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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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Larry Bird LEAVING the Pacers

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  • Larry Bird LEAVING the Pacers

    http://www.wthr.com/story/18878911/l...ave-the-pacers

    I heard this today on WTHR as I was just waking up....thought I was having a nightmare! I looked everywhere for the past 30 minutes and finally found this on the station's website. I am not sure if it is just speculation or not. Yikes!!! Today could be interesting, to say the least.

    Also, FOX 59 is going to have Roy Hibbert and some of the Area 55 members on in the nine o'clock hour....heard that as I was looking for the Larry Bird news.
    Last edited by Unclebuck; 06-26-2012, 07:58 AM.

  • #2
    Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

    Maybe he is im just putting the pieces together and Maybe this is why we got Donnie back

    oh man i hope this isnt true
    Counting down the days untill DJ Augustin's contract expires.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

      I have a hard time believing a story that spells it the "New York Nicks" .......

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

        http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...t|IndyStar.com
        It's up on Indystar now.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

          Oh man its from Wells this means its true
          Counting down the days untill DJ Augustin's contract expires.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

            Excited about Pritchard being our GM. Sad to see Bird go, I never heard what his "health issues" are but I hope things are going to be good for him.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

              Believe it or not... The Indy Star "Print Edition" had this in our hands at 2:15am this morning right on the top banner!
              ...Still "flying casual"
              @roaminggnome74

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                I'm really surprised by this and the timing of it. Donnie/Pritchard have a tough act to follow. Have those two worked together before?

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                  Funny thing, I never really felt I had a strong position on Bird as Pres until I read this. Suddenly Im gutted - and a little worried. Thanks again Legend.

                  For the record I was similarly indifferent to the news of Walsh returning - however that indifference is mutating into premature horror at the thought he will be Bird's replacement. I always liked DW but it feels like the franchise has moved on - its time for new thinking, not old thinking.

                  Does this shed any light on the Morway departure? Perhaps the key players (Simon, Morway, Pritchard) knew Bird was on the way out and it was clear Pritchard was the anointed successor? Does that make the Morway departure make any more sense? Does it explain the conspicuous absence of Pritchards naming coming up despite the plethora of GM jobs available? Im not really sure... (although it is a convenient interpretation of events that holds Pritchard will take the reins - something I am hoping for so may be a somewhat less than scientific analysis)
                  Last edited by Willbo; 06-26-2012, 06:12 AM. Reason: late thought....
                  "I’m your favorite player’s favorite player. And it’s not enough for me for him to know that. I want the world to know that." -- Michael Beasley

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                    Originally posted by Roaming Gnome View Post
                    Believe it or not... The Indy Star "Print Edition" had this in our hands at 2:15am this morning right on the top banner!
                    have to admire Indy Star then. They must've told their online staff to keep it in house, and for quite a while.
                    It takes a lot of confidence in your staff to do it nowadays, when every little whisper ends up on 100 blogs.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                      re the whole thing ---- Bird is known to change his mind on the subject, but this has been way over the top.

                      Bird-Morway drama, Bird stays, Bird leaves.

                      The next thing we know, Morway is back and Pritch is gone.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                        Originally posted by ballism View Post
                        have to admire Indy Star then. They must've told their online staff to keep it in house, and for quite a while.
                        It takes a lot of confidence in your staff to do it nowadays, when every little whisper ends up on 100 blogs.
                        Normally, at our Star Media distribution center we receive the daily "METRO" paper at 1:45am... The delay was only 30mins today which tells me that you're probably right about The Star wanting this to be broken by the "Print Edition". For late breaking sports news we usually receive papers closer to 3-3:15am or later.
                        ...Still "flying casual"
                        @roaminggnome74

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                          Originally posted by Speed View Post
                          I'm really surprised by this and the timing of it. Donnie/Pritchard have a tough act to follow. Have those two worked together before?
                          Tell me Walsh has no authority, TELL ME!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                            Ugh, Bird out and Walsh in.. I'm not liking this at all.. I really liked what bird was doing with the team.. And I don't trust Donnie. Not news I wanna hear first thing in the morning!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Larry Bird LEAVING?

                              One of the things I was really shocked about when first joining pacersdigest was the level of ire and disdain people had for Donnie Walsh after some of the things that happened while he was here. I agree he isn't without fault, but who isn't? At the time the only person i could sort of understand the disdain for Walsh was Peck and it had more to do with the type of culture that he inadvertantly created by going purely after talent which is fair. I just wasn't one to play the blame game back when it felt like there was team bird and team walsh and every little event that transpired was a chance to point the finger at the other.

                              I think one of the positives that this could bring about trying to look on the bright side of all of this is I think with Walsh/Pritchard we're going to be super agressive in the whole trading and free agency side of things, and I think that with Walsh being as close to Simon and has his trust maybe can convince him to spend a little extra here and there. I also think that the "overvaluing" of our own players that Bird seemed to have goes bye bye and anyone not named roy hibbert becomes tradeable. I think sometimes Bird kind of got too attached with the players (not a bad thing at all and something that's honestly lacking in probably most other teams' front offices), but people have said and I agreed with that as long as Larry Bird is around Granger isn't going anywhere.

                              Whatever ends up happening I just hope everyone is on the same page going forward and we already have an idea of what direction we want to take this whole thing.

                              Also random funny story I actually made my screen name here with Walsh in mind cause I thought if I made one with relation to some player they would end up getting traded and Walsh had already been here with us for forever thought "well it's not like he's going anywhere." **sigh**...oh past TheDon...there are so many things I wish I could tell you and sadly I cannot.

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