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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.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

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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The Anime/Manga thread...

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  • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

    Originally posted by khaos01207 View Post
    I have a friend who wants me to watch Naruto (for some reason I never watched it) I have heard mixed feeling about the series though... Thoughts?
    It's a fun and thoughtful series. I can't say that you won't like it, because you will...and you will also hate the way it coughs and weezes to the finish line and pretty much ruins any dramatic tension that it spent twelve years building up. But those first 12 years...really a fun ride. Can't take that away.

    Naruto is like a longer version of Bleach that way. The author clearly had a long term plan but somewhere along the line realized he had no plan for an ending and started making stuff up on the fly.

    If you do decide to watch it (very, very big task) save yourself some time and skip the filler arcs. They're both notoriously terrible and equally boring. I don't care if they're ten episodes or 76 (seriously, in Naruto there is actually 76 straight episodes of pointless filler spanning 1 1/2 years). Skip right past them, do not even acknowledge they exist. They do not affect the story one bit, so you won't miss anything important.

    Here's a guide. A bit outdated, but it gets you started.

    http://www.narutohq.com/naruto-shippuden-fillers.php
    Last edited by Kstat; 08-08-2014, 05:37 AM.

    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

    Comment


    • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

      Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
      Started of so epically. I think he drug it out too long. It's almost over, but it's just constant power ups just cause. I'm only reading it now cause it's almost over and I feel like I need to finish it. The anime also suffers from "filler" episodes that aren't that good. Just tragic, this had the makings of something great.

      Then again, Naruto suffers what most manga/anime suffers from. Great beginnings and the rest can't live up to that greatness it started out at. It's just downhill from the beginning. There are very few manga/anime, imo, that don't suffer from that. Cowboy Bebop, Death Note and Full Metal. Can't think of anything else outside of those.

      I feel like I'm in the minority, but I still love Bleach! It's coming to an end too. It's on it's final arc.
      One Piece seems to be the lone exception here. Hunter X hunter also seems to have cheated its own decline by taking very long breaks and giving things time to sink in before continuing with the next major story arc.

      FMA died a painful death because it sped past the manga and did its own thing, much like Rurouni Kenshin. FMA: brotherhood is a thing of beauty simply because it does not stray off the path.

      It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

      Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
      Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
      NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

      Comment


      • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

        Originally posted by Suaveness View Post
        Death Note didn't really finish strong. Once a certain person dies halfway through it loses its edge frankly. The first 22 eps or so are great
        I was about to mention that, but still enjoyed the rest. It may have suffered cause the character that died was well liked. I was ok with that. The ending was a bit of a letdown due to the main characters reaction and seemed to act way out of character. I still enjoyed it though cause it didn't drag and add a ton of unnecessary filler.

        Japanese are so good at drawing you into something, but just have a problem delivering a satisfying middle and end.
        First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

        Comment


        • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

          Originally posted by Kstat View Post
          One Piece seems to be the lone exception here. Hunter X hunter also seems to have cheated its own decline by taking very long breaks and giving things time to sink in before continuing with the next major story arc.

          FMA died a painful death because it sped past the manga and did its own thing, much like Rurouni Kenshin. FMA: brotherhood is a thing of beauty simply because it does not stray off the path.
          I actually enjoyed both FMA series, but Brotherhood is superior since it sticks to the manga.

          I keep meaning to start One Piece, but I just hate the artwork so much that it keeps me from starting it. I'm about to start Hunter X Hunter though.

          I should catch up on History's Strongest Disciple and Fairy Tale. Not the greatest manga, but something to read. Fairy Tale feels like a poor mans Naruto.
          First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

          Comment


          • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

            Kstat - did you read the latest Naruto from this week?

            Spoiler Spoiler:
            First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

            Comment


            • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

              Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
              I actually enjoyed both FMA series, but Brotherhood is superior since it sticks to the manga.

              I keep meaning to start One Piece, but I just hate the artwork so much that it keeps me from starting it. I'm about to start Hunter X Hunter though.

              I should catch up on History's Strongest Disciple and Fairy Tale. Not the greatest manga, but something to read. Fairy Tale feels like a poor mans Naruto.
              I cannot stand the artwork in One Piece. Thing is, the story is so damn good I don't even notice it anymore.

              Fairy Tail is not in any way like Naruto. It's not any more original, mind you, but the cast is superior, even though the story is rather gutless with some exceptions. Its very stylish, which makes the generic plotlines easier to digest.

              Fairy Tail is the best waste of time on Crunchyroll. I say that because the characterization is great so you can pretty much jump in anywhere and enjoy it not really having a full grasp of the plot.
              Last edited by Kstat; 08-08-2014, 08:53 AM.

              It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

              Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
              Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
              NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

              Comment


              • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
                Kstat - did you read the latest Naruto from this week?

                Spoiler Spoiler:
                I read it because I've been reading it since 1999 and dammit I'm going to follow it to the end.

                Am I the least bit interested? hell no. This series is dead to me. It's almost a game each week to see which series has become a bigger joke, Naruto or Bleach.
                Last edited by Kstat; 08-08-2014, 08:55 AM.

                It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                Comment


                • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                  Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                  I cannot stand the artwork in One Piece. Thing is, the story is so damn good I don't even notice it anymore.

                  Fairy Tail is not in any way like Naruto. It's not any more original, mind you, but the cast is superior, even though the story is rather gutless with some exceptions. Its very stylish, which makes the generic plotlines easier to digest.

                  Fairy Tail is the best waste of time on Crunchyroll. I say that because the characterization is great so you can pretty much jump in anywhere and enjoy it not really having a full grasp of the plot.
                  How can you say they aren't similar? The lead characters are complete idiots, and his best friend is his main rival and who is a bit emo.
                  First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

                  Comment


                  • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                    Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
                    How can you say they aren't similar? The lead characters are complete idiots, and his best friend is his main rival and who is a bit emo.
                    You just described most shonen ever made.

                    FYI, Natsu's main rival is not Gray. He doesn't really have one. And while Gray is moody, he's hardly off the deep end like Sasuke. Also, Natsu isn't really an idiot, either. He's just got extreme motion sickness (like all the other dragon slayers).

                    And I get that Natsu is technically the main character, but Fairy Tail has always been about the very large cast. He's not really spotlighted like Naruto is.

                    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                    Comment


                    • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                      Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
                      How can you say they aren't similar? The lead characters are complete idiots, and his best friend is his main rival and who is a bit emo.
                      I'm with Kstat on this. Fairy Tail is not that similar to Naruto. The friendship that Natsu and Gray share is completely different from the one between Naruto and Sasuke. Natsu does act like an idiot most of the time but he's a lot closer to Luffy than he is to Naruto.

                      In general, Fairy Tail feels significantly closer to One Piece than it does to Naruto.
                      Originally posted by IrishPacer
                      Empty vessels make the most noise.

                      Comment


                      • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                        May or may not have been mentioned, but there are a bunch new Anime on Netflix. Sword Art, Hunter X Hunter and some others.
                        First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

                        Comment


                        • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                          Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
                          May or may not have been mentioned, but there are a bunch new Anime on Netflix. Sword Art, Hunter X Hunter and some others.
                          Indeed.
                          #LanceEffect

                          Comment


                          • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                            Almost caught up on SnK manga...
                            Started Naruto per friends suggestion, about 6 episodes in, pretty good so far.
                            #LanceEffect

                            Comment


                            • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                              Been watching Hunter X Hunter like a madman. Already on Season 2. Pretty good stuff.

                              Not sure why, but Gon reminds me of Astro Boy for some reason. Just every time I look at him. haha

                              I've also started to watch Death Note again. Also have Sword Art, Sidonia, Kill la Kill and Fate 0 on my watch list for Netflix.


                              Did see that Amazon Prime has Naruto, Bleach and some other popular anime. Haven't been on there for awhile, so not sure if that's new or not. Didn't really look to see how many seasons they had.
                              First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

                              Comment


                              • Re: The Anime/Manga thread...

                                Originally posted by Sparhawk View Post
                                I've also started to watch Death Note again. Also have Sword Art, Sidonia, Kill la Kill and Fate 0 on my watch list for Netflix.
                                Death Note is something I'll never watch, because after reading the manga I have no desire to go on that journey again. I'm glad I did, but its one of those really good tragedies that you enjoy sitting through once, and only once.

                                Fate Zero is the Michael Bay production of fighting anime. Gorgeous with great action but I just don't care at all for the story or characters. The entire Fate series is like that for me...but Zero is the best example of the bunch.

                                Sidonia bored me to tears. Sad, because it's very artistic and the production values are high. It just lacks....energy, I guess? It's like someone tried to make a mech-themed Miyazaki anime, but without any of the charm.

                                Kill la Kill is exploitative satire, but the good kind. I hated myself for watching it and yet I couldn't quit. I'm glad I stuck it out because they give you a good ending.

                                As for Sword Art Online....damn if this show isn't schizophrenic. First arc was refreshingly original and emotionally gripping but disjointed and amateurish at times, the second arc was poorly written at best and reprehensible at its worst, but this third arc.....that's what I stuck around for (and the fourth, when we get to it).

                                I love SAO season II. I already know what's coming, but they adapted the GGO storyline really, really well that I'm still blown away. One of this year's best anime.

                                You don't see anime tacking something as serious as PTSD very often, as least not as well as SAO is doing it.

                                On that note, Sinon is a fantastic character.
                                Last edited by Kstat; 08-31-2014, 08:23 AM.

                                It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                                Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                                Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                                NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                                Comment

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