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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.

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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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Luck Stays At Standford

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  • #1

    Luck Stays At Standford

    http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5995754

    By Ted Miller ESPN.com

    Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in this spring's NFL draft, announced Thursday he will stay in school and play his redshirt junior season.

    "I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012," Luck said in a statement.

    The school announced Luck wouldn't be made available for comment.

    His father, former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, said: "This is a win-win for him. He gets to spend another year at Stanford, be part of team that will be highly ranked again next year, finish his degree and enjoy Palo Alto.


    "It's not like the NFL is going anywhere, it's one of the best run leagues in the world. It will still be there when he graduates."


    The Carolina Panthers own the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft and indicated earlier this week that they would be interested in drafting Luck if he decided to leave school.


    Luck's father, who's also the athletic director at West Virginia, said the possibility of an NFL lockout or being selected by the Panthers did not influence his son's decision.


    "Call him old school," Oliver Luck said. "He comes from a faction of people who believe you go to college to pursue your degree."


    Luck's decision to stay at Stanford comes as coach Jim Harbaugh is being wooed by NFL teams for a possible job. Harbaugh met Wednesday with officials with the San Francisco 49ers and was set to meet with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on Thursday in the Bay Area, two people with knowledge of the situation said. Both spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the meeting was to remain confidential.


    New Denver Broncos chief football executive John Elway has said he hopes to interview Harbaugh for their job.


    It's unclear whether Luck's decision to stay in school will impact Harbaugh's decision whether to leave for an NFL job this year. If Harbaugh does leave Stanford, the opportunity to coach Luck next season will likely make Stanford a plum assignment.

    Luck was the runner-up this season to Auburn's Cam Newton for the Heisman Trophy and will now be one of the favorites for next year's award.

    Luck was widely considered the top draft prospect after two spectacular years at Stanford. His decision will be a blow to the Panthers, who have the No. 1 pick in April's draft and are looking for a quarterback.

    Luck capped this season by completing 18 of 23 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns in the fifth-ranked Cardinal's 40-12 victory over No. 12 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Monday night.

    That helped Stanford (12-1) extend its school record for wins in a season and has the Cardinal poised to finish in the top five of the AP poll for the first time since the unbeaten 1940 team finished No. 2.

    Luck is a major reason why Stanford has gone from a one-win team in 2006 before Harbaugh arrived to one of the top teams in the country. He has led Stanford to a 20-5 record in his 25 career starts, only missing last season's Sun Bowl loss to Oklahoma with a broken right index finger.

    One of Luck's teammates who won't be back is linebacker Thomas Keiser, who told the Cardinal he intends to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the draft. He started all 13 games this season and finished with 38 tackles and nine sacks.

    Luck has completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 5,913 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his career. He has also rushed for 807 yards and five scores. That athleticism, along with his strong, accurate arm and on-field poise, has had NFL scouts salivating at his potential as a pro.

    Harbaugh, a former star quarterback at Michigan and in the NFL, has called Luck the greatest player he has ever been around.

    Luck set school records for TD passes (32), completion percentage (70.7 percent) and passing efficiency (170.2) this season. He is already being mentioned alongside John Elway, Jim Plunkett, John Brodie and Frankie Albert as one of Stanford's great quarterbacks.


    Ted Miller covers the Pac-10 for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.
    I just want to say good for Luck. A lot of people say how dumb he is for not entering the draft and taking all that money. Maybe money is not what drives him. Maybe, gasp, his dream isn't to play professional football. Maybe he sees playing college football as fun and a way to pay for a prestigious education. God forbid he complete his degree instead of playing football.

    Regardless of injury he will be able to live a productive life and do something (I assume) he enjoys. It may not bring him all the money and fame of professional football but just as much if not more happiness.

    Don't get me wrong I think Luck is about as talented of a quarterback as you will find and as a fan of football i'd love to see him in the NFL. However if that's not his dream I can't knock him for staying in school. I think it's nice to see someone, not just an athlete, have motives besides fame and money.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Luck Stays At Standford

    a lot of guys have stayed in school Sam Bradford, Tebow just to name a few.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Luck Stays At Standford

      I think he should have gone. With everything surrounding the coach leaving and the possibility of a new CBA changing rookie contracts in the NFL, you take that $50 mil and run. He's great, and he's going to the NFL regardless if he has a degree or not. He enjoys football, anyone who is that good at it enjoys it. Its too much hard work not to.

      Good for him for doing what he wants, but I don't think its the smartest move.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Luck Stays At Standford

        If there's a lockout? Smart Move

        If there isn't? Its debatable you can make your $$$ now and get your degree at anytime. Your stock may never be higher except now. Or you can put your education first and football later.

        Time will tell.

        It blew up in Matt Leinart's face when he did it but Manning did it and as Colts fans we lucked out

        Same with Bradford and the Rams.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Luck Stays At Standford

          I wouldn't be surprised if Harbaugh goes back to Stanford as well. Try to win a National Championship and than hope for a packaged deal with a team needing QB and Head Coach in 2012 draft

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Luck Stays At Standford

            The thing with Harbaugh to me is that taking the SF job makes a ton of sense. Its not too far from home and they have some good young players. Plus it would be easy to win the NFC West.

            And back to Luck, football is a rough game. All it takes is one play. One play and he can kiss it all good bye. Yes education is great and all, but let's be honest, he has absolutely no intention on relying on that degree in his life. Go, be the number one pick, get paid and get your degree in off seasons, I'm sure you can work something out with Stanford.

            I think his father isn't exactly telling the truth about not worrying about being drafted by the Panthers effecting his decision. I mean that team is in absolute shambles. At least St Louis had some promise for Bradford.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Luck Stays At Standford

              Originally posted by ilive4sports View Post
              The thing with Harbaugh to me is that taking the SF job makes a ton of sense. Its not too far from home and they have some good young players. Plus it would be easy to win the NFC West.

              And back to Luck, football is a rough game. All it takes is one play. One play and he can kiss it all good bye. Yes education is great and all, but let's be honest, he has absolutely no intention on relying on that degree in his life. Go, be the number one pick, get paid and get your degree in off seasons, I'm sure you can work something out with Stanford.

              I think his father isn't exactly telling the truth about not worrying about being drafted by the Panthers effecting his decision. I mean that team is in absolute shambles. At least St Louis had some promise for Bradford.


              I agree and of course Florio referenced it more or less as well as Eli Manning's refusal to play for San Diego. Of course it didn't occur to the POS that Peyton did the same thing Andrew Luck did. It would've been a more accurate reference as how could Panthers fans be upset over a draft pick that never actually happened in the first place.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                Originally posted by pwee31 View Post
                I wouldn't be surprised if Harbaugh goes back to Stanford as well. Try to win a National Championship and than hope for a packaged deal with a team needing QB and Head Coach in 2012 draft
                i doubt that if the dolphis are offering him 8 million dollars a yr he is going to the NFL.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                  Originally posted by pacer4ever View Post
                  i doubt that if the dolphis are offering him 8 million dollars a yr he is going to the NFL.


                  Well the Fins are keeping Sparano for another year.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                    Originally posted by Basketball Fan View Post
                    Well the Fins are keeping Sparano for another year.
                    link??? thats here say right now they offered Jim 8 million but that leaked it wasnt suppose to.

                    EDIT: i saw it on espn
                    Last edited by pacer4ever; 01-06-2011, 11:59 PM.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                      Luck is a pretty sophisticated person and comes from a wealthy, educated family. He'd love to make a ton of money in the NFL I'm sure, but he doesn't need it to lift his whole family out of poverty like some of these guys. That degree he's getting a Stanford is prestigious and while it wouldn't earn him all the money the NFL would, it would still generate him millions of dollars if he worked hard enough.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                        the next best player to take is cam newton or even jake locker for the panthers
                        In 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana!

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                          Originally posted by Scot Pollard View Post
                          the next best player to take is cam newton or even jake locker for the panthers
                          Mallet is a better pro prospect than both of them. I really dont like Locker he played horrible this yr.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Luck Stays At Standford

                            Originally posted by pacer4ever View Post
                            Mallet is a better pro prospect than both of them. I really dont like Locker he played horrible this yr.
                            hes a good option to consider

                            as too is gabbert

                            what makes teams back away from cam newton is maturity and i actually think the panthers who actually have some decent pieces young and old dont need a child as their qb
                            In 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana!

                            Comment

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