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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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Petition to fire coach O'Brien

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  • #16
    Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

    Originally posted by Dece View Post
    I don't think we are loaded with talent, but compare our roster to the 76ers roster for a second.

    Dunleavy < Brand, but both are injured so we'll wash that.

    On this board at least people will say without question Granger > Iggy

    Dre Miller vs Jack/Ford -- Dre is better than either, but certainly we have the depth won

    Speights is a rookie taken just 1 spot before Rush I think, so that should be a wash, we have Hibbert as well from that draft round...

    Dalembert vs Murphy... certainly far different players, but I doubt many would argue Dalembert is much more talented

    So where is this plethora of talent that the 76ers have, that we don't? Why will they win almost 10 more games than us?

    I guess making apologies and excuses eases the pain for some. Oh and Duke, you're a total child bro, you've added much to the conversation with your no substance one liners. "Way to be an adult." "Ignored" seriously, why bother to take the time to post that? This is a forums for conversation and debate, partake and save the holier than thou insults.
    Who would you compare Thaddeus Young to? All our "good" players you have already used in comparison. From the players you havent mentioned, no one compares to Thaddeus Young. Also, they have a young PG they have faith in, Louis Williams
    "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


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    • #17
      Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

      I don't really think that highly of Louis Williams, Jack/Ford whichever you think is the backup I'd say makes the point guard slot even.

      I did totally forget about Thaddeus, you got me there, but really, do you think he's so talented that he's worth ~10 wins? Plus we were supposed to already be ahead from Granger winning his match up. Maybe I'm just outright wrong and overvaluing our players here, but I look at their roster and my thought isn't "man, they are stacked compared to us"

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      • #18
        Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

        I take the time to post because I feel t necessary that people need to know that makng a "petition" to fire the coach is not only waste of time, but not the solution. We've beat around this dead horse for some time now, and I thought all this had stopped.

        Call me a child all you want, but remember: I'm not the one creating threads like this, bro.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

          It's a web forum for discussion... there are no solutions here, not in ANY thread. No one can solve anything Pacer related here. We aren't management. As much as I agree with you that a petition to fire JOB is inherently silly, it DID spark a conversation or debate of sorts.

          I'm not sure how you can't see the hypocrisy of making potshot insults about the usefulness of a thread. Like your potshots "solved" something where this thread could not. You certainly would have been better served to say nothing, or if you feel it necessary, as you say, then actually say something, driving by with denigration will never solve anything. If you'd like the thread starter to see it from your point of view, than make an argument. State your point of view. Or keep your peace.

          Random unexplained insults ARE childish, and they ARE cowardly. That's not just an opinion, so remember that if you'd like to be better than what you seem to have disdain for.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

            This conversation needs to head back to being about the topic at hand very rapidly.


            Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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            • #21
              Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

              Originally posted by Dece View Post
              I don't think we are loaded with talent, but compare our roster to the 76ers roster for a second.

              Dunleavy < Brand, but both are injured so we'll wash that.

              On this board at least people will say without question Granger > Iggy

              Dre Miller vs Jack/Ford -- Dre is better than either, but certainly we have the depth won

              Speights is a rookie taken just 1 spot before Rush I think, so that should be a wash, we have Hibbert as well from that draft round...

              Dalembert vs Murphy... certainly far different players, but I doubt many would argue Dalembert is much more talented

              So where is this plethora of talent that the 76ers have, that we don't? Why will they win almost 10 more games than us?

              I guess making apologies and excuses eases the pain for some. Oh and Duke, you're a total child bro, you've added much to the conversation with your no substance one liners. "Way to be an adult." "Ignored" seriously, why bother to take the time to post that? This is a forums for conversation and debate, partake and save the holier than thou insults.
              Some points

              Miller/Williams/Greene is a better combo than Ford/Jack/Diener. Out of all those guys, Miller is the truest of all PGs and the best player defensively.

              Dalembert may or may not be more talented than Murphy, but we know he does two things that Murphy absolutely does not: Play center and defend the paint. From a bigman's perspective, those are more essential to a team's success than the shooting that Murphy brings. Right now, Dalembert does a better job of that than any current Pacer.

              Overall, the 76ers team is longer and more athletic, and those two things by themselves make them better defensively. They can force turnovers and get out into the open court for easy buckets. They are 5th in the league in steals where as the Pacers are 23rd. That's a big part of what they've done the past couple years. The Pacers have a harder time doing that with the personnel they have and subsequently they can't get those free, easy points that the 76ers get.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                As most know I'm not a fan of "Jimmy's run n gun with little "D" system", but as I have stated in earlier "fire" O'Brien threads he won't be fired. It's a money issue of paying 2 coaches at the sametime if he's fired. Not to mention Bird isn't going to put egg on his face by firing his "over the phone hired coach." O'Brien will be here again next year, so get use to the idea.

                I have never been in the fire O'Brien camp, but just the O'Brien needs to change his system camp. I AM in the "tar n feather Bird camp" if he picks up O'Brien's option year for 2010-11, and will lead the group to Conseco if it happens.

                As frustrated as I have been with O'Brien, it will be interesting to see his coaching next season. 2 years in a row the Pacers start playing better the last qtr of the season making a push for the ever elusive playoffs only to fall short with failure. If next season the Pacers start out the gate as they have the last 2 seasons, then I may be campaigning for him being fired. He will have had players in "his system" long enough to make the playoffs with a winning record. If not, so long Jimmy.

                P/S

                Just for the record the Pacers have lost 44 games and out of those 44 losses the Pacers have given up 100 plus points to the opposition "38 TIMES!"
                Last edited by Justin Tyme; 04-05-2009, 08:39 AM.

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                • #23
                  Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                  Originally posted by MillerTime View Post
                  We cant afford to fire him and hire another coach.
                  Truth.
                  Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

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                  • #24
                    Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien






                    (Everybody ought to have one of these.)


                    .
                    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


                    • #25
                      Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                      The Pacers do have talent to make the playoffs, I don't care what anybody says. Granger can score 30 a night, which several playoff teams don't have. Murphy, although overpaid, can be an effective weapon with his abliity to shoot threes. Jarrett Jack is underrated, and could be a legitimate 6th man of the year candidate under the right system. T.J Ford is good enough to win 40 games with. We have all seen what Jeff Foster can do when given an opportunity. JOB doesn't seem to know how to utilize Jeff's talent. Rasho is a veteran, and can also be effective with his unique skill set if coached properly. Hibbert is somewhat of a threat defensively with his shot blocking skills. Marquis Daniles can get to the paint and finish with the best of them.

                      Sorry guys, JOB clearly has a talented group to work with. These players have beaten Boston, Lakers, Cavs, etc. They are good enough to win at least 41 games.
                      Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                        3 of our most talented players:

                        Dunleavy - only healthy enough to even play (not 100%) 18 games all year. A big deal.
                        Rush - Rookie who is only now coming out of his shell over 3/4ths of the way in to the season.
                        Hibbert - Also a rookie

                        I pegged this team to be 41-41 without the health issues, and I still feel right about that, but **** happens and they're not able to be .500. I think Mike is the difference of at least 5 wins/losses. Frankly if he'd been playing all year like he did last year, I think they might have won more than 41 now that I've watched this season unfold. Maybe that only means 44 wins, but nonetheless.

                        JOB, like ALL coaches, is flawed. The debate is just how flawed. The fact is that there's realistically no one better to hire, either.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                          Originally posted by bhaas0532 View Post
                          The Pacers do have talent to make the playoffs, I don't care what anybody says. Granger can score 30 a night, which several playoff teams don't have. Murphy, although overpaid, can be an effective weapon with his abliity to shoot threes. Jarrett Jack is underrated, and could be a legitimate 6th man of the year candidate under the right system. T.J Ford is good enough to win 40 games with. We have all seen what Jeff Foster can do when given an opportunity. JOB doesn't seem to know how to utilize Jeff's talent. Rasho is a veteran, and can also be effective with his unique skill set if coached properly. Hibbert is somewhat of a threat defensively with his shot blocking skills. Marquis Daniles can get to the paint and finish with the best of them.

                          Sorry guys, JOB clearly has a talented group to work with. These players have beaten Boston, Lakers, Cavs, etc. They are good enough to win at least 41 games.
                          I dont know about that statement:

                          Cleveland - James
                          Boston - Allen and Peirce
                          Orlando - Lewis, Dwight
                          Atlanta - Joe Johnson
                          Philadelphia - Iggy
                          Miami - Wade
                          Chicago - Ben Gordon (not so much this season)
                          Detroit - RIP

                          L.A. Lakers - Kobe
                          Denver - JR Smith, Melo
                          San Antonio - Manu, Parker, Duncan
                          Portland - Roy
                          Houston - ???
                          New Orleans - CP3
                          Utah - Deron
                          Dallas - Dirk
                          "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


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                          • #28
                            Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                            Give Bird & JOB an offer Make the Playoffs next year or you're Fired. That is fair.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                              Yes, because anyone can just make the playoffs by force of will in a small window of time regardless of circumstance.....

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Petition to fire coach O'Brien

                                Originally posted by Jonathan View Post
                                Give Bird & JOB an offer Make the Playoffs next year or you're Fired. That is fair.
                                If only we could get everyone to hold themselves to such lofty standards...

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