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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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Shaq uses the F word live.

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  • #16
    Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

    Oh come on.

    Shaq swore on TV.

    Ron smashed a freaking TV camerao against a wall.

    This isnt apples to Oranges, its a stupid mistake and a REALLY Stupid one.

    Shaq deserves a fine, NOT a suspension. Has any player in NBA HISTORY been suspended for TALKING INNAPROPRIATELY?

    Come on now.
    Do you believe that Artest deserved a suspension for his camera incident?

    If so, why was Artest's conduct any different?

    I await your answer.
    If ONE other member of this forum asks me that same thing I'll awnser it.

    But right now I think that may be the most obvious question Ive ever been asked.....

    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

      Oh come on.

      Shaq swore on TV.

      Ron smashed a freaking TV camerao against a wall.

      This isnt apples to Oranges, its a stupid mistake and a REALLY Stupid one.

      Shaq deserves a fine, NOT a suspension. Has any player in NBA HISTORY been suspended for TALKING INNAPROPRIATELY?

      Come on now.
      Do you believe that Artest deserved a suspension for his camera incident?

      If so, why was Artest's conduct any different?

      I await your answer.
      An act of physical violence compared with swearing?

      Are you for real?
      Yes. The fact is that Shaq did it when he knew he was live on TV and EVERYONE could hear him.

      I'm not sure about this, but was Artest caught live on TV throwing the camera? Or was it caught by a camera after the game?

      Artest's incident with the camera was not violence against a human being.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

        Oh come on.

        Shaq swore on TV.

        Ron smashed a freaking TV camerao against a wall.

        This isnt apples to Oranges, its a stupid mistake and a REALLY Stupid one.

        Shaq deserves a fine, NOT a suspension. Has any player in NBA HISTORY been suspended for TALKING INNAPROPRIATELY?

        Come on now.
        Do you believe that Artest deserved a suspension for his camera incident?

        If so, why was Artest's conduct any different?

        I await your answer.
        If ONE other member of this forum asks me that same thing I'll awnser it.

        But right now I think that may be the most obvious question Ive ever been asked.....
        Well, screw you too.

        I merely asked a question.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

          Oh come on.

          Shaq swore on TV.

          Ron smashed a freaking TV camerao against a wall.

          This isnt apples to Oranges, its a stupid mistake and a REALLY Stupid one.

          Shaq deserves a fine, NOT a suspension. Has any player in NBA HISTORY been suspended for TALKING INNAPROPRIATELY?

          Come on now.
          Do you believe that Artest deserved a suspension for his camera incident?

          If so, why was Artest's conduct any different?

          I await your answer.
          An act of physical violence compared with swearing?

          Are you for real?
          Yes. The fact is that Shaq did it when he knew he was live on TV and EVERYONE could hear him.

          I'm not sure about this, but was Artest caught live on TV throwing the camera? Or was it caught by a camera after the game?

          Artest's incident with the camera was not violence against a human being.
          Ring that homer alert.........

          If Shaq grabbed a camera from a guy doing his job and smashed it against a wall, and Ron simply swore in front of a camera, we arent having this discussion....

          I still refuse to explain the difference between violence and destruction of property to swearing on camera.....

          It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

          Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
          Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
          NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

            Take it down a notch please.
            Mickael Pietrus Le site officiel

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

              I still refuse to explain the difference between violence and destruction of property to swearing on camera.....
              Kstat is right about this...

              I don't see how a valid comparison could be made

              Shaq has never smashed a Camera and Monitor, been know for flagrant fouls, or any of the numerous other things on Artest resume

              So shaq will not get a suspension and rightfully so


              If artest did what shaq did, yes, he probably would have gotten a suspension, but that would have been his own fault.

              Artest soiled his record and created an uphill battle for himself. He has a bad reputation... his fault...and although none of us pacer fans may like it...it is something we must accept (ron will get the worst of the penalties)

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                Oh come on.

                Shaq swore on TV.

                Ron smashed a freaking TV camerao against a wall.

                This isnt apples to Oranges, its a stupid mistake and a REALLY Stupid one.

                Shaq deserves a fine, NOT a suspension. Has any player in NBA HISTORY been suspended for TALKING INNAPROPRIATELY?

                Come on now.
                Do you believe that Artest deserved a suspension for his camera incident?

                If so, why was Artest's conduct any different?

                I await your answer.
                An act of physical violence compared with swearing?

                Are you for real?
                Yes. The fact is that Shaq did it when he knew he was live on TV and EVERYONE could hear him.

                I'm not sure about this, but was Artest caught live on TV throwing the camera? Or was it caught by a camera after the game?

                Artest's incident with the camera was not violence against a human being.
                So let me get this straight ...

                If you and I got in an argument - say we're in a crowded mall parking lot and one of us ducks into a parking space, cutting the other off.

                We get out of our cars. In one scenario you and I argue and I end up swearing at you before getting in my car and driving away.

                In the other I pull a baseball bat out of the backseat of my car and bash your windshield in.

                You're telling me that you see no difference in that?

                Of course in the case of Artest we'd have to go a bit further because I'd have to first physically drag you out of your car and then bash your windshield in.

                I just hope you never have any position in the criminal justice system.
                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                  How did this get on the camera incident...of course violence is different. COmpare like offenses. Flipping off the crowd and flinging the F-word live. That is the legit comparison. Now...what does Ivy get when he flips off the crowd? Compare Shaq and Ivy...because RA's was a multiple offense and they were out to hang him (ESPN was that is).


                  Or how about a Presidential canidate that flings the f-word 4 times in a week? Oh wait, he was using it as an adjective and that made it ok.
                  Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Shaq uses the F word live.


                    Or how about a Presidential canidate that flings the f-word 4 times in a week? Oh wait, he was using it as an adjective and that made it ok.
                    Actually, so was Shaq ...

                    Now the fecal reference was another story.

                    I figure it'll be a fine - but if I were Shaq I'd watch out for my endorsements. Burger King tries to be family friendly. I don't know what clauses they have in their contract but if he violated them he could lose it - plus I know he has some candy bars he does spots for.
                    The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                      hey guys, to be honest..
                      i love it...

                      i love to see people speaking their mind...and a little vocab lesson to shake people up isnt a really big deal....

                      words are words...the stigma attached to **** and **** and other "swear" words is ridiculous.....and completely arbitrary...

                      so **** yeah big daddy tell the world how you feel

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                        I just hope we don't see some make up calls tonight.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                          I just hope we don't see some make up calls tonight.
                          I was thinking the same thing.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                            hey guys, to be honest..
                            i love it...

                            i love to see people speaking their mind...and a little vocab lesson to shake people up isnt a really big deal....

                            words are words...the stigma attached to **** and **** and other "swear" words is ridiculous.....and completely arbitrary...

                            so **** yeah big daddy tell the world how you feel
                            ++++++++++++++++++++=

                            I take it your kids don't watch the NBA.

                            This may come as a surprise but I'm kinda conservative and take a dim view of this sort of thing on my television.....but then again I'm not a prude either. There is a wrong place and time tho...and that was it.

                            Now ain't it funny how Tony Bruno used the discussion to turn it around and make a scathing flame on the quality of play in th NBA??? He started off talking about Shaq...quickly dismissed it and started flaming the Wolves for playing half a game yesterday and cheating the paying customers. HE then slammed the entire product of the whole NBA for lousy uninteresting play by uninspired, overly-paid, non-skilled players...and then ripped anyone who would deign to watch them.
                            Funny how whenever one of the major players gets their t*t in a wringer the subject ALWAYS gets diverted.
                            Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                              Greg Lloyd - during the Steelers postgame celebration after defeating the Colts to qualify for Superbowl XXX - used the F-word live on NBC. I think he was fined $5K or $10k. That's about the right punishment for Shaq.
                              Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                              Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                              Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                              Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                              And life itself, rushing over me
                              Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                              Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Shaq uses the F word live.

                                Greg Lloyd - during the Steelers postgame celebration after defeating the Colts to qualify for Superbowl XXX - used the F-word live on NBC. I think he was fined $5K or $10k. That's about the right punishment for Shaq.
                                Michael Irvin did the same thing when the Cowboys won the NFC - I think it was the same year. Was talking about Barry Swtzer and said something like, "People need to stop giving this man so much s__t."

                                I remember Lloyd too - it's burned in my memory. Not the whole thing but the words, "... right to the F-ing Super Bowl."

                                I think it was Bryant Gumble who commented afterwards, "Greg Lloyd just failed our live, on-air audition for a job as commentator." or something like that. We were howling at it. Too funny.
                                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                                Comment

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