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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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More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

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  • More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

    Really a great eye-opening interview.

    More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview
    by David Leonard | NewBlackMan

    One of the more thoughtful and socially active professional athletes, David West, a forward for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers talked with NewBlackMan regular contributor David Leonard, about the current NBA season, the residue of the NBA lockout, the stereotypes of NBA players and what he’s reading these days.

    ***

    DJL – How has the compressed season been physically and mentally?

    DW: The games are just coming. It becomes a grind. 4 games in 5 nights. 12 games in 15 nights. This is physically taxing. There have been injuries around the NBA. You do what you can to get your body prepared but sometimes the body won’t respond. It is not going to get better.

    DJL: How does the compressed season impact family

    DW: Families are rarely taken into account in a regular season and that is even more of an issue this season. There is really no time. Guys make sacrifices in a normal season and that is even greater right now. There is less time to do anything outside of practice and games.

    DJL: Describe your assessment of lockout looking back in terms of relationship between players and owners, how race played out

    DW: I went to a few meetings and there was some cryptic language that was used. I was offended by the idea we may not understand certain things. Beyond that, when you are dealing with a certain amount of money in business, there has to be a middle and level ground. In the media, we were portrayed as not knowing anything, as greedy and selfish – to just shut up and play basketball. We expected that.

    I always tell people that we very fortunate to be in the NBA but there are a lot of personal sacrifices. So during the lockout guys were able to invest time in themselves, something that often went under the radar. This generation of athletes is a bit more conscious than they get credit for, how they spend and invest their money. I have been in the league for 9 years and when I started out there were high-end cars every where in the player parking lots and now you see less of that. That goes unnoticed. The lockout was a personification of that because guys were prepared to miss paychecks, to miss games. This is a change in the mindset of players.

    DJL: It seems that one of the struggles was battling the caricature of today’s NBA player

    DW: Every guy doesn’t have the machine behind them. As an individual, it is hard to fight the assumptions made about us. When I first entered the league, people were like “David, what are you talking about” because I wasn’t talking about basketball and I wasn’t talking about mundane things that people expected from me. That puts into perspective what people expect of you; people don’t expect athletes to have anything to offer other than being a source for entertainment. The mind is seen as 2nd or 3rd rate. So often the conversation starts and ends with sports. You find yourself boxed in. I have been labeled as stand-offish because when people engage me they often just want to talk about basketball, and that is not what I always want to talk about. Most guys deal with it and just walk around in a bubble because there is no space for original thoughts from athletes within sports.

    DJL: What are your passions, what drives you?

    DW: I am passionate about knowing more. Every day I wake up, I want to learn something new. I read a lot on African American history, African history, and history in general. I love to read; I want to be engaged with what is going on socially. I love music, the language that is inside the music, what guys are trying to say, especially with hip-hop. It doesn’t have to be the “conscious rap.” All rappers are conscious because they have the wherewithal and freedom to say something. Regardless of what you hear, even the most childlike rapper or those who rap at the highest level, there is a message there. I like to speak to young people; I don’t like to box myself in just because I have been successful as an athlete.

    DJL: You mentioned that you like to read, what are you reading right now

    DW: Right now, I am reading Cheikh Anta Diop’s Pre-colonial Black Africa. I think it is important to know that we in the African American community have a history before America. As an athlete what we do is so routine, so there is so much time for the mind, time to engage your brain and your thought process. That is why I read. That is why I am who I am; that is why I do what I do. People who have power, read. People who have power to be engaged and who can control their own movements, read. If you don’t read and if you don’t have the ability to think critically, people are going to dictate what you do for the rest of your life. They are going move you how they want to move you.

    DJL: While you love basketball, it doesn’t seem to define you. Talk about that

    DW: It can’t because the average career is 3.5 or 4 years. A few guys are going to play 12-15 plus years but not most. At the end of the day, when you retire you are 32 or 38, there is a lot of life left. You have to start preparing for your life after the NBA as soon as you enter the league. It is not going to be there forever. That is why you can’t let this life consume you; you can’t let the NBA be the end all, be all, of who you are as a person.

    DJL: Since we connected via twitter, I am curious how does twitter fit into your efforts to expand your reach and connection.

    DW: I read your material from Professor Neal. When I became twitter literate, I found that the people that I wanted to follow were professors and educators, people I didn’t know. I follow a lot of History and Africana professors, cultural critics, and news organizations, because that it is what I am interested in. Whether it be from Professor Neal’s posts, Left of Black or a professor who posts questions via twitter about the subject matter within their classroom. I also like the immediacy of the news as it comes in through twitter.
    http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2012...avid-west.html
    Last edited by BringJackBack; 04-04-2012, 03:25 PM.

  • #2
    Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

    Definitely an intelligent man, and awesome role model for the team.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

      Fantastic article.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

        Families are rarely taken into account in a regular season and that is even more of an issue this season. There is really no time. Guys make sacrifices in a normal season and that is even greater right now. There is less time to do anything outside of practice and games.

        You know, I really don't have any sympathy when it comes to that. I know a lot of players workout during the off-season so they don't get completely out of shape but they obviously have a lot of time to chill and vacation. I don't feel like having no free time for 4 months is that big of a deal. 5 if you were to make the playoffs and win the championship. I'd be content with making those sacrifices if I were making 10 million for the season and had 7 months of sporadic working out with nothing else to do.

        Not a knock on him for feeling that way. I'm just saying I don't see why he would think anyone would "take that into account". I don't really view it as a big deal. Anyone from doctors to truck drivers don't have a lot of time with their family either and that's year round.

        Love David West! Just saying I'll rarely ever sympathize with pro athletes when it comes to their salaries and how much time their job consumes.
        "I have never taken the high road, but I tell other people to ’cause then there’s more room for me on the low road."

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

          I love to read but haven't really read anything in his preferred genres. I will have to check it out. Maybe someday I will get a chance to debate it with the big fluffy.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

            Originally posted by David West View Post
            Every day I wake up, I want to learn something new...I like to speak to young people...If you don’t read and if you don’t have the ability to think critically, people are going to dictate what you do for the rest of your life.
            Reminds me of a certain beloved astrophysicist. From now on, I will refer to #21 as Neil "DWest" Tyson.
            You Got The Tony!!!!!!

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

              The more I hear from David West, the more I'm curious as to why he wasn't recruited to help represent the players during the lockout in a big way. Seems like a really smart guy.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                The more I hear from David West, the more I'm curious as to why he wasn't recruited to help represent the players during the lockout in a big way. Seems like a really smart guy.
                He would be to reasonable.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                  Originally posted by TOP View Post
                  I don't feel like having no free time for 4 months is that big of a deal. 5 if you were to make the playoffs and win the championship. I'd be content with making those sacrifices if I were making 10 million for the season and had 7 months of sporadic working out with nothing else to do.
                  I assume you're talking about this season specifically. In normal seasons it's 7.5-8.5 months from training camp until the season ends. I don't disagree with your overall point, just clarifying.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                    If you guys haven't heard our One on One special Mark Montieth did with him over the weekend, you really should check it out. It's fantastic. Listened to it on my way into the station this evening. We have it podcasted, as well. Link is below.

                    http://www.1070thefan.com/podcast/Ep....aspx?PID=2157

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                      Originally posted by rabidpacersfan View Post
                      I assume you're talking about this season specifically. In normal seasons it's 7.5-8.5 months from training camp until the season ends. I don't disagree with your overall point, just clarifying.
                      Not only that, but I would guess that the top 25% or so of players train a lot in the off-season, not just for a couple of weeks and then it's vacation time. Weight room, shooting, defensive drills - there is no shortage of things to work on and the guys with the most drive do so.

                      David West is always refreshing.
                      "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

                      "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

                      "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                        Originally posted by Day-V View Post
                        If you guys haven't heard our One on One special Mark Montieth did with him over the weekend, you really should check it out. It's fantastic. Listened to it on my way into the station this evening. We have it podcasted, as well. Link is below.

                        http://www.1070thefan.com/podcast/Ep....aspx?PID=2157
                        I second this, probably one of the most impressive interviews Mark Montieth has had.
                        You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                          Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                          The more I hear from David West, the more I'm curious as to why he wasn't recruited to help represent the players during the lockout in a big way. Seems like a really smart guy.
                          Did you forget that he was injuried and had to rehab?

                          Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
                          He would be to reasonable.
                          I followed him on twitter and I am not so sure of that. IIRC he blieved the owners were pretty much exaggerating the loses and I have to believe that West would hold out even longer.

                          One of his comments was something like this..

                          owners get 1.5 billion to spit among 30 while the players have to take their 1.5 billion and split among 200 players.
                          Last edited by Gamble1; 04-06-2012, 12:42 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                            Originally posted by Hicks View Post
                            The more I hear from David West, the more I'm curious as to why he wasn't recruited to help represent the players during the lockout in a big way. Seems like a really smart guy.
                            Look who got recruited. What standards do you think were used?
                            This space for rent.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: More than a Ball Player: The David West Interview

                              Ever have the moment where you just realized you've mispronounced a certain word your entire life?

                              Just listening to that Mark Montieth / David West interview I heard him say "mature" instead of "machure" which is how I say it.

                              -_-

                              How did I come up with "machure"? Anyone else say it like that? Needless to say kind of embarrassing. Hopefully I can shake that habit.

                              Comment

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