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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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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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Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

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  • #31
    Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

    I have to agree that this was not killing a person, but I would put it right below in some fashion. Not the act itself, but the pre-planning and coordination and thought it took. This was not an impulsive act.

    I have to disagree with the breed of dog setreotyping because I have been around and raised pit bull pups and have never been even bitten by one of them. They are a lot like children and if you raise them in a proper environment they tend to do well, like other big dogs. In my experience, our German Shephards have been more aggressive than our pit bulls.

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    • #32
      Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

      Vick doesn't deserve the NFL.

      Vick found Jesus today he said in a statement, today.
      Super Bowl XLI Champions
      2000 Eastern Conference Champions




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      • #33
        Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

        Will I find Jesus if I kill 6-8 dogs and play a role in the death of more while promoting dog fighting?

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

          Originally posted by Mal View Post
          I would rank it: (Being extremely general; there are many exceptions to this simplistic rule/rank)

          Killing humans
          --
          Killing animals
          Hurting humans
          Hurting animals
          Beef, it's what's for dinner?
          This space for rent.

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          • #35
            Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

            Originally posted by Mal View Post
            Will I find Jesus if I kill 6-8 dogs and play a role in the death of more while promoting dog fighting?
            In general, and as a Christian, I'm highly skeptical when people have these "come to Jesus" moments in this kind of a situation. But watch the video here:

            http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2992890

            I'm not saying he still shouldn't get the book thrown at him: he should. But having done some terrible things, that's the right way to go about handling yourself.
            This space for rent.

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            • #36
              Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

              Originally posted by DisplacedKnick View Post
              When we were discussing making some zoning ordinance amendments re animal control I had a discussion with a very credible local dog owner/kennel operator who said that white Pit Bulls have some sort of genetic marker which makes them prone to violence for no reason - even against family members they've had contact with for years. She said other pit bulls aren't like that and for them (and all other dogs) you can predict their behavior based on training and environment but for white Pit Bulls you can't.

              There are certain genetic anomalies that are linked to color of the haircoat
              such as white/deafness. This is not always true however. I have never heard
              of this particular anomaly and doubt it is true but plausable. It is much more
              likely that it is a general breed characteristic.
              {o,o}
              |)__)
              -"-"-

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                In general, and as a Christian, I'm highly skeptical when people have these "come to Jesus" moments in this kind of a situation.
                Fear can do that to you.

                The question is if he tells Jesus to hit the road when he isn't afraid any more. We won't know that for a while.
                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

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                • #38
                  Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                  Originally posted by Anthem View Post
                  Beef, it's what's for dinner?
                  That reminds me of a bit that Denis Leary did...
                  Originally posted by Denis Leary
                  I have a dog. I love my dog. You guys have pets. You love your pets and they love you. You know why? Because you have the food. It's as simple as that.
                  We love to talk to our pets. "Come here, doggy. Come here. Sit. Give me the paw. Okay, roll over. Oh, look at him. He's so cute; he's almost human." There's the problem, right? We have these little cute pangs in our bellies because we're human beings. That's how we decide which animals to save. It's all a matter of how cute they are. (Gazing longingly into distance) "Oh, look at the baby seals with the big brown eyes and the furry little fur. Don't do anything to them. Leave them alone." (Gazing off to the side with a healthy thirst) "But the cows are big and dumb and stupid. **** them. Let's eat them all. C'mon. Let's make jackets out of what's left over. C'mon." We might as well just have animal auditions and line them up one by one and judge them individually.
                  "What are you?"
                  "I'm an otter."
                  "And what do you do?"
                  "I swim around on my back and do cute little human things with my hands."
                  "You're free to go." (Gives the otter the thumbs-up sign, turns back)
                  "And what are you?"
                  "I'm a cow."
                  "Get in the ****in' truck, okay, pal?"
                  "But I'm an animal."
                  "You're a baseball glove."
                  "I'm an animal."
                  "You're a hat. Get on that truck. You cow. What do you think we called you a 'cow' for?"
                  .....
                  "Here's what sums up the animal rights movement to me. You've all heard this one, haven't you? (Walking to lip of stage in tears) "Don't eat the tuna fish." Why? (Crying) "Dolphins are getting stuck in the nets!" "But what about the tuna fish?" (Recovering) "Well, **** them. They taste good. They never had their own TV show, for crissake. They never swam next to our boats and made cute little sounds. Get out of here, tuna fish. I'm gonna make a sandwich out of you. You cute little dolphin. Tuna fish never had their own football team. I love the little dolphin. (Petting him) I love the little Dan Marino dolphin, man."
                  Funny stuff, just wanted to share.

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                  • #39
                    Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                    Originally posted by DisplacedKnick View Post
                    Fear can do that to you.

                    The question is if he tells Jesus to hit the road when he isn't afraid any more. We won't know that for a while.
                    No doubt.

                    Watch the video, though. If I ever screw up badly, I hope I can man up in public like Vick did there. He didn't have to do that.

                    And I'm not saying he shouldn't still be heavily punished.
                    This space for rent.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                      Originally posted by Mal View Post
                      Will I find Jesus if I kill 6-8 dogs and play a role in the death of more while promoting dog fighting?

                      Michael Vick sounds sincere. If he can find Jesus through the drowning of 6-8 Pitbulls, why can't I? So I'm saving up and collecting for my "Find Jesus Like Vick" foundation if any of you guys want to donate, and help me get Saved please donate via paypal or if you see any Pitbulls at the Dog Shelter please adopt them for me.

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                      • #41
                        Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                        I must be the only one who didn't feel he was sincere yesterday. I didn't buy it.

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                        • #42
                          Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                          I'm probably too jaded. Sat in too many courtrooms and listened to too many people apologize for what they've done when once they leave they go right back to the same behavior again (and in some cases are still doing it but haven't gotten caught). He does sound sincere but it's hard for me to distinguish if he's really sorry or if it's the old, "I'm sorry my nuts are in a vice and society has the chance to give it a few more turns."

                          But sometimes they really are sorry. It'll just take some time to find out.
                          The poster formerly known as Rimfire

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                          • #43
                            Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                            Matthew 13
                            The Parable of the Sower
                            1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."

                            10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

                            11He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
                            "Though seeing, they do not see;
                            though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
                            " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
                            you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
                            15For this people's heart has become calloused;
                            they hardly hear with their ears,
                            and they have closed their eyes.
                            Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
                            hear with their ears,
                            understand with their hearts
                            and turn, and I would heal them.'[a] 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

                            18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
                            {o,o}
                            |)__)
                            -"-"-

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                              I must be jaded, too. All I heard was the well orchestrated opening salvo of the campaign to rehabilitate Vick's image.
                              Life's a piece of ****
                              When you look at it
                              Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
                              You'll see it's all a show
                              Keep 'em laughing as you go
                              Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
                              ------- Eric Idle

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                              • #45
                                Re: Vick admits dog killing, conspiracy

                                I agree Cactus Jack.

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