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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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News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

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  • News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

    She walked into my office and my life like a queen walks into a public bathroom...something smelled, and she didn't like it. That red dress stopped about the same height from the floor that my jaw dropped to...and the legs went as far up as my prices to fix a simple spyware infection....

    New Computer Repair Law Affects Both Company Owners and Consumers
    Every repair technician in Texas must have private investigator's license
    Licenses are obtained with criminal justice degree or 3 year apprenticeship
    Violators can face up to a 4K fine and 1 year in jail


    by Pelpina Trip, KDAF33 News at Nine Intern

    June 26, 2008

    A new Texas law requires every computer repair technician to obtain a private investigator's license. Violators can face a $4,000 fine and one year in jail, as well as a $10,000 civil penalty.

    Unlicensed computer shops will have to close down until they obtain a private investigator's license.

    A private investigator's license can be obtained by acquiring a criminal justice degree or by getting a three-year apprenticeship under a licensed private investigator.

    The new law also impacts consumers. Consumers who knowingly take computers to an unlicensed company for repair can face the same penalties.

    Many computer forensics companies in big cities like Dallas and Houston employ licensed investigators. They provide litigation support to large law firms. However, many independent repair companies in other areas do not have a license.

    If small computer repair companies are not allowed to repair computers, rural residents may have to ship their computers for repairs at computer forensics companies.
    Copyright © 2008, KDAF
    Last edited by kester99; 07-01-2008, 09:33 PM.


    [~]) ... Cheers! Go Pacers!

  • #2
    Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

    My only question, why?
    Play Mafia!
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    • #3
      Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

      Originally posted by Pig Nash View Post
      My only question, why?

      "Many computer forensics companies in big cities like Dallas and Houston employ licensed investigators. They provide litigation support to large law firms. However, many independent repair companies in other areas do not have a license.

      If small computer repair companies are not allowed to repair computers, rural residents may have to ship their computers for repairs at computer forensics companies. "


      Cui bono?


      [~]) ... Cheers! Go Pacers!

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      • #4
        Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

        no but i mean, why do all computer repair shops have to do that? I think that some computer shops could just repair computers, not just look for porn.
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        • #5
          Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

          Some well-connected firms just picked up a lot of business.


          [~]) ... Cheers! Go Pacers!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

            Just another ploy to squeeze out the little guy while lining a few pockets.

            As usual, it's all about the $$$.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

              That's just freaking crazy. I repair a lot of PC's on the side, good thing I don't live in Texas.

              I usually add some high quality porn if they are a good friend.
              "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

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              • #8
                Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                Something's not right here... Surely, either this is wrong or else the law accidentally was written overly broad.

                ...Or some Texas computer shops need to band together and hire a good atty...

                -Bball
                Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                ------

                "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                -John Wooden

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                  The first counter-suit is already filed...and these jerks stole my Magnum line! Before I even used it!

                  http://www.ij.org/first_amendment/tx...6_26_08pr.html


                  [~]) ... Cheers! Go Pacers!

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                  • #10
                    Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                    ustin, Texas—The Institute for Justice—the nation’s leading litigators for entrepreneurs who find their rights violated by the government—opens its new Texas Chapter today by filing a lawsuit against the Texas Private Security Board, a state agency, on behalf of computer repair shops that are being told they need a private investigator’s license to continue solving their customers’ computer problems.

                    Under the new law enacted in 2007, Texas has put computer repair shops on notice that they had better watch their backs any time they work on a computer. If a computer repair technician without a government-issued private investigator’s license takes any actions that the government deems to be an “investigation,” they may be subject to criminal penalties of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, as well as civil penalties of up to $10,000. The definition of “investigation” is very broad and encompasses many common computer repair tasks.

                    To get a private investigator’s license, owners of computer repair shops would have to close their business while they either obtained a criminal justice degree or completed a three-year apprenticeship under a licensed P.I.

                    But the repair shops are not the only ones at risk. The law also criminalizes consumers who knowingly use an unlicensed company to perform any repair that constitutes an investigation in the eyes of the government. Consumers are subject to the same harsh penalties as the repair shops they use: criminal penalties of up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, and civil penalties of up to $10,000—just for having their computer repaired by an unlicensed technician.

                    The newly launched Institute for Justice Texas Chapter (IJ-TX) is challenging the new law under the Texas Constitution by filing a lawsuit in Travis County against the Private Security Board on behalf of Texas computer repair companies and their customers.

                    Mike Rife, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, operates AustinPCTech, a company he started more than 10 years ago. Rife has hundreds of satisfied customers and his business is thriving. Rife now operates under a cloud of uncertainty about which repairs the government will allow him to perform for his customers.

                    David Norelid, another plaintiff, is co-owner of Citronix Tech Services in Houston. Norelid started Citronix in Florida before moving to Texas to pursue his degree in information technology management. Norelid said, “If I was required to get a P.I. license to run my business, I’d have to shut my business down.” The flexibility of being an entrepreneur allows him to work full time while going to school.

                    Rife and Norelid do not doubt their ability to compete with so-called “big box” competitors in the computer repair business. What they cannot compete with is a government-created cartel that demands they close their businesses and complete a three-year apprenticeship under a licensed private investigator to get a state-required license—or risk jail time and large monetary penalties if they continue serving their customers without one.

                    Thane Hayhurst owns and operates Kiwi Computer Services and iTalent Consulting Group, both in Dallas. Kiwi Computer is a traditional do-it-all computer repair company that Hayhurst has operated in Dallas since 1992. More recently, Hayhurst opened iTalent Consulting, which offers IT outsourcing services to many prominent local businesses. iTalent sends employees on assignments (some lasting for many months) to clients’ businesses where the consultant works to implement on-site computer and IT solutions. Both of Hayhurst’s businesses are impacted by the new law because he and his employees are not licensed private investigators. Hayhurst is worried the government will decide he can no longer offer many of the services he currently provides to his clients. Hayhurst said, “There are thousands of computer contractors performing valuable services for almost every organization in Texas, and this law will hinder their ability to remain gainfully employed.”

                    Joining the computer repair companies as a plaintiff in this case is consumer Erle Rawlins, who frequently uses independent computer repair shops to keep his Dallas-based real estate buyer agency business running. Rawlins said, “This law is totally unfair. It requires using someone who is more expensive and may not be as good, and it uses government power to limit the number of competitors who are out there. It is bad for consumers and it is bad for entrepreneurs.”

                    The filing of this case marks the launch of IJ-TX in Austin. Lead attorney on the case is IJ-TX Executive Director Matt Miller. Miller said, “Texas is working hard to bring technology innovators to our state. Yet the government is now telling them they need to get a private investigator’s license if they want to continue working here. That is not an effective strategy to grow our technology talent pool.”

                    Miller concluded, “It makes no sense to require a computer repairman with 10 or 20 years of experience to get a degree in criminal justice just to continue working in his occupation. This law will drive up the price of computer repair for everyone, and that’s exactly what the private investigations industry wants.”

                    The Institute for Justice is a public interest law firm that advances a rule of law under which individuals can control their destinies as free and responsible members of society. IJ has additional chapters in Arizona, Minnesota and Washington state. IJ-TX litigates under the state and federal constitutions to reinvigorate economic liberty, preserve property rights, promote educational choice and defend the free flow of information essential to politics and commerce.

                    http://www.ij.org/first_amendment/tx...6_26_08pr.html
                    Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                    ------

                    "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                    -John Wooden

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                      I think it was written so that the sheriff couldn't take your computer to Joe's Computer Shoppe and ask Joe to find any porn on it...
                      ....Or Mary Jane can't take her husband's laptop to Bob PC Service and ask Bob to find any love emails that her cheating husband might be sending out...

                      So it was either written overly broad by accident... or people are making much ado about nothing.
                      Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                      ------

                      "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                      -John Wooden

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                        That explains it a little better, but it's still pretty vague. I don't think it has anything to do with just fixing a PC. What exactly does "investigating" mean, in this context? I do a lot of "investigating" to find certain types of spyware and other malware.
                        "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: News of the Odd: Magnum PC? The Rockford Boot Files?

                          This is total BS. I work as an IT Technician/Administrator and that would totally hurt the business if I had to go through that. I've already went through enough schooling to get me where I am.

                          Texas is screwed up.

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