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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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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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Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details)

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  • Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details)

    http://www.detnews.com/2004/pistons/...tons-11159.htm


    Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace

    By Chris McCosky / The Detroit News


    Pacers fight night

    How long should the Pacers players involved in the fight with fans at The Palace be suspended?

    5 games
    10 games
    20 games
    The rest of the season
    AUBURN HILLS -- The NBA community is wagging its finger and shaking its head in disgust at the Pistons, their fans and the Indiana Pacers today after an ugly brawl forced an early ending to the Pacers' 97-82 victory Friday night at The Palace.

    The game was halted with 45.9 seconds left, after a fight -- which started with a Ben Wallace push on Ron Artest -- nearly escalated into a riot, involving both benches and coaches and eventually spilling into the crowd.


    "It was a disgraceful situation," said ESPN analyst and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton. "There were no winners whatsoever. There is no excuse for players to go into the stands. The privilege and honor that goes with being an NBA player prohibits you from ever crossing that line. It was a frightful, devastating experience and there will be major ramifications for both teams and will have an impact on the rest of this NBA season."

    The fans, most of whom had already left, were also far from blameless, throwing beer, food and even a chair at the players.

    The NBA issued a statement late Friday that they would not comment on the situation until they had more time to sift through the details. Players from both teams were told not to comment.

    Auburn Hills police, as well as state police, were on site and are continuing to investigate for possible criminal activity.

    One thing is certain -- there will be many suspensions and fines, and some players -- like Artest, Stephen Jackson and Ben Wallace -- could be out for an extended number of games.

    Every Pacers player was allowed to leave the building. They host Orlando Saturday. There was talk that Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal might be arrested. He and teammate Anthony Johnson both punched a fan -- whose name was believed to be Charles Hadad -- who had run onto the court after O'Neal. Johnson hit him first, O'Neal knocked him cold.

    Then, after he was hit by a folding chair thrown by a fan as he was walking through the tunnel, O'Neal got into an altercation in the tunnel with another fan, in front of Auburn Hills police.

    Several fans were treated for minor injuries, including Pacers play-by-play man Mark Boyle, who was cut on the forehead when he tried to stop Artest from going into the crowd.

    Hadad was carted off on a stretcher. Women and children were crying. It was a terrifying situation.

    No arrests were made Friday and police will continue their investigation.

    "It was the ugliest thing I ever seen in my life," said Pistons Coach Larry Brown, who despite his ailing left hip, was trying to pull players off of each other. "I am embarrassed for our league and disappointed to be part of this."

    Here's how it started. The Pacers were up by 15. Wallace was going up for a shot and Artest shoved him hard in the back.

    Wallace responded by shoving Artest hard in the upper chest and face.

    "Artest never made an attempt for the ball," Brown said. "They were up 15 points with 45 seconds left. I don't think that's something you expect. Ben didn't throw a punch. He pushed him."

    The benches emptied quickly. Tayshaun Prince was the only player from both teams that remained on the bench. Leaving the bench in a fight brings an automatic one-game suspension.

    That means Chauncey Billups, Derrick Coleman, Elden Campbell, Darvin Ham and Antonio McDyess, all of whom left the bench, could get a one-game suspension.

    Wallace, too, will probably get several games.

    Lindsey Hunter, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Smush Parker were on the court at the time.

    Referees were unable to completely subdue Wallace, Artest or Pacers guard Stephen Jackson, who was going after several players.

    Artest laid down on the scorer's table and started goofing around. Lying on his back, he put on a Pacers radio broadcaster's headset and appeared to be granting an interview.

    That incensed Wallace, who threw his sweatband at Artest. Almost at the same time, a fan threw a plastic cup of beer on Artest.

    That set Artest off. He raced into the stands and started swinging. The first person he hit was Mike Ryan of Clarkston.

    "I have no idea," Ryan said of why Artest picked him. "He was on top of me, pummeling me and he said, "Did you do it? Did you do it?' And I said, 'No, man, no.' He kind of shoved me and went off on other people."

    Jackson was the first to join Artest in the crowd. He threw and landed several wild punches on fans. He was also hit hard across the head by a fan who attacked him from behind.

    At that point, numerous players, including Rasheed Wallace and the Pacers' Fred Jones and coaches jumped into the crowd to try and pull the players out. Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle was instrumental in getting both Artest and Jackson out of the crowd. Former Piston Rick Mahorn, who was broadcasting the game on WDFN-1130, also jumped in and helped police the situation.

    It took about 15 minutes before the players were removed from the stands. Fans pelted the Pacers players with beer and food as they walked through the tunnel to their locker room. A chair was thrown at O'Neal.

    "It was a terrible thing for sports and for basketball," said Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports and Entertainment. "However upset you get as a player -- and they may have had reason to be very upset -- you don't cross that line. We're paid a whole lot of money to turn the other cheek."

    Wilson said there was no security failure. He said Palace security, as well as the police, reacted quickly and properly.

    "But for the last foul, none of this would have happened," Wilson said. "It's an emotional game because it's an emotional rivalry. You know, I've never seen this happen and I hope I never see it again. I think the consequences will be severe enough that it will never happen again."

    It was the first time in 47 years that a Pistons basketball game was not allowed to finish.

    The league could start issuing fines and suspensions as early as today.

    [hr]

    Yeah, there's a bunch of garbage in there. Thought everyone would get a kick out of the Piston's side of the story.

    Bad news that the guy that JO clocked had to be taken out on a stretcher.

    The survey on this page asks how long the Pacers' players should be suspended - the lowest choice is 5 games and another option is 'rest of the season'. I don't think the NBA is seriously considering 'rest of the season'; I'd like to see the NBA fine the Pistons $5,000,000 for lack of security and lack of crowd control. Isn't it funny that Tom Wilson says security was sufficient when (1) a security guard punched Fred Jones from behind twice; and (2) Chuck Person and Reggie Miller were the only ones *brave* enough to escort Ron Artest out of the building.

    Tell you what... I'm always proud of the Rifleman.


    [edit=72=1100935483]Add link[/edit]
    [edit=72=1100939267][/edit]
    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
    And life itself, rushing over me
    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you


  • #2
    Re: Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details an

    *Do not have this JO punch up anywhere. Cheering anything about last night's fighting is dispicable*
    [edit=12=1100956558][/edit]

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details an

      DANG JO really did nail that guy hard... I mean JO was at full gallup swingin as hard as he could. Everyones talking about Ron being suspended for the season etc.. but what about JO? That was the worst of it all right there on JOneal7's sig.
      SJ too could be gone the whole season.. Even Tinsley he came back out from the lockerroom with a dustpan weilding it as a weapon...
      As awful as it was, I'm glad the boys got passion and stick up for eachother. But what if JO had killed that guy? He is one of the biggest strongest dudes on the planet. Granted it was a riot at that point, and obviously there was no security to keep the fans off the court, the kid could have had a knife or who knows... But there has to be a way to keep the fans and atheletes from physical interaction.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details an

        Originally posted by Burtrem
        DANG JO really did nail that guy hard... I mean JO was at full gallup swingin as hard as he could. Everyones talking about Ron being suspended for the season etc.. but what about JO? That was the worst of it all right there on JOneal7's sig.
        SJ too could be gone the whole season.. Even Tinsley he came back out from the lockerroom with a dustpan weilding it as a weapon...
        As awful as it was, I'm glad the boys got passion and stick up for eachother. But what if JO had killed that guy? He is one of the biggest strongest dudes on the planet. Granted it was a riot at that point, and obviously there was no security to keep the fans off the court, the kid could have had a knife or who knows... But there has to be a way to keep the fans and atheletes from physical interaction.

        The general rule in sports is that if you come out on the court or field, you are fair game. End of question. Fans are no more justified in going on the court than the players going into the crowd. It still surprises me that fans will still run onto a football field when they will more than likely get decked by a guy who hits for a living...
        Originally posted by Natston;n3510291
        I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of the 3 T.J.s working for them, and that ain't bad...

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Detroit News > Brawl ends Pacers-Pistons game at The Palace (With, unfortunately, some additional ugly details)

          Burtrem, you are right. I was very concerned that
          Ron was going to severely hurt someone.
          Is a cup of beer on your head worth seriously injuring someone? JO may be seeing a lawsuit.
          I still have the Rudy T blast firmly in my mind.

          owl
          {o,o}
          |)__)
          -"-"-

          Comment

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