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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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STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!!!

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  • STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!!!

    yeah really. All this talk about "Were just not good enough" pshh...Amazing what 2 games can do. After game 1 it was like "Can we end it in detroit?"
    sickening...

  • #2
    Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

    30 years as a Pacers fan and you have the nerve to tell me what I need to think or say ???

    I am tired of you running your little parade around and calling everyone who doesn't think it's all roses and candy kisses in PacerLand right now , a bandwagon fan or a disgrace to pacers fans.
    Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

      yeah really. All this talk about "Were just not good enough" pshh...Amazing what 2 games can do. After game 1 it was like "Can we end it in detroit?"
      sickening...
      JONEAL7, you remind me of me when I was a younger Pacer fan about your age posting on indystar.com message boards lol...i love your enthusiasm.
      See, I was thinking that myself....but he has to prove to me he isnt one of those bandwagoners that only pops up when a team is winning. Its VERY easy to run your mouth when your team is steamrolling people. How you handle losing is what separates the real fans from the fakes. If the Pacers lose this series, and he's still here 6 months from now, i'll respect him a little more.

      The guys who are longtimers I have a great deal of respect for. They were here during the times when the Pacers were lucky just to MAKE the playoffs. JOneal7 would do well to emulate those people, because they show a level of appreciation and maturity that you dont have. Being a good fan doesnt mean you should be blind to reality. Usually people like that simply jump ship when things go wrong.

      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


      • #4
        Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

        Also if anyone want's to question where my heart is as a pacers fan , feel free to read my prediction thread and so far I am on the money

        http://www.pacersdigest.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3511
        Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

          wow band wagoner? I Suppose me in my beat up reggie miller jersey way back in the 95 playoffs when the magic went to the finals is a realllll bandwagon fan? PLEASE! I'm a magic/pacer fan. If i was a bandwagon fan, don't you think i WOULD NEVER say i was a magic fan? it just so happens my to favorite teams are the worst/best in the eastern conference/leage. I can't help that. But i am far from a bandwagon fan. And i'd love to show you i'd be here with them losing. But i simply don't see that happening man. BANDWAGON FAN is a slap in the face to me. Sorry but those fans root for a team when they win and they basically don't care if they lose cause they'll jump on the lakers or whoevers hot. I care when this team loses. Matter fact, im in a bad mood for days after lossess. It's funny how you can question me being a fan *Bandwagon* just because i live in orlando. Like i said my family has family in Indianapolis. And it basically goes with the territory when you visit there and stuff. BANDWAGONERS DON'T DRIVE 4-5 HRS TO MIAMI TO WATCH THEM PLAY THEN DRIVE HOME THE NEXT DAY AND BE AT WORK BY 9! SO IF I'M A BANDWAGONER SIMPLY BECAUSE I DON'T LIVE IN INDY OR I HAVE 2 FAVORITE TEAMS THAN YOU CAN **** OFF. I'm sure you were reppin the pistons 3 years ago when they lost hill and had just ben and chucky and stackhouse. Who the **** are you to call me a bandwagon fan? Go root for the lakers B*tch. cause you'll want that when we take you out in ****ing 6. MARK IT

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

            Let's all stay cool, guys. Observations were made, not accusations.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

              I Suppose me in my beat up reggie miller jersey way back in the 95 playoffs when the magic went to the finals is a realllll bandwagon fan?
              You were a fan of a team that went seven games in the ECF and lost to a higher seed? WOW, I really had you pegged wrong.

              I'm a magic/pacer fan. If i was a bandwagon fan, don't you think i WOULD NEVER say i was a magic fan?
              Actually, that would make you the DEFINITION of a bandwagon fan.....anyone who simply roots for whoever has the better record is a bandwagoner.

              t just so happens my to favorite teams are the worst/best in the eastern conference/leage. I can't help that.
              Sure you can help it....you can be a man and pick a freaking side.

              It's funny how you can question me being a fan *Bandwagon* just because i live in orlando.
              Actually, I had no earthly clue where you lived......I question you being a true fan because every post from you is "rah this" and "rah that." You dont show ANY respect to people who were rooting for the Pacers a decade before you were BORN. Your enthusiasm is a good thing, but to a point. After a long time it just comes off as fake and disrespectful.

              I'm sure you were reppin the pistons 3 years ago when they lost hill and had just ben and chucky and stackhouse.
              Sure, and I was maybe the only one who still went to the games then. But that team managed 32 wins. If you think winning 32 games is suffering, you're more spoiled than I thought. in 1994 we went 20-62. We went entire MONTHS without winning a game. But that was my first year of truly studying the game, and that team was the greatest thing in the world to me.

              Who the **** are you to call me a bandwagon fan? Go root for the lakers B*tch. cause you'll want that when we take you out in ****ing 6. MARK IT
              .....and that kind of attitude is EXACTLY why a lot of people are growing tired of your act.

              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


              • #8
                Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                Mountain, meet molehill. Take a step back you 3 (especially Kstat and JOneal7). This is silly, unnecissary, and pointless.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                  Also if anyone want's to question where my heart is as a pacers fan , feel free to read my prediction thread and so far I am on the money

                  http://www.pacersdigest.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3511
                  Um, you got one game right. ed:


                  30 years as a Pacers fan and you have the nerve to tell me what I need to think or say ???

                  I am tired of you running your little parade around and calling everyone who doesn't think it's all roses and candy kisses in PacerLand right now, a bandwagon fan or a disgrace to pacers fans.
                  Why are you taking what he says so personally? If what he says bothers you so much, don't read his posts.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                    better resize your sig^^^^
                    thats cool tho. how'd you meet reggie?

                    OH I GET IT! Since i don't come on this board saying GO MAGIC! i'm not rooting for them? i post on realGM and my sn is MacIsGod...That's where i root for the magic. Don't you think it would be odd coming over here GO MAGIC on a pacers board? when they arent even playing? and why can't anyone have 2 favorite teams in the first place? that's really some bs right there. But if that's how you people feel **** yall. Then whatever you say. I'm a bandwagon fan! I mean hey! I can't be going around saying we might lose. And be sad and sulk and all that. BECAUSE A NON BANDWAGON FAN WOULDNT ACT LIKE ME RIGHT? ok ...the pacers WILL LOSE TODAY ...i'm afraid we don't have what it takes to beat the pistons who are way better coached than we are ... i'm sorry i just had to speak how i feel.... (pshhh)
                    w.e

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                      I am probably the biggest Pacer fan on here.

                      Broadcasting Classic Rock Hits 24/7 SauceMaster Radio!!!!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                        I'M A BANDWAGON FAN! RIGHT KFAG? I MEAN KSTAT

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                          I'M NOT DIE HARD! IF WE LOSE TONIGHT! I'LL NEVER BE BACK!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                            ENOUGH. Everyone, chill out and come back tomorrow. This thread is under lockdown.

                            JOneal, please remove that line from your signature.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: STOP THIS TALK ABOUT "PISTONS-LAKERS", PACERS SEASON IS OVER ETC.!

                              JOneal, please remove that line from your signature.
                              Already done for him. JOneal, you know I was just talking to you about having huge images in your sig, and on top of that you have the flame on Kstat. You know better than that.

                              Comment

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