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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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A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

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  • #1

    A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

    Here's a story that explains why I became a great admirer of Roy. Roy committed to Gtown university just before his sophomore high school basketball season began. He was of course very tall even back then and like many big men the word “potential” was mentioned whenever his name was brought up back then. But so was the word “raw”. In fact “very raw” is more accurate. He had his share of critics who thought he was too stiff, too slow, too big, too uncoordinated. Even his supporters conceded that he had a LONG way to go before being someone capable of dominating even a high school game.


    The first time I would get the chance to see Hibbert live and in person came during the summer between his junior and senior year in high school (Georgetown Prep). The event was the annual Jabbo Kenner League and Roy was playing for the Tombs. A little background information is needed. The Kenner League is the one NCAA sanctioned summer league tournament in the DC-Maryland-Northern Virginia region. With a few exceptions it has been played on the campus of Georgetown University every year of its nearly 30 year existence. Sometimes its very organized and very strict on who can participate. Sometimes its more loose and disorganized and allows pros such as Gilbert Arenas, Sam Cassell, Brendan Haywood, Jerome Williams, etc to participate in the main tournament games (which start after a month of “regular” season games are played to determine seeding. You also have had great DC street legends suit up and play too though they have tended to play in the KL tourney games for the pros. But the main interest that has drawn fans for decades is when the college players or soon-to-be college players hoop for their respective summer league teams.



    Skip ahead to the following summer. Hibbert had just come off a successful senior season campaign. I headed to Gtown for the beginning of the 2004 Kenner League games eager to see what improvements he had made without getting my hopes up too high. Catching a few of Hibbert’s games that summer I had noticed that there was a tremendous amount of improvement from the previous summer. Every game he would do something that I didn’t think he was capable of. He was also finishing better, showing more confident moves and playing better defense. He was competing hard not only against top college players but pros such as the Wizards’ Haywood. In other words I saw for the first time the potential in Roy to be a true contributor and a very good player.

    But a lot of his glaring flaws were still evident. He was awful at running the floor, he played too soft around the rim too often, he was still awkward. He had some good games but he still had some bad games too. Compared to teammate and fellow college freshman-to-be, Jeff Green, Roy looked like the project that he was. Worst of all, as during the previous summer, he had to deal with the awful truth that summer league crowds could be unforgivably cruel. People were laughing at him. People were criticizing him from the stands and then talking to themselves about how he could not play. Not even playing in the on-campus gym of his selected college buffered him from all the snickering and groans. The worst part was that from my view I could even see his future college teammates (the returning upperclassmen players on the Georgetown team) who were sitting in the stands chuckling openly over Roy’s awkwardness.

    Roy responded to this in a way that defined his character. He showed up. He showed up for every game despite the fact he was often the butt of jokes and the target of laughter from the crowd. Maybe this does not sound like such a big deal to some folks but you must understand the context. All summer leagues deal with no-shows and guys who arrive late. Its part of the fabric of the events. Guys who had proven everything in the world as well as guys who were supposed to be trying to better themselves as basketball players would decide at the last minute they had better things to do. So who would blame Roy for having enough with being tease (which is especially detrimental to shy teenagers) and deciding to stay home and miss a game or two? I wouldn’t have blamed him for skipping a couple of games or more and going out with friends to the mall (you must realize most KL games are played on the weekends). I would have probably too sensitive to the teasing or two angry to keep subjecting myself to such verbal abuse. But that’s me; that isn’t Roy. No, Roy kept coming back and playing because his being teased was a small price to pay to further improve his education on the hardcourt. He had supposedly never skipped out on the KL games that previous summer either when I first saw Roy. Like man he blocked it out and just worried about balling. That summer he helped the Tombs win the Kenner League title.

    The following summer he made that quantum leap and played for Clyde’s in the Kenner League. He ended up being the best player on the best team in the league itself. And in the championship game his team beat the Tombs, led again by now Big East Rookie of the Year Jeff Green, for the title. The next year, during the summer of 2006, he once again led his Clyde’s team to the title. During both of his summers playing for Clyde’s he led the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks. And his Clyde’s team went undefeated through league play throughout that two year run. If he had played in the league during 2007 before his senior year (he was a way playing in the Pan Am games), the feeling is that his team would have won again. That’s how dominant his two summers run with Clyde’s was. In the history of Kenner League Hibbert had a stretch run of performances and results that’s right up there or close with some of the very best that the league has ever seen. Talk about a Hollywood-like success story. Maybe that guy yelling that encouragement to Roy during the KL games in 2004 was right all along.

    Sure it was just summer league. But the character traits that define Roy such as the appreciation of hard work, the desire to improve, reliability and the drive to prove the doubters wrong first became evident to me after seeing him grow so much from one sumer to the next. These are elements of his personality that remain with him to this day. Its why I am a fan and why I think Pacer fans will enbrace him too. Its why I think he will be a wonderful pro too.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

    Thanks for the insights, KL.

    I hope your speculations as to Hibbert's character and NBA potential prove true.
    "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

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    • #3
      Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

      That's... very cool. I'm starting to feel irrational amounts of sunshine.

      Quick, somebody say something depressing.
      This space for rent.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

        HOLY CRAP.... Way to tired to read all that.. Ill read it when I wake up..lol

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

          Very good post! Thank you!

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

            Very informative post.

            I enjoy reading stories like this that not only highlight a players bball growth, but personal growth as well.

            I have not seen Roy play, but from what I am reading thus far, I think he is going to open some eyes with his play and attitude!

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

              Thanks for that post. I am very excited to have Roy on the Pacers.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                Originally posted by Anthem View Post

                Quick, somebody say something depressing.
                David Harrison will likely be playing for a different team next year.



                [Although somehow I think that statement will probably push you further toward sunshineland.... ]
                You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

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                • #9
                  Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                  Georgetown has a reputation for preparing their big guys for the league:

                  Ewing, Mutombo, Mourning - all went to Georgtown

                  Hopefully he can be as productive to this team as those guys.
                  Never half-a** two things. Whole-a** one thing.

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                  • #10
                    Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                    Thanks for posting. I really like the things I've read about Hibbert, he sounds like a good guy. I hope he makes it big.
                    "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

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                    • #11
                      Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                      In all the interviews I've read and heard, "work ethic" is brought up.

                      I keep reading about how much he's improved over the last few years.

                      He's only 21. I've watched several of his games and I almost cursed Georgetown for not using him more on offense. He's really good with either hand and has savvy post moves. I believe Jim O'Brien when he says he'll be a better player in the pros than in college.

                      I don't think he'll be ready for a couple of years, but he's another guy (like Rush) who I think might be better than people are projecting.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                        Great stuff, Kenner. Thanks. I've had an eye on Hibbert at Georgetown for the past 3 years where the development you speak of has continued.

                        Hibbert was interviewed twice on Indianapolis radio yesterday, and I can't remember how many times he said the words "work hard." But it is clear that he plans to keep developing beyond what he was as a Hoya.

                        He'll never be fast in a sprint down the court. But his sure hands, good court vision, balance, willingness to share and size are enough to make him a successful pro.

                        He also talked a bit about his parents, who encouraged him to study music and try different sports as a kid, until he shot up to 6' 9" and then everyone agreed that it was going to be basketball for Roy. Hibbert may have the best family background of anybody on the Pacers team.
                        And I won't be here to see the day
                        It all dries up and blows away
                        I'd hang around just to see
                        But they never had much use for me
                        In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                          Originally posted by imawhat View Post
                          I don't think he'll be ready for a couple of years,
                          This makes good sense.

                          And yet Conrad Brunner has listed him as a probably starter, and Bird has declared him "ready to contribute." What Rush and Hibbert can do this year will be one of the most interesting questions.
                          And I won't be here to see the day
                          It all dries up and blows away
                          I'd hang around just to see
                          But they never had much use for me
                          In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                            One thing that scares me with 7 footers is their conditioning. If they do too much leg and back problems develop. Remember Smits' feet? Yao has bad feet also. Has Hibbert had trouble with his feet?

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: A look back at Hibbert's past and growth

                              Smits' feet were bad because he wore bad shoes.
                              This space for rent.

                              Comment

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