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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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Thank you, Mike Wells

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  • Thank you, Mike Wells

    For shining light on a scam by the NY press, that we swalled hook, line, and sinker:

    http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/
    Mike Wells
    Indystar.com

    February 08, 2008
    New York, New York
    Posted by Mike Wells

    You knew the question was going to come up.

    It was inevitable.

    New York. Jermaine O'Neal. Isiah Thomas.

    Need I say more?

    You would think something was wrong if O'Neal wasn't asked about Thomas and the Knicks.

    And of course, O'Neal answered the questions after Wednesday's game at Madison Square Garden. That's his nature. You'll never hear anybody say the Pacers forward isn't media friendly.

    Alan Hahn, the Knicks beat writer for Newsday, sent me the transcript of what O'Neal said.

    I went online and read the New York Daily News on Friday morning.

    Here's the first paragraph of the story: While most of the Knicks act and talk like they want nothing to do with Isiah Thomas, Pacers forward/center Jermaine O'Neal has made it clear that he would gladly accept a trade to New York.

    I found that pretty interesting because I didn't recall seeing that in the transcript. Mark Montieth, who covered the game in New York, also said he didn’t hear O’Neal say that.

    So I went back to what Hahn sent me.

    O'Neal was asked if he wanted a fresh start somewhere else you desire or would you accept.

    Here's O'Neal's response to the question:

    "In this business you gotta be willing to believe that at some point when your team's struggling you're going to be traded. I would accept it. I would accept it. I would accept being in Indiana. I’m going to accept whatever the business brings to me, but I'm going to handle what I can handle and that's my body."


    O'Neal didn't single out any team. It's no secret that O’Neal has high respect for Thomas and the Knicks are one of the teams he wouldn't be upset about getting traded to. He’s said in the past that Thomas is a father figure to him. Thomas told New York reporters Thursday, "Jermaine's one of my favorite people on Earth."

    Conrad Brunner from Pacers.com and I asked O'Neal about the story after practice Friday. He gave me a puzzled look when I mentioned the story to him.

    "I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks," O'Neal said.

    I went back to the transcript, again.

    O'Neal was asked would the Knicks be a good fit for him.

    "I don't ever like to talk about me fitting into another situation while I’m here," he told the reporters at the Garden. "My obligation is to the Indiana Pacers right now and any situation that's going to present itself when it's time, I'll be willing to address it then."

    The Daily News writer must have realized the same thing because he later wrote, "O'Neal didn't want to directly address coming to New York out of respect for the Pacers, but said Madison Square Garden was "one of the most desired atmospheres to play in basketball."

    O'Neal's name will to continue to come up in trade rumors, but I can't imagine a team trying to acquire him until he's healthy. Remember, he's battled numerous injuries the past few seasons, which has caused his scoring average and elite status in the league to drop. He'll make $44 million in the final two years of his contract. He can opt out of those final two years this summer, but that's unlikely considering his injury situation.

  • #2
    Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

    I wonder if there's ever going to be any accountability for irresponsible journalism? It's starting to get out of control. Anybody can pretty much make up and kind of crap they want to these days and not worry about the consequences.

    Anyway, I believe that JO's going nowhere. At least this season.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

      Originally posted by Shade View Post
      I wonder if there's ever going to be any accountability for irresponsible journalism? It's starting to get out of control. Anybody can pretty much make up and kind of crap they want to these days and not worry about the consequences.

      Anyway, I believe that JO's going nowhere. At least this season.
      I agree. I hope he comes back 100%, once and for all. We sincerely lack a low post scoring threat.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

        JO plays in the low post?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

          Originally posted by Jose Slaughter View Post
          JO plays in the low post?
          JO plays?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

            Originally posted by Jose Slaughter View Post
            JO plays in the low post?
            This is what upsets Peck specifically, that too often they spend too long feeding the low post.

            Now in JO's defense I've counted his possession time AFTER he gets the ball and he's pretty good about going to the rim or passing quickly. However prior to getting him the ball the team in the past would often struggle and fumble for half the shot clock trying to get a pass into him with established position, but that's often not really on him.

            Anyway, what sucks is all that money for NOTHING. But if he is playing the kind of defense he has shown the last few years AND scoring at something closer to 47-48%, especially if he's drawing fouls too, then I love having him here.

            Meanwhile, not only did JO not say the crap he was accused of...AGAIN (ahem, LA anyone), he also handled the questions in an outstanding fashion. He doesn't skirt around some truth where you can read between the lines, he has kept making the point that if THE TEAM decides to move him that he would accept it and if THE TEAM decides to keep him he'd be happy with that.

            He's yet to throw anyone under the bus publicly, he hasn't had a David Harrison "pollution" rant or even what would now be an understandable "I'm sick of the negative spin this team always gets" rant. He's respectful and even tempered and positive about both his future and the Pacers.

            I just don't get how people have a problem with the clearly more mature JO. Maybe 5 years ago he was brash, flicking his jersey, jawing at refs endlessly and even adding the finger wag briefly. But that's long gone.

            His only vice right now is being injured. It is annoying, but it sure didn't make Grant Hill a bad guy now did it?


            BTW, I agree, good job Mike, this is more what we are looking for. And if what had turned up had backed the NY version then that would be fine too. We just want the truth and less sensationalism instead of reasoned thought.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

              Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
              I just don't get how people have a problem with the clearly more mature JO. Maybe 5 years ago he was brash, flicking his jersey, jawing at refs endlessly and even adding the finger wag briefly. But that's long gone.
              100% disagree. I don't think that's true at all. He was always a thoughtful, well-spoken guy. Still is, always will be. He still acts brash, he'll still flick his jersey (just hasn't played enough lately to do so), he'll still jaw at refs (I'll grant he's toned it down, but still), and the finger wag was like a year or two ago at the latest. So I suppose I should say 90% disagree.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                Originally posted by Shade View Post
                JO plays?
                JO?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                  Totally O/T...

                  Query regarding pwee31's signature:

                  Is cracking corn anything like cutting cheese?
                  NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                    Thanks for this one as well.

                    http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...2110375/-1/RSS

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                      Originally posted by pwee31 View Post
                      JO?
                      ?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                        "I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks," O'Neal said.



                        Just reading that out loud and thinking of how he might have said that has me laughing my *** off....
                        kind of like "oh god the knicks!? I mean isiah is awesome and all but the knicks!? we all know they are in trouble for years to come! I'd have to play into my 50's to become relivant!"
                        haha
                        just goes to show how the media twists things.
                        "GIMMIE DAT!"-DANGER

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                          I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks

                          I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks

                          I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks

                          I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks

                          I never said I wanted to play for the Knicks
                          Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Thank you, Mike Wells

                            LOL. . . obviously!!!
                            R.I.P. Bernic Mac & Isaac Hayes

                            Comment

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