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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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Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

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  • #1

    Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

    http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...to-end-it-all/

    Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

    By Nick Canepa, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST

    Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 12:22 a.m.
    FILE - In this March 27, 2007, file photo photo provided by McDonald's, legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, right, sits with Bill Walton during the banquet for the the 30th anniversary McDonald's All American High School Basketball Games, in Louisville, Ky. Wooden led UCLA on its vaunted 88-game winning streak. "Wooden never talked about winning or losing," Bruins great Bill Walton says. (AP Photo/McDonald's, Henny Ray Abrams, HO)

    / AP

    FILE - In this March 27, 2007, file photo photo provided by McDonald's, legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, right, sits with Bill Walton during the banquet for the the 30th anniversary McDonald's All American High School Basketball Games, in Louisville, Ky. Wooden led UCLA on its vaunted 88-game winning streak. "Wooden never talked about winning or losing," Bruins great Bill Walton says. (AP Photo/McDonald's, Henny Ray Abrams, HO)
    Photo of nick-canepa
    Contact Nick:
    619-293-1033
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    By his count, Bill Walton has undergone 36 orthopedic surgeries at various points on his 6-foot-11 frame. But if you know Walton, then you’re aware that he’s never needed an operation on his enthusiasm for life — until 14 months ago, when his pain had reached the point where he seriously wondered if he could go on.

    Walton, one of the all-time-great basketball players, a man whose intelligence and enthusiasm enabled him to roll over every pothole in his past and find success in most every endeavor he’s undertaken, admits the incredible pain brought about by a bad back took him to the brink, where he contemplated taking his own life.

    “I’m getting back into the game of life,” Walton, throwing both of his long arms in the air, was saying as we sat outside his San Diego home. “I have a new life now. It got to the point where my life wasn’t worth living. I was standing on the edge of the bridge, figuring it was better to jump than to go back to where I was.”

    Suicide? Bill Walton? This is a man who wanted to be a great basketball player and became one. This is a man who, as a youngster, had a speech impediment and beat it — to the point where, for 19 years, he became one of the most prominent basketball broadcasters, an Emmy winner. This is a man who knew how to play with pain — until this.

    “You can’t understand until you’ve been where I’ve been,” said Walton, adding that he’s finished with broadcasting and is exploring new business opportunities.

    The turnaround began when Walton was introduced to Dr. Steven Garfin, chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics (specializing in the spine) at UCSD, a master and teacher of new, less-invasive surgical techniques.

    “Dr. Garfin saved my life — a great man,” Walton said of the doctor who practices the new surgical technique of operating on the spine by entering through the side using a Neurovision probe. The instruments are developed by NuVasive Inc., a rising local company dedicated to making minimally destructive spinal surgical tools — and teaching doctors such as Garfin how to use them.

    Working with NuVasive, Walton has helped develop and is an international spokesman for “The Better Way Back” (thebetterwayback.org), which assists those afflicted with chronic back and leg pain.

    Walton says that before the 8½-hour surgery 14 months ago, he had become useless. He couldn’t walk and had trouble sleeping. But he had encouragement from his friends and especially from his wife, Lori.

    “There were four incisions, four 4-inch bolts, two titanium rods and a cage that holds it all together and spacers in between the vertebrae,” he said. “It was the hardest thing I’ve had to go through, much more difficult than all my other surgeries combined. It’s come so far, the evolution of back surgery, and doctors constantly are improving.

    “I can’t describe the pain. Think of being submerged in a tub of boiling acid with an electrified current running through it. That would be nothing. People who haven’t had that nerve pain can’t know. It’s debilitating, excruciating, unrelenting. I had to eat lying on the floor, flat on my stomach.

    “It was not an elective surgery. I couldn’t even crawl. No drug worked. I tried everything — acupuncture, yoga, massage. You name it, I did it. But I got lucky and found Steve Garfin, and now I’m finding a better way back to help people. How can you begin to thank Steve Garfin and NuVasive, getting me back in the saddle one more time? A new life, at 57.”

    Through it all, it was his wife who helped keep the faith.

    “You like to think you can do it without support,” he said. “I’ve been given lessons of life by the greatest teachers, but this time, the ball wasn’t just bouncing the other way; it was punctured.

    “Lori would leave Post-it notes around. ‘Today, you were able to turn over in bed.’ ‘Today, you were able to sit up. ‘Today, you went from a wheelchair to a walker.’ ‘Today, you were able to take a shower.’ ‘Today, you were able to eat a meal sitting up.’ ‘Today, you were able to put your shoes and socks on.’ These were all real events.”

    Walton is never going to be pain-free. He still walks gingerly. But the severe leg pain that haunted him before the surgery is gone. He’s at the Y working out every morning. He swims; he lifts. An avid cyclist, he now can get on his bike and ride, as he will today in the Adventure Corps Mount Laguna Century Bicycle Ride.

    In our little talk, he also revealed something I didn’t know. In 1974, when UCLA was riding the longest winning streak in college basketball history, he and the Bruins played at Washington State. Late in the game, Walton was low-bridged by a Cougar and fell hard to the floor.

    “A despicable act of intentional violence and dirty play,” is how he put it. “I broke two bones in my spine that night, and things were never the same for me again.”

    Walton missed three games, but came back, wearing a corset, when UCLA traveled to Notre Dame and had its 88-game winning streak snapped.

    “We hadn’t lost since 1969, to Monte Vista, when I was at Helix (High),” he said. “We may have beaten Notre Dame if I hadn’t played. I probably hurt us.”

    Why didn’t anybody know about this?

    “We didn’t tell anyone,” he said, laughing.

    It’s great to see this most exuberant of athletes walking once again outside the shadow of doubt.

    “Now, I’m dedicating my new life to helping others have their dreams come true,” Walton said. “I’ve got so many things going on, building a business career and focusing on things near and dear to me — sports, education, environment and health. My broadcasting career is over. I had my chance; I had 19 years and had fun.

    “San Diego’s my home. I have unshakable loyalty to San Diego. It’s one of the driving forces of my life.”

    Which is now?

    “Bill Walton 15.0.”

    With that, he smiles and raises those long arms over his head. Yes, Bill Walton is back. Welcome home.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

    Great story about a very funny, bright, and misunderstood guy (misunderstood since too few "get" his sarcasm)

    His story also shows that while pot smoking helps with some kinds of pain, it apparently doesn't do much for back injuries.
    The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!).

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

      If he had back pain that bad he probably had horrible bouts of sciatica too. And that, folks, ain't no joke.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

        Today's game is a pivotal battle between two powerhouses, a battle for tenth place!
        You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

          Originally posted by Slick Pinkham View Post
          Great story about a very funny, bright, and misunderstood guy (misunderstood since too few "get" his sarcasm)

          His story also shows that while pot smoking helps with some kinds of pain, it apparently doesn't do much for back injuries.
          I "get" his sarcasm. It just isn't funny.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

            With that said, props to Bill. I would not want to go through what he's had to go through, that's for sure.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Back pain nearly drove Bill Walton to end it all

              I admit, i was a big Bill Walton fan. I have always said he was the perfect player for that trailblazer team. I don't think anyother player in the history of the game could have led that team to a championship the way walton did. Then the next year they were 40 and 10 when he got injured. The rest of the season they were like 7 and 25. When the ask Bobby Gross the starting small forward how that could be, his answer was that with Bill they were a Great team, without him they sucked.
              Good is the enemy of Great


              We're changing the identity of our basketball team -- dramatically. We're a power post team -- a blood-and-guts, old-school, smash-mouth team that plays with size, strength, speed and athleticism. We attack the basket. . . . This is the new identity of our team. It was a great effort. I'm very proud of our guys."
              -- Frank Vogel.

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