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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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Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

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  • Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/5...s-brandon-rush

    I know is the bleacherreport but I thought it was a good article.

    Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush


    Some people never change. Then again, some do.

    The Indiana Pacers are a completely different team than we have seen the past few years in Indianapolis. There is something different about this set of guys. These guys all hustle, they all get along, and they are actually fun and exciting to watch. The young talent that has been assembled here is similar to the pattern that was adopted by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not to say that Danny Granger and Darren Collison are on equal footing to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but they are going in the right direction.

    Indiana has won three of their last four games, and the one loss was a last minute one at the hands of the Orlando Magic. One of those wins includes a trip down to Miami where Dwyane Wade struggled, and the Pacers bench soared. It seems Indiana has a secret weapon this season. It looks familiar to some, but it is far from the same weapon they have had at their disposal the last couple of years. His name is Brandon Rush.

    The wrap on Brandon during his short NBA career, is that he is one of the most inconsistent players in the league. One game he will dazzle you and make you feel good inside, then he will go out the next couple of games and look about as hesitant as a child learning to ride their first bicycle. It appears (for now) that he has flipped the coin on that idea.

    Most people are aware that Rush missed the first five regular season games this year because of multiple failed drug tests last season. This suspension put him in the dog house with the Coach, and the team. As the regular season was about to begin, Pacers coach Jim O'Brien felt that Rush was going to have to fight for playing time. He believed that Mike Dunleavy and Paul George had the first and second string SG positions locked up. He even stated that A.J. Price was probably ahead of Rush on the depth chart. It looked like a bitter and disappointing end to Rush's stint with the Pacers.

    Call it a wake up call, call it a scare, whatever. It looks like we have a motivated and determined Brandon Rush playing basketball this season. This looks like the same guy I saw putting on a display at the University of Kansas. This is the guy that doesn't look timid, doesn't appear to be disinterested. This is the guy the Pacers organization and fans wanted to see when they made the trade for him a few years ago. He came out strong in his season debut for the Blue & Gold this year, but his last four games, he has really shined bright.

    Last Thursday night at Conseco Fieldhouse against the L.A. Clippers, Rush had a very solid night. He finished with 14 points, five blocks, five rebounds, and shot four of five from downtown. Two nights later against the Orlando Magic, Rush again put up 14 points in a very hard fought game. In Monday's signature win in Miami against the heat, Brandon played fantastic, with 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Finally, in last night's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brandon put in 16 points and three rebounds in the win.

    Over this four-game stretch, Brandon has been playing an average of 31 minutes per game, whether he is starting or coming off the bench. In those four games, he is shooting an incredible 61% from the floor (26 of 43) and 50% from the three-point line (seven of 14). Those numbers are incredible, especially for a guy that hasn't had any consistent play in the NBA. Probably the most important stat from those four games; Indiana's 3-1 record.

    While the offensive numbers speak for themselves, perhaps it is the defense that is winning over head coach Jim O'Brien and the staff. He has been asked to do a lot of the defensive end of the floor the past week or so. He had to defend Eric Gordon on Thursday, Vince Carter on Saturday, and Dwyane Wade on Monday. He played a pivotal role in Wade having his worst shooting game of his NBA career. He was very frustrated, going just one of 13 from the floor, and finished with just three points.

    The defensive assignments don't get much easier down the road for Brandon. He may be asked to help with Westbrook and Durant on Friday night, then Indiana travels to the Staples Center in L.A. to face Kobe and the Lakers. Brandon seems up to the challenge, and seems comfortable with his new style of play. He has been a key part to the early success of the Pacers, and he knows he must continue if they want to win.

    Brandon may not be the star of this team, but putting him with guys like Granger, Hibbert, and Collison will only make this team even stronger. The recent play of this team has a bunch of people around the league talking. Many people are starting to believe that this is one of the most improved teams in the league this year. Some are looking at this Pacers squad as a playoff team, something the fans and organization would love to see here in Indianapolis. It's still way too early to put a label on this team, but we are sure of a couple of things. Indiana has a winning record, the team is playing very well, and the young nucleus seems to have been formed.

    One thing is for certain; the turkey is going to taste even better tomorrow after these last four games.
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

  • #2
    Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

    Bleacherreport or not, the turkey is going to taste much better than it did last year. That is a fact.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

      Originally posted by BringJackBack View Post
      Bleacherreport or not, the turkey is going to taste much better than it did last year. That is a fact.
      Indeed my friend. I'm actually looking forward to all the Pacers questions I usually field from family, first time for that in awhile.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

        Yeah, tell me about it.

        What I said earlier can also not only go for last year, but also the past four-five years before that as well.

        That is what makes Pacers basketball so fun to watch again. Win or lose, we are seeing glimpses of the core that is going to make us contenders again in 2-4 years. That feels sweet.

        Back to the subject at hand; what do we do with Paul George if Brandon Rush is starting to turn into the player that we all thought that he could be? If he puts up 16 ppg with good defense does that make George expendable?

        Or does George have too much potential to be traded?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

          Kinda funny seeing the love fest for Brandon Rush when I was one of his very few supporters over the last few years.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

            Originally posted by Dr. Awesome View Post
            Kinda funny seeing the love fest for Brandon Rush when I was one of his very few supporters over the last few years.
            Well he did suck the last few years. Well maybe not suck, but the last few years and this year have shown a completely different Rush.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

              Originally posted by oxxo View Post
              Well he did suck the last few years. Well maybe not suck, but the last few years and this year have shown a completely different Rush.
              This. He used to suck rocks on offense. Played scared.

              He had it in him. But he wouldn't show it.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                Originally posted by BringJackBack View Post
                This. He used to suck rocks on offense. Played scared.

                He had it in him. But he wouldn't show it.
                I wonder if his knee injury was the problem there.
                @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                  His going to the basket instead of relying on the 3 is his biggest improvement and sets up other good things on offense.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                    Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                    I wonder if his knee injury was the problem there.
                    I said this in another thread, sometimes ACL injuries take a LONG time, particularly mentally. Swin Cash tore her ACL in 2006, and just as of last season completely returned to form.

                    It's a traumatic injury mentally, because a majority of the time, there's no contact..nothing to blame..it's not like you fell..the players knee just gives up.

                    It's certainly possible that Rush struggled with that. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's definitely possible.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                      I've always been a BRush fan.

                      I'm really happy we didn't trade him away.

                      He's definitly an important piece to our future. Our wing lineup is great. Danny and he can defend and score.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                        Originally posted by Sookie View Post
                        I said this in another thread, sometimes ACL injuries take a LONG time, particularly mentally. Swin Cash tore her ACL in 2006, and just as of last season completely returned to form.

                        It's a traumatic injury mentally, because a majority of the time, there's no contact..nothing to blame..it's not like you fell..the players knee just gives up.

                        It's certainly possible that Rush struggled with that. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's definitely possible.
                        Wanna see someone who's clearly still a little shaky from a catastrophic knee injury, watch Mauric Creek at IU. He broke his patella last season and every time he hits the deck this year, he gets this scared look on his face like am I gonna be able to get back up. He's getting better, but there's definitely a mental hurdle that has to be tackled.


                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                          Originally posted by BringJackBack View Post
                          Yeah, tell me about it.

                          What I said earlier can also not only go for last year, but also the past four-five years before that as well.

                          That is what makes Pacers basketball so fun to watch again. Win or lose, we are seeing glimpses of the core that is going to make us contenders again in 2-4 years. That feels sweet.

                          Back to the subject at hand; what do we do with Paul George if Brandon Rush is starting to turn into the player that we all thought that he could be? If he puts up 16 ppg with good defense does that make George expendable?

                          Or does George have too much potential to be traded?
                          He has too much potential to trade right now. In a couple years though we will have a better idea of what he will be. At that point in time if Granger, Rush, and George are all playing as well as we hope then we evaluate the situation. It could be that George never really turns into a starter, but is one hell of a back-up, or George could eventually replace Granger. I think it is worth it to take a wait and see policy with him. Even if he is expendable he most likely will bring back more in 2 years than he will right now.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                            Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                            Wanna see someone who's clearly still a little shaky from a catastrophic knee injury, watch Mauric Creek at IU. He broke his patella last season and every time he hits the deck this year, he gets this scared look on his face like am I gonna be able to get back up. He's getting better, but there's definitely a mental hurdle that has to be tackled.
                            Yup, different players handle it differently.

                            I saw one player, she was a consensus top 5 recruit for Uconn, some had her at #1..tore her ACL and never got over it.

                            Some are different though, our current (or..was our starting PG, now she not because she's injured) starting PG, has torn her ACL 3 times, and every time she recovers she comes back, mentally, like it never happened. (After the second time there was a physical difference..she's fearless though..enough so it makes the fans cringe whenever she runs at the basket..)

                            Knee injuries in themselves are hard to recover from..but an ACL tear, when you didn't do anything you don't normally do..it's just hard to trust your body again. I've watched enough women's basketball to see the ACL's happen a lot (I swear it happens more so at Uconn..) and with those injuries, in particular, seems like everyone is different in terms of recovery..physically and mentally..

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Indiana Pacers Have A Secret Weapon, His Name Is Brandon Rush

                              Originally posted by BringJackBack View Post
                              Back to the subject at hand; what do we do with Paul George if Brandon Rush is starting to turn into the player that we all thought that he could be? If he puts up 16 ppg with good defense does that make George expendable?

                              Or does George have too much potential to be traded?
                              How about have George back up both SF and SG positions? He should have lots of minutes available between those two positions. Dunleavy could be on another team after this year, and it remains to be seen what happens with Born Ready.

                              I have no interest in trading Paul George. I think that would be a huge mistake. He has a chance to be a special player, but he will take at least another season or so before he can get there and starts to show what he can become.

                              Comment

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