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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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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Euro 2008 Thread

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  • #16
    Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

    Euros taking over PD FTW!!!

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    • #17
      Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

      Go Sweden! (though I doubt we will )

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

        Originally posted by efx View Post
        Go Sweden! (though I doubt we will )
        I think we'll finish second in our group, behind Spain. We lost on penalties four years ago to a tough Dutch team but I thought we had one of the best teams then. This year I think we're again one of the better "second-tier" teams. The injury to Elmander hurts a bit. We might be looking at Zlatan-Henke from the beginning of each match. We'll see.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

          Originally posted by rexnom View Post
          CR is still kinda dangerous, though definitely old. Switzerland is nothing to shake your fist at, either.
          Care to exchange groups, buddie?

          Originally posted by rexnom View Post
          I think we'll finish second in our group, behind Spain. We lost on penalties four years ago to a tough Dutch team but I thought we had one of the best teams then. This year I think we're again one of the better "second-tier" teams. The injury to Elmander hurts a bit. We might be looking at Zlatan-Henke from the beginning of each match. We'll see.
          I have to say that the Swedish strikers are interesting. Larsen should be getting his pensionfunds soon, but he's an interesting guy. I can't really stand Zlatan, but to see him provoking some other countries players makes for a good laugh as do some of his swandives . Anyway, not bad at all. Usually Sweden has a pretty solid defense where they rest upon. Also usually there midfield was pretty defensive minded, but they do have some nice players in there who can create opportunities forward.

          Now Greece... let's just say that Rasky and I can aggree upon something. The sooner this team is out the better it is for the tournament IMO. Really boring, unimaginative almost cowardly placing virtually your whole squad in defensive positions. IF every competing team were to play like they do then 2/3 of the games after the group phase would be decided by penalties and the remaining games would be 1-0 (... or 0-1 ). It's TOTALLY boring and unattractive to look at aswell. Just my .

          Like I said between those two teams I like Sweden much better.

          Spain is usually a pretty interesting squad in qualifying for tournaments, but somehow they ALWAYS manage to have off-days in their most important matches during tournaments ALWAYS leading to early eliminations. They play attractive and nice though, which is something that has to be respected.

          France. Always dangerous. I don't care that Zidane is not with them anymore, they still have enough talent. I'm hoping their team won't have very good chemistry or won't "feel" all the other players intentions very well (because Holland is in the same group as the French ). There defence and midfield are always of top-quality and they always have atleast one top-striker, though somehow they a lot of times have trouble scoring easily in tournaments for some reason (maybe because of the system they play, I dunno).

          Italy. Always one of the most talented teams in whatever tournament they play and the current world champion. I'm always astounded by the horrible way they usually play and still somehow manage to "steal" victory in a lot of times the last few minutes with getting one or two chances all game long. Considering what they have in talent they should be almost obliged to play more attractive, but they are what they are. Always a top threat and never to be underestimated.

          Germany has been playing very attractive the past 2-3 years and considering there past that is surprising and very, very refreshing. I like what I see from them. Much more attacking and ballcontrolling play. They do again have one of the easiest groups (YET AGAIN!), so they can start slowly and play themselves into form, which is traditionally when they become most dangerous. This is the team I have meeting the Italians in the final and winning it all. We'll see what happens.

          The Netherlands/Holland. Well I hope we will just have a very good tournament and swipe away the last WC memories against Portugal (prob. the worst match I have EVER seen from both sides in more then one way). As traditional the midfield and offense are high-quality and ballcontrol, passing and creativity from midfield will play an important role in how far this team can go. Personally I think it's the best Dutch team since Euro2000, prob. the deepest and best passing and offensive minded midfield in the tournament. Traditionally also the defense is the weakest part of this team. I'm not really convinced about central left back Bouma, but who knows. The positive from the defense is though that they can actually support the attack by moving up either of the flanks.

          For this team to go beyond the group phase it will prob. need to defeat either Italy or France and Rumania for sure. That's a HUGE feat. Facing the finalists of the last world championship in the group fase is something I don't remember happenning before since the tournament expanded a bit about 28 years ago. I do think that Holland does have the ability to defeat France or Italy if it is carefull in finishing the chances if will undoubtedly get, keeps the opponent running after the ball instead of the other way around and the defense remains focused. That's a lot of if's, but not impossible (have to remain positive with a group like this).

          Btw.... ehmmm... Rasky laughing about the Dutch losing . Jealous because we actually get to the tournaments and usually decently far into the knock-out stages?


          Hope Belgium will make it to the next WC btw, seriously .

          Regards,

          Mourning
          Last edited by Mourning; 06-02-2008, 03:12 PM.
          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


          • #20
            Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

            Originally posted by Raskolnikov View Post
            I always root against Germany. I just don't like their game. Or any of their players.

            Lol...wonder how long we can hold on to 2 threads. Let's make a 3rd one!


            You have to admit the way that Germany has been playing the past 2+ years is much better then it used to be . I can't stand watching Italy. I so cheered for the US two years ago when they played Italy. I dunno I guess I don't like some of there dirty, sneaky defenders and some of the things they get away with .
            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


            • #21
              Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

              Ouch! Italy lost Cannavaro yesterday due to injury. Still undoubtedly one of the best teams without a doubt though.

              Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

              Source: CNNSI.com

              Regards,

              Mourning
              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


              • #22
                Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

                Group C just got even more interesting.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                  True, at the WC they always tried to be really dominant and started attacking from the beginning. But I still don't like them

                  I agree that Italy can be really annoying to watch. Last friday against Belgium they played like a bunch of arrogant, err well, football players. And actually I don't think they have that good of a team. Plus they'll miss Cannavaro. My prediction is that France and the Netherlands go through...and I hope so too. There, I said it: I hope that the Netherlands make it to the next round
                  Word on the street is he doesn't want your money, he only wants to please your ears...
                  Bum in Berlin on Myspace

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                  • #24
                    Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                    its a shame - living like 3 hours away from Austria and I still will not be able to catch any games in person

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                    • #25
                      Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                      All tickets are already sold anyway
                      Word on the street is he doesn't want your money, he only wants to please your ears...
                      Bum in Berlin on Myspace

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Awesomest Euro 2008 Thread

                        I find it odd that Flamini wasn't even in the French selection to begin with. Dude was playing awesome for Arsenal. I'd definitely play him instead of Vieira.
                        Word on the street is he doesn't want your money, he only wants to please your ears...
                        Bum in Berlin on Myspace

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                          Originally posted by Raskolnikov View Post
                          I hope that the Netherlands make it to the next round
                          Wow! We are SOOOOOOO totally and utterly jinxed now .

                          Anyway, Italy is always tough even when they don't appear to be that good. There defence is always amongst the best in the world and they always have atleast one striker that only needs one or two chances to score. Even if they have been defending for 88 minutes and had 56 shots put on their goal they still could win with one of those few attacks. Very frustrating that can be I can tell you (Euro2000).

                          Anyway, we almost always go pretty deep in the tournament. I like that a lot of people seem to automatically count us out of getting one of the top two spots in the group. I hope that can be used as extra motivation.

                          Hmmm.... whatever happens we have, HAVE to beat Romania or my girl will so put it in my face (as she is Romanian ).

                          Regards,

                          Mourning
                          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

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                          • #28
                            Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                            You screwed up yourselves at Euro 2000. I'm still laughing about all the missed penalties...
                            Word on the street is he doesn't want your money, he only wants to please your ears...
                            Bum in Berlin on Myspace

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                            • #29
                              Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                              and no thread would be complete without the "lady fans" of Euro 2008

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                              • #30
                                Re: Official Euro 2008 Thread

                                Originally posted by Raskolnikov View Post
                                You screwed up yourselves at Euro 2000. I'm still laughing about all the missed penalties...
                                It shouldn't have even gotten to the extra-time penalties .

                                I forgot did Belgium make it out of the group fase in Euro2000?



                                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

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