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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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Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

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  • Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,2346654.story


    Reporting from Los Angeles and Las Vegas - On Wednesday evening, Mike Chauvet opened a red envelope from Netflix and popped "The Hangover" into his DVD player.

    "I try to get most of the movies I watch through Netflix," said the 30-year-old physician, who lives in Queens, N.Y.

    Now he's going to have to wait for the privilege.

    Warner Bros. has struck a deal with Netflix Inc. whereby the fast-growing DVD subscription firm won't offer the studio's movies until 28 days after they go on sale. Had the deal been in effect last month, "The Hangover," which went on sale Dec. 15, wouldn't be available on Netflix until Jan. 14.

    It's part of a strategy by several studios to create staggered releases of DVDs so that the most profitable transactions are available first and cheaper rental options take effect further down the road. The move could be copied by other studios, forcing consumers to wait nearly a month if they want to rent popular movies from Netflix.

    "Within the home entertainment category, we're creating different times at which a product is available at different prices," said Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros.' home entertainment president.

    The studio is hoping that the four-week window will push consumers interested in watching movies at home to buy the DVDs or pay a premium to rent them from stores like Blockbuster or from Internet and cable video-on-demand services. Warner Bros. already imposes a 28-day window on $1-a-night kiosk firm Redbox.

    Although Warner's unilateral move against Redbox has led to a court battle, Netflix agreed to the 28-day window in exchange for improved financial terms and more content for its Internet streaming service.

    DVD sales declined 13.7% last year, and some studios have fingered Redbox and Netflix as primary culprits. Despite their fast growth, Redbox and Netflix rentals generate comparatively smaller profits for studios.

    Other studios besides Warner have privately expressed similar concerns about Netflix, which has more than 11 million subscribers. 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, in a possible signal of their intentions toward Netflix, have already restricted the availability of their DVDs to Redbox.

    The new Netflix deal terms represent a bet by both sides that consumers will be willing to spend about $20 to buy what they want right away or otherwise wait nearly a month to get it as part of their subscription.

    "This deal uniquely works for Netflix because our subscribers are desensitized to street dates and more interested in being matched to the perfect movie," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, who handles studio relationships. "Some subscribers will so passionately want to see it in the first 28 days they may go out and buy it, just as some people want to see 'Avatar' so badly they pay to watch it in 3-D."

    Under the complex renewal terms finally worked out, Netflix agreed to the 28-day delay in exchange for a more favorable percentage of rental revenue from Warner Bros. discs. Netflix will use the savings to expand its stock of the studio's DVDs and triple the number of Warner catalog titles it provides through its online streaming option.

    Sarandos said that Internet streaming is a key growth area for Netflix and that he hoped other studios would follow Warner's lead.

    "There are all different levels of interest," he said. "Future deals will depend on timing and other studios' appetites to make a bet on that window."
    I am NOT happy about this at all.

    The only way I will not be totally pissed off is if the system changes and if in the future you can just download a movie instantly from your TV at home (for say $15) for one time watching

  • #2
    Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

    It kind of stinks...

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

      Originally posted by vapacersfan View Post
      The only way I will not be totally pissed off is if the system changes and if in the future you can just download a movie instantly from your TV at home (for say $15) for one time watching
      If I'm paying $15 for a movie, I sure as hell better be able to watch it more than once.

      Any besides, that's available now. It's called Zune. You can either rent or buy a movie from Zune using your Xbox 360. If you rent it you can eitehr stream the movie and watch it once, or you can download the movie on to your hard drive and watch the movie once within a 24hr time period.

      If you buy the movie, it will download to your harddrive, and you are able to watch it as many times as you like.

      You have options of renting/buying regular or high def versions.

      The renting option is pretty pricey. They use the Microsoft points and it comes out to be about $6 for a rental, but only around $15 for a purchase, IIRC.

      EDIT: And to get back on the main topic, THAT'S BULL****!!!!! In the end the consumer always gets screwed. This is why I have no problems illegally downloading music, nor watching pirated films.

      It might not be morally right, but I don't think it's morally right to sell a CD that costs 15cents to make for $15-$20 bucks either. Lower the prices to a realistic level, and stop doing crap like this, then we can talk.
      Last edited by Since86; 01-07-2010, 03:36 PM.
      Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

        I'm really surprised Netflix rolled over for this.
        WB must've wielded a large hammer....
        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


        • #5
          Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

          Originally posted by Bball View Post
          I'm really surprised Netflix rolled over for this.
          WB must've wielded a large hammer....
          Why not....WB killed off HD DVD with the same big hammer.
          You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

            Originally posted by RWB View Post
            Why not....WB killed off HD DVD with the same big hammer.
            That's what I was thinking...
            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


            • #7
              Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

              Originally posted by Since86 View Post
              If I'm paying $15 for a movie, I sure as hell better be able to watch it more than once.

              Any besides, that's available now. It's called Zune. You can either rent or buy a movie from Zune using your Xbox 360. If you rent it you can eitehr stream the movie and watch it once, or you can download the movie on to your hard drive and watch the movie once within a 24hr time period.

              If you buy the movie, it will download to your harddrive, and you are able to watch it as many times as you like.

              You have options of renting/buying regular or high def versions.

              The renting option is pretty pricey. They use the Microsoft points and it comes out to be about $6 for a rental, but only around $15 for a purchase, IIRC.

              EDIT: And to get back on the main topic, THAT'S BULL****!!!!! In the end the consumer always gets screwed. This is why I have no problems illegally downloading music, nor watching pirated films.

              It might not be morally right, but I don't think it's morally right to sell a CD that costs 15cents to make for $15-$20 bucks either. Lower the prices to a realistic level, and stop doing crap like this, then we can talk.
              I just gave a sample price, I promise when I rule the world I wont charge that much

              I just set up XBOX Live today and I saw zune, but I do not understand Microsoft points. Thank you for clearing up a little bit of that.

              I do think it will be interesting to see if we can still d/l the movie via netflix on PS3 or Xbox, or if you still have to wait the 28 days even to stream the movie.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                Originally posted by Bball View Post
                I'm really surprised Netflix rolled over for this.
                WB must've wielded a large hammer....
                I agree.

                Does this mean blockbuster rental service has the upper hand as you do not have to wait 28 days?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                  So how many more people are going to buy or rent movies now? Not many. How many people are going to illegally download more movies now? Many.

                  Way to go WB. You just shot yourself in the foot.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                    Originally posted by CluelessSuits
                    "Within the home entertainment category, we're creating different times at which a product is available at different prices," said Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros.' home entertainment president.
                    Translation: "We're fairly certain this whole 'give the customer what they want' thing is just a fad."
                    This space for rent.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                      Well, it's cool that they're gonna have more movies available to stream. I don't mind this whole thing, I'm one of those people who actually like going to the video store.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                        Originally posted by Since86 View Post

                        EDIT: And to get back on the main topic, THAT'S BULL****!!!!! In the end the consumer always gets screwed. This is why I have no problems illegally downloading music, nor watching pirated films.

                        It might not be morally right, but I don't think it's morally right to sell a CD that costs 15cents to make for $15-$20 bucks either. Lower the prices to a realistic level, and stop doing crap like this, then we can talk.
                        Seriously? You aren't buying a 15cent CD. You are buying the content that is stored on it.
                        You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                          Originally posted by graphic-er View Post
                          Seriously? You aren't buying a 15cent CD. You are buying the content that is stored on it.
                          When I bought the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, the CDs with the music cost more than the DVDs with the entire movie. That's just goofy.

                          Spending $15-$20 on an album that has maybe 3 or 4 good songs is stupid.
                          This space for rent.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                            One thing I did hear talked about the other night.

                            Wouldn't it really suck if you had all of your movies on a hard drive and then *bam* your whole hard drive gets wiped out.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Netflix and Warner Bros. Strikes deal! Must wait 28 days for new releases

                              Won't the future eventually be buying "licenses" for audio and video?

                              That way you earn access to downloading it whenever you need it/want it. Say I buy a license for The Dark Knight for $20, and that allows me to acquire it from (in this case) Warner Bros. in HD picture/sound if I like, or a mobile copy for my iPhone, or SD for a regular TV, whatever else. It would also grant me the accompanying special features to watch should I choose to do so.

                              Hard drive crashes? No problem. Your license is on record within their database (and if you're smart you've kept some kind of receipt) and you are allowed to quickly download it again.

                              Same with audio (books, music, comedy, whatever).

                              The key is figuring out the licensing so that my scenario is applicable. If you can store it without having to freak out if there's hardware failure, I think it'll take off eventually.

                              Heck, if/when Internet speeds increase enough, you might even see a point where you don't even download anything anymore. You just "snatch it" on the fly whenever you want to watch/listen to something immediately.

                              Comment

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