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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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Chris Paul demands trade

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  • Chris Paul demands trade

    http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/1...isis-with-paul

    New Hornets brass already facing crisis with Paul
    July 21, 2010
    By Ken Berger
    CBSSports.com Senior Writer
    Tell Ken your opinion!






    Welcome to the hottest seat in the NBA, Dell Demps. All you have to do is persuade Chris Paul to stay in New Orleans -- an uphill battle that begins now.

    Chris Paul has spent time planning changes to his branding strategy. (US Presswire)
    Chris Paul has spent time planning changes to his branding strategy. (US Presswire)
    When Paul was quoted a few weeks ago as saying he'd be open to a trade if the Hornets aren't committed to building a championship team, it was only a small hint as to the size of the chasm that exists between the franchise and its cornerstone player. Paul, in fact, has put into motion an aggressive exit strategy that will accelerate in the coming weeks, and his clear intention is to be traded before the start of the 2010-11 season, a person with direct knowledge of his plans told CBSSports.com Wednesday.

    "He wants out," said the person, who has been briefed on Paul's strategy but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."

    Paul's list of preferred destinations consists of the Knicks, Magic and Lakers, and members of his inner circle already have sent word to the Hornets of his desire to be traded to one of those teams, sources say. If Paul has his way, he's played his last game in a Hornets jersey.

    "He feels like they haven't put the right pieces together," said the person familiar with the star point guard's plans.

    Paul, a three-time All-Star, still has two years before he can become a free agent. But his dissatisfaction with the Hornets' downward spiral, coupled with the coup pulled off by James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami has only accelerated his desire to seek a trade. Sources within the NBA say members of Paul's camp have told them recently, "He's not going to start the season in New Orleans."

    In the past year, Paul has publicly expressed mild and measured frustration with the direction of the Hornets, who have spiraled out of contention since they capped a 56-win season in 2007-08 with a loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. That was followed by a 49-win season that ended with an embarrassing first-round loss to the Nuggets, including a disgraceful 58-point home loss in Game 4. Bryon Scott was fired nine games into the 2009-10 season, and that only seemed to exacerbate Paul's concerns about his future in New Orleans.

    Early last season, days before Scott was fired, Paul admitted he was "envious, very envious" of his friends and peers -- James, Wade and Carmelo Anthony -- who had enjoyed far more team success in the early stages of their careers.

    "Those guys have been where I want to get to," Paul said. "This is my fifth year in the league and I'm not trying to wait until I'm an old veteran in this league trying to win a championship. We're trying to win now. Whatever we have to do to win, we've got to do now."

    The Hornets missed the playoffs for the first time in three years under interim coach Jeff Bower, who was reinstated to his GM post with the hiring of coach Monty Williams and then fired last week. Enter Demps, a respected personnel man who played an important support role in the Spurs' decade of success. Will the duo of Williams and Demps, both having ascended to top NBA jobs for the first time, be enough to get Paul to backtrack from his desire to be traded?

    Williams and Hornets president Hugh Weber both told CBSSports.com in the past week that they plan to sit down face-to-face with Paul to sell him on the team's new direction. Paul won't go public with his trade request -- if he did, he'd be subject to a fine under NBA rules -- but those with knowledge of his plans believe his desire to pair up with another superstar (or two) has gained too much momentum to stop.

    Related Info
    Stories

    * Moore: Who's in line for CP3?
    * Young: What the Hornets should get for Paul
    * Hornets pluck Demps to be GM

    Video

    * Paul update, other news

    In late June, Paul, 25, spent several days in Akron, Ohio, with James, who was busy orchestrating his own exit strategy from Cleveland. The two friends and superstars picked each other's brains, with each persuading the other to make significant changes in their branding strategies. For Paul, it was a big step to persuade James to join the social networking phenomenon that is Twitter. For James' part, he finally persuaded Paul to join his Cleveland-based marketing company, LRMR.

    Paul's decision to sign with LRMR, headed by James' close friend and advisor, Maverick Carter, was only the first step in his exit plan from New Orleans. Paul officially severed his representation agreement with Octagon earlier this month and will soon officially join the influential stable of clients represented by Creative Artists Agency.

    With a stranglehold on the top free-agent talent, CAA dictated the terms, pace and outcome of the monumental free-agent class of 2010. CAA clients James and Bosh agreed to join forces with fellow CAA client Wade in Miami, forming a rare triumvirate through the leverage and friendship of players as opposed to the whim of management.

    Paul will be represented by CAA agent Leon Rose, who also represents James and potential 2011 free agents Anthony and Tony Parker. Miami's Big Three haven't even run a layup drill, and yet CAA already has the foundation in place to run the table in the free-agent summer of 2011, as well. But with a lockout looming and superstars Paul, Anthony, and to a lesser degree Parker uneasy about their current situations, those plans already are in motion.

    Paul's former representatives at Octagon, Jeff Austin and Lance Young, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, nor did Rose. William Wesley, CAA's behind-the-scenes operative known as "World Wide Wes," who is now a coaching agent with CAA, declined to comment. Paul's strategy has yet to reach the team level in terms of proposals exchanged, sources say. For one thing, Paul has been mired in the 15-day waiting period to officially hire a new agent after severing ties with Octagon. Also, it has been his desire to be forthright with ownership and management in discussing the matter. Williams, a first-year head coach, was hired last month and plans to meet with Paul extensively in the coming weeks to explain his vision. Demps hasn't even completed his first day on the job yet.

    Paul's inclusion of the Magic on his list dovetails with CBSSports.com's report June 30 that star center Dwight Howard has asked Orlando management to pursue a trade for Paul -- although Magic GM Otis Smith said by phone Wednesday that he is unaware of such a plan. The team that has most aggressively positioned itself to reap the benefits of CAA's latest power nexus is the Knicks, who struck out in their pursuit of this summer's Big Three but perhaps didn't whiff permanently.

    Team president Donnie Walsh's first step was signing power forward Amar'e Stoudemire to a five-year, $99.9 million deal. The move wasn't successful in swaying James or Wade, but it represents the first piece of a strategy designed to land Paul, Parker or Anthony -- or perhaps, even two of them. According to sources familiar with the Knicks' strategy, part of the reason for orchestrating the sign-and-trade for David Lee -- which yielded young talents Anthony Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike from Golden State -- was to stock the roster with attractive assets that could be used to acquire such marquee players if the opportunities presented themselves.

    Since they are not free agents at the same time, sources say Paul, Anthony and Parker won't have the same power that Miami's Big Three wielded this summer. Given that he has two years left on his contract before he can exercise a player option, Paul's desire for a trade will be a test of his leverage. It will also be a test of the Hornets' new duo of decision-makers, Williams and Demps, who will have to determine when Paul's value will be maximized -- if they agree to trade him at all.

    Parker already has publicly stated his intention to pass on an extension and become a free agent next summer, while Anthony thus far balked at signing the Nuggets' three-year, $65 million extension offer. With a lockout looming after the season, friends of Anthony believe he is seriously torn between cashing in on what's left of max money as we know it and following his buddy, James, in trying to orchestrate a surefire championship celebration. Earlier this month, empowered by his time spent in Ohio with James, Paul was reported to have toasted the idea of forming "our own Big Three" with Stoudemire and Anthony during Anthony's wedding in New York. That comment, never publicly corroborated by Paul, is directly in line with what sources say has become his overriding strategy for the next step in his career. Call it the Miami Model, the South Beach Effect, or whatever you want. It's the new normal for young NBA superstars looking for a new home and a better chance to win.

    "Players want to follow in those footsteps," an NBA front office source said. "They all want to do that. Everyone got excited about it, and it opened up the players' imaginations as to what they could do."

  • #2
    Re: Chris Paul demands trade

    http://www.pacersdigest.com/showthread.php?t=55355

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