreams, baby!

    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

      Originally posted by pianoman View Post
      Milwaulkee Bucks- still very weak. Not a playoff team. Even though Redd will be one of the highest scoring players in the league, they need another star next to him to really do some damage. 10'th in the East.
      I really think Milwaukee will be in the playoffs. Michael Redd coming back, Maurice Williams has emerged as a legit starting pg, and they just added Desmond Mason. Andrew Bogut and Charlie V. continue to get better. So I see no reason why they shouldn't make the playoffs or at least make 7th seed.

      But all in all, the Indiana Pacers will be at the bottom of the division once again.
      I think KP is a Captain Planet fan. He believes that the collective will of five decent starters can outweigh the power of top-level talent. Too bad Herb won't cut the check for their Planeteer rings.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

        missed that. they will be in the playoffs.
        Passion, Pride, Playoffs, Pacers

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

          how do you see the pacers being at the bottom of the EC. We were just not together last year. This year will be different
          Passion, Pride, Playoffs, Pacers

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

            I think the Hawks might actually be decent for sometime this year and IF the Bucks don't suffer from the same injury bonanza and keep Patterson they might surprise aswell. The Magic will be better, absolutely and the Bobcats will also certainly be quite stronger... still a very young team though.
            2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

            2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

            2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

              I really haven't given it much thought, except to say the Bucks will be better than the Bobcats, and the pacers will be the worst team in their division

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                1) Pistons - no one else has made a move to truly challenge them... they've always been a great regular season team under flip. no reason for that to change losing CWebb (possibly), Delfino and adding rookie depth.

                2) Raptors - were it not for injuries, i think they would have destroyed the nets. they've added a sharp shooter in kapono, depth in delfino and baston. they've got bosh who now has playoff experience, bargnani who will be in year two, nice backcourt with ford, parker, calderon and dixon... dangerous team methinks.

                3) Bulls - going to struggle at times during the regular season but will always come on strong at the end. won't be enough to top detroit, but they'll be close.

                4) Wizards - unless miami makes some major moves they're in trouble. orlando has improved but has a weak frontline. i think the wiz and magic slug it out and that the wiz come out on top.

                5) Cavs - haven't made any major moves when they needed something else to get them over the hump. they disappointed in the finals but at least they got there. they'll have bad stretches during the season to go along with the good ones. enough for #5.

                6) Magic - like i said above, certainly have made improvements, but have weak frontline depth and have JJ Reddick as their lone true SG. Van Gundy will help certainly but i think they've got too many questions at the moment to pencil in at #1 in the SE

                7) Nets - Always seem to wind up in the playoffs regardless of their quality of play or injuries.

                8) Celtics - I think they squeak in adding allen to the lineup and with the maturing of jefferson and rondo.

                ~~~

                9) Bobcats - i want to put them in, but i think at this point they'll just miss out. they've improved on paper quite a bit and with emeka maturing this could be a team to watch.

                10) Pacers - will have ups and downs, better defense but take a ton of 3s and few rebounds. not sure if we have the offensive talent to win with this style in year one. health is also a concern

                11) Heat - wade may not be enough. who knows how much shaq will play. they've lost kapono, they're a mess at SF and PG. how long until riles bails?

                12) Knicks - at times will be unstoppable up front with zach and eddy offensively dominating. other times will be a disaster with too many people wanting to score too much of the time. add to that they are two of the worst defending bigs in the league and all of the other chemistry issues...

                13) Bucks - health is always an issue. if healthy they could sneak into the playoffs but who knows. mason was a nice pick up but enough?

                14) Hawks - will improve this year but not enough to contend, still quite young

                15) Sixers - young team mostly, will struggle for a while.
                This is the darkest timeline.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                  Pacers in 5th? I don't think you're even close.

                  What the optimists are banking on is that JOB will be a big upgrade over Rick Carlisle. My opinion is that it will be just the opposite. I believe the Pacers are going from one of the very best NBA coaches to an average coach.

                  Carlisle took the heat and most of the blame last year, but the reality is that the Pacers had a very poor team. I'll be surprised if they win 35 games in 2007-2008. Especially if they hang on to Jermaine "Over-inflated opinion of himself" O'Neal.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                    RC was a pushover in the locker room. He didn't lay down rules to the players. something Obrien will bring.
                    Passion, Pride, Playoffs, Pacers

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                      Oops - misread the title. I thought is said Broken Down Eastern Conference.
                      The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                        I know this was just done in fun, but I think I'm going to wait until I know who's going to be on the team before making any predictions on where the Pacers will wind up in the standings.

                        As of right now I think they would make the playoffs.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                          Doesnt make sense. . .Raps or NJ can be 3rd or 4th in the east because they are in the Atlantic. And Raptors have a better team than Miami at this point!!! New Jersey will be in the playoffs, you don't have that Big 3 and they don't get to the playoffs!!! Pacers could finish 7th but I think they will suprise people if they are healthy and make JOB's system work. The east will be very competitive this year for sure
                          R.I.P. Bernic Mac & Isaac Hayes

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                            I strongly disagree with the thread poster. I don't see how the addition of Rashard Lewis and losing Grant Hill and Darko will make the Magic shoot up to the number 2 spot. What happened to the Wizards? Did they get sucked in an Arenas black hole or something... anyhow, I also think they will still be in the thick of the playoffs. Here's my take on things:


                            Standingswise...
                            #1 Cavs
                            #2 Pistons
                            #3 Bulls
                            #4 Nets
                            #5 Wizards
                            #6 Magic
                            #7 Knicks
                            #8 Pacers

                            I picked us for the 8th pick with a little bit of bias. But realistically it would be tough for us to get that spot. The Hawks, 76ers, Bucks, Celtics and Bobcats have as decent of a chance at it as we do. Take away JO- either by injury or dumb trade- we are about as good, if at that, as the Hawks.

                            I just don't see LBJ slowing down. He has arrived and he will hold fort on the EC like MJ used to, regardless of the people around him. Yeah, he's that good! Barring injuries, I can't see them drop any lower than 3rd in the standings of the EC.

                            Detroit is a given. They got great picks this year, and with a team like them, little moves like that are really all you need. Doubting them would be foolish.

                            Bulls still need to fix their offense and inside scoring in particular. Ty Thomas will play a bigger role this season.

                            Nets can be filthy good. May even get the 2nd best record. Health is always the issue with any NBA team's success but this bunch has been together for a while and with Kristic back plus Magloire helping in the middle they can be very dangerous.

                            Wizards and Magic pretty much will do what they did last season.

                            Knicks finally get back to playoffs. One more blockbuster Isiah trade may even push their record higher. And I really think there will be one before the year ends.
                            http://Twitter.com/dRealSource

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Breaking down the Eastern Confrence

                              Originally posted by pianoman View Post
                              If there aren't any major moves in the EC, here is what I think of the teams.

                              Detroit Pistons- plain and simple:getting weaker every offseason. If C-web is not returning, they will only have Mcdyess. I think they will be a 4 seed in the playoffs.

                              Chicago bulls- will win the confrence. #1 seed. This group is coming together and will challenge any WC team.

                              Cleveland Cavs- Still a good team, but I think LeBron is in JO's position. He is carrying the team. Without him, they would be a 20 win team. He has had ankle probrlems and it could prove to be a problem. I see them as a 5 seed.

                              Milwaulkee Bucks- still very weak. Not a playoff team. Even though Redd will be one of the highest scoring players in the league, they need another star next to him to really do some damage. 10'th in the East.

                              Philedelphia 76'ers- will be a better team, yet, they probrably will get 9'th place in the East.

                              Miami Heat- Weak. I would put them in 3'rd. Shaq is getting weaker and DW is the only other guy on the team that is really good, but they will make a playoff push.

                              Charolette bobcats- Finally Playoffs for them. i give them the 8 seed. they will definately be over .500.

                              New York Knicks- I see in the 6'th seed. they will be a dangerous team this season.

                              atlanta Hawks- still very weak. 11'th place.

                              Orlando Magic-#2 seed. Very great and dangerous team. their cap space in the next 3-4 years will really suck.

                              New Jersey nets- Will not make the playoffs but they will look good this year.

                              Boston Celtics- will be much better this year with Ray allen but still need a healthy PP.

                              Toronto Raptors- 7'th seed. pretty healthy.

                              Indiana Pacers- 5'th place. Will shock everyone and Obrien will win COY.

                              so it this was true, the playoffs would turn out to be

                              Chicago vs. Charolette
                              Orlando vs. Raptors
                              Heat vs. Knicks
                              Detroit vs. Pacers

                              Chicago vs. Orlando
                              Pacers vs. Heat
                              Chicago vs. pacers

                              Yeah I think the P's can be in the 5 seed and ECF. Just watch. I like Raps vs pacers because it really comes down to JO vs CB. and we match up really well to Miami.

                              This is just my prediction. It might sound unrealistic to some, but I can hope can't I??
                              I guess we moved to the West??
                              STARBURY

                              08 and Beyond

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X