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The Rules of Pacers Digest

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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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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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Ranking the Eastern Conference

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  • #16
    Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

    I think with Lance at PG, I have confidence that we're going to make it this year.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

      These would be my thoughts and predictions...

      1 Heat - They will likely be #1, but I don't think the gap between #1 and #2 will be as big as many others think it will. In the playoffs, they will be vulnerable to teams with very good front-courts, like the Magic, Bulls, and Bucks.

      2 Magic - Still a team, and there's something to be said for that. I see Dwight Howard and company fighting for the #1 spot all season long.

      3 Bucks - Came together, mentally, at the end of the season. If Bogut is fully recovered, he might be the second-best center in the league next season. Jennings will be a year craftier and better. This team made solid moves in the off-season and they could grow together and take a big step this season.

      4 Bulls - Boozer and Noah will be a great frontcourt duo. It's true that Boozer is amongst the worst defenders in the league at the four position, but he'll have plenty of help from the very-active Noah. The addition of Korver as a three-point shooter will make Deng -- who has a very effective mid-range game -- much more effective than he was last season. Could just as easily be #3.

      5 Hawks - I don't expect them to grow. The teams above leap-frogged them by making moves to potentially get dramatically better. Personal bias, here: I don't really care for their style of play.

      6 Celtics - Their legs won't live forever. At any time they could take a slide, much like the Spurs have done in the West.

      7 Pacers - I take encouragement from the way they finished off the season last year. They had a great draft. I'm not sure if Hansbrough is ever going to actually fully recover from his weird ear thing. But there were games in the summer league where Josh McRoberts looked _insane_. If they gel, the Pacers could actually be good.

      8 Bobcats - I put them here on the assumption that they will play at about the same level they did last season.

      9 76ers - It sounds like Doug Collins has a better sense of how to use Iguodala, and the experiments of trying him at different positions will end. I'm a fan of Evan Turner. I don't think he will compete for ROY, but I think he will start in Philadelphia and contribute wins to the team. Brand used to be great, and isn't anymore, but I think he can contribute with crafty intelligent veteranship, given the right consistency from a coach.

      10 Cavaliers - The Cavs will surprise people by scrapping and fighting for their lives, a bit like the Bucks last season. This group isn't used to losing. It won't be enough, though...

      11 Knicks - I'm simply not sold on what they're doing. When you look at the core of their team, are they so much better than last season? Stoudamire is better than Lee, but not by as much as Knicks fans think, and he also has a frightening injury history. The improvements of solid young players like Gallinari and Randolph could prove me quite wrong. The playoffs could be a possibility, but over the years I have learned that giving the Knicks organization the benefit of the doubt is almost always the wrong thing to do.

      12 Wizards - Strange alchemy. Completely different team than last year. I have no idea what to think. Does Hinrich contribute? Does Yi? I think Wall adds some wins and competes for ROY (with Blake Griffin) but I'm not sold on his co-existence with Agent Zero. We'll see.

      13 Pistons - I was surprised at how bad they were last season.

      14 Nets - I actually quite young some of their young players, like Harris and Lopez, and I probably should have reated them higher than this.

      15 Raptors - All they've done this off season is gotten worse, worse, and worse.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference



        Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

          Originally posted by Trophy View Post
          I think with Lance at PG, I have confidence that we're going to make it this year.
          Hes going to need a lot more experience to just give him the PG duties. Besides this year's summer league, hes never played PG in his life
          "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

            1.
            2.
            3.
            4.
            5.
            6.
            7.
            8.
            -------------------------------------------
            9.
            10. :sixers:
            11. :thepacers
            12.
            13.
            14. :thepiston
            15. :cavaliers
            "I had to take her down like Chris Brown."

            -Lance Stephenson

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

              Originally posted by PacerGuy View Post

              I see a Hibbert/Granger/George/Rush/Stephenson lineup as a real possibility.

              Murph will still see his min's, but IMO as a 2nd unit player...
              You do remember JOB is still he coach, right? I'm afraid his opinions are going to outweigh yours.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                Originally posted by MillerTime View Post
                Hes going to need a lot more experience to just give him the PG duties. Besides this year's summer league, hes never played PG in his life
                I thought he played point in High School....maybe I was wrong.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                  Originally posted by MillerTime View Post
                  Hes going to need a lot more experience to just give him the PG duties. Besides this year's summer league, hes never played PG in his life
                  This isn't true. Lance played PG in high school against some of the toughest competition in America. The guy literally had the ball in his hands on EVERY play.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                    Spots 7-8 are pretty much open in my opinion

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                      Originally posted by pwee31 View Post
                      Spots 7-8 are pretty much open in my opinion
                      Agreed. No idea on which teams are going to fill those two spots.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                        Anywhere from 7-11 sounds right, but if a move at the trade deadline happens like most expect, that could really change things. Shouldn't the schedule be coming out soon, or did I totally miss it?
                        Turn out the lights, this party's over!

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                          I think this is pretty close, but I would do some minor shuffling:

                          1) Miami
                          2) Boston
                          3) Orlando
                          4) Atlanta
                          5) Chicago
                          6) Milwaukee
                          7) New York
                          8) Indiana
                          9) Philadelphia
                          10) Charlotte
                          11) Detroit
                          12) Cleveland
                          13) Washington
                          14) New Jersey
                          15) Toronto

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                            ESPN's early prediction:
                            http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s...-EastStandings
                            1
                            Miami Heat 62-21
                            Meet the Miami Globetrotters -- with the rest of the East playing the part of the Washington Generals. Our panel says the Super Friends should run circles around the rest of the conference, except perhaps for Orlando. Then again, Boston eliminated both D-Wade and King James a year ago, so that's why they play the postseason …

                            2
                            Orlando Magic 56-26
                            The Magic stumbled vs. the Celtics in the East finals, but this is much the same team that won five series the past two postseasons. Orlando might have some magical maneuvers left, perhaps shipping out Vince Carter and/or finding a way to get Chris Paul. Until then, given Miami's summer, Orlando reverts to dangerous sleeper status.

                            3
                            Boston Celtics 51-31
                            The C's showed the regular season means nothing to them, beating the Cavs and Magic despite starting on the road, and almost doing the same to the Lakers. So it matters little that Boston is projected to win "only" 51 games, as long as it can get KG, Perk and the other Men in Green healthy for April, May and June.

                            4
                            Chicago Bulls 50-32
                            The East's second tier welcomes a new member: Chicago. The Bulls swung and missed on LeBron, D-Wade and CB4, but they did get Carlos Boozer, a deeper bench and a new coach, Tom Thibodeau. That and the sharp ascent of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah mean that Chicago's sellout crowds finally have something to see.

                            5
                            Atlanta Hawks 48-34
                            Amazingly, Atlanta has improved for five straight seasons, but our panel says the streak ends here. The Hawks are a solid team that seems stuck in no man's land, having failed to make the conference finals for 40 years -- since the Lakers swept them in the 1970 Western Division finals -- and that probably won't change in 2011.

                            6
                            Milwaukee Bucks 46-36
                            The East seems to have six sure playoff teams, and for the first time in years, Milwaukee is a member of that echelon. Our panel remains in a prove-it-to-me posture regarding whether the Bucks can crack the East's upper crust, but if Brandon Jennings progresses and Andrew Bogut's arm is OK, the pieces are in place.

                            7
                            Charlotte Bobcats 39-43
                            Have they peaked? Fresh off of its best season in franchise history, Charlotte's roster looks weaker, its division looks stronger, and Larry Brown -- naturally -- looks like he's itching to leave. Still, with two spots up for grabs, they'll likely earn back-to-back playoff appearances and, in this scenario, a first-round rematch with the Magic.

                            8
                            New York Knicks 37-45
                            Knicks in the playoffs! But NY fans had more than an eight-game improvement in mind when the team entered the offseason with the ability to sign two superstars. The Amare addition should help, and Mike D'Antoni finally gets some horses to run his system, but the future remains murky. Still, Spike Lee has something to cheer about.

                            9
                            Washington Wizards 32-50
                            Excited about John Wall? So is our panel, which forecasts the Wizards finishing five spots higher. That says a lot about the uncertainty at the bottom of the East, but it also reflects the renewed hope expected in Washington's locker room after the gun incident that cost the team Gilbert Arenas -- now the other half of the Wiz backcourt.

                            10
                            *Indiana Pacers 31-51
                            The Pacers essentially stood pat and might miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season. But there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel -- Indy is armed with expiring contracts and on track to have cap space next summer. Meanwhile, the Pacers hope to build on last season's 10-4 finish and avoid the East cellar.

                            11
                            *Philadelphia 76ers 31-51
                            Even a new coach (Doug Collins) and the No. 2 pick (Evan Turner) didn't give Philly much of a boost in our forecast. While the Sixers have the raw materials to emerge as a surprise team in the East, our panel fears their roster of bad contracts, mismatched pieces and redundant talent will render them mediocre at best.

                            12
                            *Detroit Pistons 31-51
                            The Pistons haven't missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 1994 and 1995, back when Joe Dumars was still playing. To avoid back-to-back lottery visits, they'll need better health and perhaps some bold moves from Joe D in the coming months. Only re-signing Ben Wallace and Will Bynum? That just won't cut it in Detroit.

                            13
                            Cleveland Cavaliers 30-52
                            Get used to scrolling down this far to find the Cavs in the standings, sad to say. With a certain King taking his talents to South Beach, we're forecasting a 31-game drop in Cleveland. In other words, unless Christian Eyenga is the second coming of LeBron James, Dan Gilbert may want to back off his championship guarantee.

                            14
                            *New Jersey Nets 27-55
                            Speaking of owners with lofty goals … Mikhail Prokhorov expects the Nets to make the playoffs in 2010-11 despite finishing with the NBA's worst record last season. Our panel isn't as optimistic, not after New Jersey struck out in free agency. Still, a 15-game jump in the standings under new coach Avery Johnson would be a good start.

                            15
                            *Toronto Raptors 27-55
                            After the ugly departures of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, the Raptors are basically starting over with a roster more random than designed. Given the significant dollars tied up in the likes of Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa and Amir Johnson, don't expect a lot of defense -- or a lot of wins anytime soon, either.

                            * -- Teams tied in win totals ordered by decimal rankings from our experts' predictions.
                            "I had to take her down like Chris Brown."

                            -Lance Stephenson

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                              with no injuries- Pacers finish 5th or 6th in conference.

                              With some injuries- Pacers finish 8-10 range

                              with lots of injuries- Pacers finsh 10 below



                              Some people are forgetting that we will have basically the same team last year without any serious injuries. We haven't had the same team in back to back seasons in a while unless somebody gets traded this offseason. they have developed some chemistry. My prediction: Bird will stick with current roster until the end of the season and let them expire. Being a team that can show they can win and a lot of young talent will be valuable to gain top free agents next summer.

                              now here comes a downer

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Ranking the Eastern Conference

                                So where does the Collison put the Pacers now? 7 or 8?

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