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

Pacers.com > Lottery articles

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 2
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 template Next
  • #1

    Pacers.com > Lottery articles

    http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/lottery_bird_080515.html

    Bird likes options available in Lottery



    By Conrad Brunner | May 15, 2008
    When Larry Bird visited Secaucus, N.J., a year ago, he hoped to beat the odds but expected to walk away empty-handed.
    On this trip to the NBA Draft Lottery, Bird knows he'll leave with something good, even if his Pacers don't land one of the coveted top three picks in Tuesday's draw.

    "There's a lot of good players in this draft," said Bird. "Obviously in the top 12 or 15, there's some players that probably will be a little better in our league than people think they're going to be, a lot of athletic players that play multiple positions. I think it's going to be a pretty deep draft. Even in the 20s, there's going to be some players that can step in and help teams right away."

    The lottery teams are initially slotted in reverse order of their won-lost records, so the Pacers enter the process at No. 11 – the same as last year, when they needed to pull one of the top three picks to avoid losing their first-round selection to Atlanta to complete the 2006 trade for Al Harrington. The pick wound up at No. 11 and wound up with the Hawks, who used it to select guard Acie Law.

    Though they have less than a 3 percent chance of landing in the top three (an 0.8 percent chance at No. 1, an 0.9 percent chance at No. 2 and a 1.2 percent chance at No. 3), the Pacers will emerge from the lottery with no worse than the 13th pick. The odds are overwhelming (90.8 percent) they'll stay right where they are and pick No. 11. There's a 6.3 percent chance they could slip to No. 12.

    "You always hope for the best but the chances are you're going to be 11 or 12," Bird said. "You'd always like to jump up in there but a lot of times it doesn't happen. We do have a chance, less than 3 percent to get into the top three, but it's still a chance."

    The Pacers' stated needs are point guard and post, with defensive toughness a priority at both positions. They could address either need if they land one of the top three picks.

    The top two players are expected to be a pair of dynamic talents with just one season of college experience: Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley and Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, with their order of selection dependent on the needs of the team that winds up No. 1. The No. 3 pick should come from a group that includes USC shooting guard O.J. Mayo, Stanford center Brook Lopez and Arizona shooting guard Jerryd Bayless.

    "There are one or two, maybe three, guys that can become All-Stars," said Bird, "guys that really stick out."
    Should the Pacers wind up at either No. 11 or 12, they likely could choose from point guards Russell Westbrook (6-4, 187, UCLA) or D.J. Augustin (5-11, 180, Texas); or post players Darrell Arthur (6-9, 230, Kansas), Kevin Love (6-9, 260, UCLA), DeAndre Jordan (7-0, 260, Texas A&M), Kosta Koufos (7-1, 245, Ohio State) or JaVale McGee (7-0, 237, Nevada).

    Either way, they aren't expecting to emerge from the lottery, or the June 26 draft, with a franchise savior but rather another important piece in a strong young nucleus.

    "The player we get is going to continue to get better," said Bird, "and I think we're going to be alright."
    This will be Bird's first lottery pick as the sole head of the Pacers' basketball operations but he doesn't view it as an opportunity to put his stamp on the roster. All things considered, he'd just as soon this turn out to be his last lottery pick. "We've done well with our picks but, yeah, you don't want to be in the lottery. You want to be in the playoffs," he said. "But we're there and we've got to make the most of it."
    http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/lotte...nail_2008.html

    Outling the Pacers’ lottery plans

    Team needs: With Jamaal Tinsley's days as the starting point guard apparently numbered after another injury plagued season, the Pacers are on the lookout for their point guard of the future – not to mention present. Should no options present themselves, they also are in need of a strong defensive presence inside, with the ability to protect the paint and the rim high on the priority list. Whichever direction they go, the Pacers want a player with strong mental and physical toughness.

    If the Pacers finish in the top three: Should they wind up No. 1 overall (an 0.8 percent chance), the most obvious option would be Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, who came on strong in the NCAA Tournament, but don't discount the possibility they'd go with Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley, who may have more potential for true NBA greatness. At No. 2 (an 0.9 percent chance), they'd gladly take either Rose or Beasley. Things get a little clouder at No. 3 (a 1.2 percent chance), but the most likely options appear to be Stanford center Brook Lopez or USC guard O.J. Mayo.

    If the Pacers don't beat the odds: Odds are overwhelming (90.8 percent) they'll wind up at No. 11 and they should be able to address either of their needs. Early mock drafts point guard 6-4 UCLA point guard Michael Westbrook, who has a strong defensive presence and solid all-around game, though Kansas big man Darrell Arthur could prove too tempting to pass. They've also been linked with UCLA power forward Kevin Love.

    Lottery luck: Though they participated in the lottery last year, the Pacers needed to pull one of the top three picks to avoid losing their first-round selection to Atlanta to complete the 1996 trade for Al Harrington. They wound up at No. 11 and the pick went to the Hawks. Indiana's last actual lottery pick was Austin Croshere at No. 12 overall in 1997. They've never pulled the top pick from the lottery but have finished at No. 2 twice, taking Rik Smits (behind Danny Manning) in 1988 and Wayman Tisdale (behind Patrick Ewing) in 1985.

    Representing the Pacers at the lottery: This representing the first lottery pick of Larry Bird's tenure as the sole leader of the team's basketball operations, Bird will make the trip to Secaucus for the second year in a row. He was a first-year head coach in 1997 when Croshere was selected but did not attend the lottery. Bird will be joined by David Benner, the Director of Public Information, who will be the team's observer for the behind-closed-doors lottery draw.
    Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

    Originally posted by Larry
    there's some players that probably will be a little better in our league than people think they're going to be, a lot of athletic players that play multiple positions.
    Red flag alert. Wave off, Larry, wave off! Abort! ABORT!

    Originally posted by pacers.com
    Outling the Pacers’ lottery plans
    Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

      Thanks for the articles.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

        Originally posted by Kegboy View Post
        Lottery luck: Though they participated in the lottery last year, the Pacers needed to pull one of the top three picks to avoid losing their first-round selection to Atlanta to complete the 1996 trade for Al Harrington.
        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

        • #5
          Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

          Originally posted by Mourning View Post
          So Donnie and Billy worked that out when he was here? Isn't that tampering, considering Al was a Sophomore in High School.
          Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

            Originally posted by Kegboy View Post
            So Donnie and Billy worked that out when he was here? Isn't that tampering, considering Al was a Sophomore in High School.
            I bet he wouldn't pass out of the low post even then.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

              We knew even then that he was destined for mediocrity.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                Originally posted by Kegboy View Post
                Red flag alert. Wave off, Larry, wave off! Abort! ABORT!



                Yes that is what we need athletic players - the multiple position thing would be nice, but athleticism is what we need.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                  I love the Michael Westbrook slip. Maybe he'd punch Tinsley at practice.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                    I'd be very upset if we got stuck with Kevin Pudge. Very upset.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                      Originally posted by Bird
                      "There's a lot of good players in this draft," said Bird. "Obviously in the top 12 or 15, there's some players that probably will be a little better in our league than people think they're going to be, a lot of athletic players that play multiple positions. I think it's going to be a pretty deep draft. Even in the 20s, there's going to be some players that can step in and help teams right away."
                      Unless he's thinking of trading up for a Bayless or Mayo (doubt it), then it sounds like Larry is describing Westbrook. Not sure who else projected top 12-15 would fit that description.
                      "I'll always be a part of Donnie Walsh."
                      -Ron Artest, Denver Post, 12.28.05

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                        Yes that is what we need athletic players - the multiple position thing would be nice, but athleticism is what we need.
                        IMO we had our "multi-position athlete" era. It didn't go too well. Shawne's one too.
                        Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                          Originally posted by Kegboy View Post
                          IMO we had our "multi-position athlete" era. It didn't go too well. Shawne's one too.
                          So you think the problem was that the players were multi-positional? (not that I really agree that they were multi-positional) Or was the problem the players that were chosen. Ask any coach if they would like to have players able to play multiple positions and the answer would be yes.

                          I just don't see the cause and effect as you seem to. Sort of like saying everyday I get out of bed the sun comes up. Does that mean if I stay in bed all day the sun won't come up - of course not. (I'm in my Friday afternoon mood)

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                            I think the problem is that teams that draft multi position players often have long rebuild times. Atlanta is the best example of that scenario. Yes, now it is paying dividends, but had they drafted Paul they probably would have been a top four seed in the East this year. Not the same sort of deal for us obviously since we don't have a PG like Paul staring us in the face at 11, but I still don't want to send up with another SG/SF/PF tweener.


                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Pacers.com > Lottery articles

                              Originally posted by Indy View Post
                              I think the problem is that teams that draft multi position players often have long rebuild times. Atlanta is the best example of that scenario. Yes, now it is paying dividends, but had they drafted Paul they probably would have been a top four seed in the East this year. Not the same sort of deal for us obviously since we don't have a PG like Paul staring us in the face at 11, but I still don't want to send up with another SG/SF/PF tweener.
                              Yes, but the problem wasn't the drafting of "multi-positional players" the problem was totoally missing the talent of Paul or Deron Williams. (I don't care if Paul or D. Williams played all 5 positions, the Hawks blew their pick)

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 template Next
                              Working...
                              X