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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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Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

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  • Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

    Despite our recent lack of postseason appearances, usually this thing's competitive all the way up until the end. This year, the Pacers are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. I'm stealing Nappy Seth's idea and making a reverse magic number thread, instead. We'll be looking at what combination of Pacers losses or other team's wins are needed for the Pacers to secure a top pick.

    For now we won't be looking at tiebreakers and I'll be ignoring the lotto aspect entirely. We're just looking at unadjusted draft ranking.

    Here are the current lotto standings (wins/losses/games left)

    1. New Jersey (10/65/7)
    2. Minnesota (15/60/7)
    3. Golden State (22/53/7)
    4. Washington (22/53/7)
    5. Detroit (23/52/7)
    6. Sacramento (24/52/6)
    7. New York (26/49/7)
    8. Philadelphia (26/50/6)
    9. LA Clippers (27/48/7)
    10. Indiana (28/48/6)
    11. New Orleans (35/42/5)
    12. Chicago (36/39/7)
    13. Houston (38/37/7)
    14. Toronto (38/37/7)

    The Pacers have six games left... even if they win all of their remaining games, they won't have a good enough record to pass New Orleans, Chicago, Houston, or Toronto. So I'm taking those teams off the list right from the start. In addition, New Jersey and Minnesota have enough losses that even if they won the remainder of their games, they wouldn't be in danger of losing the pick to the Pacers. So they're gone as well.

    Golden State has seven games left. If they lose all of those games they'll have 60 losses. Indy currently has 48 losses, meaning they'd have to lose 13 games to acquire more losses than GS. Indy's magic number is thus 13. Either a Golden State win or an Indy loss decreases that number by one.

    Here, then, are the magic numbers:

    3. Golden State - 13
    4. Washington - 13
    5. Detroit - 12
    6. Sacramento - 11
    7. New York - 9
    8. Philadelphia - 9
    9. LA Clippers - 8
    10. Indiana

    I'll update this tonight and every night until the end of the season. I don't have it in me to wish for my Pacers to lose, so I'll be rooting hardcore for the Clippers, Sixers, Knicks, and Kings.
    This space for rent.

  • #2
    Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

    For Saturday 4/3:

    Sixers Lost
    Pistons Lost
    Clippers Lost
    Kings Lost

    For Sunday 4/4, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Rockets @ Pacers
    Nets @ Wizards
    Warriors @ Raptors
    Knicks @ Clippers

    No games on Monday 4/5

    For Tuesday 4/6, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Pistons @ Sixers
    Warriors @ Wizards
    Celtics @ Knicks
    Spurs @ Kings

    For Wednesday 4/7, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Knicks @ Pacers
    Wizards @ Magic
    Hawks @ Pistons
    Sixers @ Heat
    Warriors @ TWolves
    Blazers @ Clippers

    For Thursday 4/8, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Clippers @ Kings

    For Friday 4/9, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Knicks @ Magic
    Bucks @ Sixers
    Wizards @ Celtics
    Pacers @ Cavs
    Pistons @ Heat

    For Saturday 4/10, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Nets @ Pacers
    Hawks @ Wizards
    Pistons @ Bobcats
    Sixers @ Grizzlies
    Mavs @ Kings
    Warriors @ Clippers

    For Sunday 4/11, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Thunder @ Warriors
    Heat @ Knicks

    For Monday 4/12, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Magic @ Pacers
    Heat @ Sixers
    Raptors @ Pistons
    Wizards @ Knicks
    Rockets @ Kings
    Mavs @ Clippers

    For Tuesday 4/13, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Jazz @ Warriors
    Kings @ Lakers

    For Wednesday 4/14, here's the schedule of the Teams of concern:

    Pistons @ TWolves
    Sixers @ Magic
    Pacers @ Wizards
    Knicks @ Raptors
    Lakers @ Clippers
    Warriors @ Blazers

    It won't make much of a difference....but something to consider is that the Warriors aren't purposely tanking as they are trying to get ( at least ) 2 more wins for Nellie so that he can break the record for "Most Wins by a Coach" record this season. When it's all said and done...I think the Wizards are going to end up with a worst record then the Warriors.
    Last edited by CableKC; 04-04-2010, 02:13 AM.
    Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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    • #3
      Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

      I was gonna say, I think you might be a bit too late for your magic number thread. Then I read it and said "yeah, that's more germane to the situation."



      Also I usually present it from the other team's POV on this one, so as of now the team's the Pacers can "catch" that are "ahead" of them in the lottery standings.

      Pacers can lose 54 games max.

      Pacers can't catch:
      1. New Jersey
      2. Minny

      Games (Pacer wins, other team's losses) left to eliminate Pacers (no ties)
      3. Golden St - 2
      4. Washington - 2
      5. Sacto - 3
      6. Detroit - 3
      7. New York - 6
      8. Philly - 6
      9. Clips - 7

      The Pacers can't win enough games to catch any other teams and move "down" this list, so they've locked up 10th and have a realistic shot at moving to 7th.

      However considering their slew of home games it seems very possible that the Pacers finish 4-2, which would eliminate the top 6 teams even if those teams won out.

      Of course it's just our luck that the Clips and Knicks play tomorrow, so one of those 2 will reduce their magic number when they lose.
      Last edited by Naptown_Seth; 04-04-2010, 03:19 AM.

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      • #4
        Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

        Welcome to No-Man's land....where the Pacers have taken up residence over the last couple of seasons. Many of the Teams that matter will be playing each other over the next week....so it's only going to get better.
        Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

          I said about a week and a half ago that the Pacers would finish at
          #10. In fact, I think I used the word 'lock'.

          Nothing has changed.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

            For a while there, I really did think we had a shot at somewhere around 4-6. Turns out my initial pessimism (which I believe had me thinking 6-9) was more on the mark.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

              Originally posted by Hillman's 'Fro' View Post
              I said about a week and a half ago that the Pacers would finish at #10. In fact, I think I used the word 'lock'.

              Nothing has changed.

              It is nice that you made a guess that turned out to actually happen. But I hope you agree that saying something will happen, and then it actually happening, is not "nothing."

              If I say, "I will give you $1,000," I think you would notice a difference between me saying it and then me actually giving you the money.



              People have been "calling it" since the beginning of the season. And most of our predictions have been very far off the mark. Some few can point back to one or a few predictions they made that were on target, thanks to luck and sheer numbers.

              The point of this thread is that we can finally pass beyond the fog of prediction and step into the bright clear daylight of actual results. Keep it up, Anthem.
              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


              • #8
                Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                Don't know where else to ask this question:


                Did we lose the pre-season prediction thread?



                .
                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


                • #9
                  Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                  Figures we would if you can't find it. Stupid computers.

                  Top of my head I think I had them in the 39-41 win range, maybe sneaking into the playoffs thanks to the improved defense. I was more optimistic this year than I was the last 2.

                  And honestly, had Danny been healthier or looked healthier during mid-season they might have snuck in a few more wins to get near the bottom of that range, though it wouldn't be enough to make the post-season it appears.

                  The 32-33 wins they look to be headed to is much closer to the predictions I made the prior 2 seasons.





                  By the way, just since it's one of my personal vendetta rant topics...

                  Carlisle
                  44 wins
                  41 wins
                  35 wins
                  FIRED

                  O'Brien
                  36 wins
                  36 wins
                  34 wins MAX

                  Why is this even debatable. If you fired a COY winner (4 straight years in the top 5 COY voting btw) and the team's franchise record holder for most wins in a season as a coach because he failed and only won 35 games on a team built around an injured JO, Tinsley, Dun and Troy, why in the hell would you give JOB the benefit of the doubt for doing worse with Dun, Troy, Granger, Hibbert, Rush, etc.

                  Is Hibbert really worse than broken JO? Are Watson/Ford really worse than disruptive, uncontrolled Tinsley (just 1/2 a season away from banishment at that point)? Are mid-season traded, try to figure out how to use them Dun and Troy worse now than they were then (check Dun's numbers before you answer)?

                  When JOB asks Larry "why are you firing me?" the answer should be "why WOULDN'T I fire you?"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                    Loved the win, but it means Indy didn't move up.

                    GS won, Washington won, New York won, Clips lost, Detroit/Sacramento/Philly didn't play.

                    3. Golden State - 12
                    4. Washington - 12
                    5. Detroit - 12
                    6. Sacramento - 11
                    7. Philadelphia - 9
                    8. New York - 8
                    9. LA Clippers - 8
                    10. Indiana
                    This space for rent.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                      Yeah, we're picking 10th.

                      I don't know whether to or

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                        I think the best we could have gotten was 7th, maybe 6th, but looking at how badly the other teams have done and the Pacers easy schedule.

                        OK, we didn't expect the Pacers to win against the Jazz, Thunder and Bobcats (although each game was at home, but even if the pacers lose each of those games, that would give us 26 wins which puts us tied for 7th with the Sixers. with games at home against the Knicks, Nets, at Wizards (that is three wins there) Nets have no incentive now that they got their 10th win.

                        It isn't like the pacers have been beating good teams on the road during this stretch - they have only won 2 road games since the AS break - @Houston, and @ Detroit

                        I think I posted this a few days ago, now that I think about it.

                        but realistically 7-10 was the most likely anyway.
                        Last edited by Unclebuck; 04-05-2010, 10:12 AM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                          We could still realistically hit 7th.
                          This space for rent.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                            Pacers can lose 53 games max.

                            Pacers can't catch:
                            1. New Jersey
                            2. Minny

                            Games (Pacer wins, other team's losses) left to eliminate Pacers (no ties)
                            3. Golden St - 1
                            4. Washington - 1
                            5. Sacto - 1
                            6. Detroit - 1
                            7. Philly - 4
                            8. Clips - 4
                            9. New York - 5

                            1 more win by the Pacers locks them to no worse than 7th.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Anthem's Annual Magic Number Thread

                              This thread makes my head spin.

                              It is hard to know, when someone says "better" or "worse" if they mean in the standings, or in the lottery.
                              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

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