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The Rules of 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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Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

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  • Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

    http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...e-agency-looms

    Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

    Written by Mike Wells

    Indiana Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard kept the details vague but the team plans to be aggressive with free-agent center Roy Hibbert. Come Sunday morning at 12:01 a.m., the start of the NBA free agency period, the Pacers will be on Hibbert's doorstep making their pitch to re-sign the free agent center.

    "We'll absolutely be there," Pritchard said.


    The Pacers will also be meeting with free agent guard George Hill once he returns from vacation.

    The team's free agency strategy is simple. Re-sign Hibbert and Hill so they can keep their starting unit together, then add pieces to their bench.

    "Continuity moving forward with good teams is real important," Pritchard said. "You want to keep the same guys because for whatever reason they learn each other better. You look at the elite teams who have had success, they stay together with small changes.

    "This team isn't about blowing it up and starting it new. We have to keep the same pieces in place and we have to keep growing."

    The Pacers finished with the fifth best record in the league and advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season.

    Teams can only agree to contracts and trades during the moratorium period from Sunday through July 10. Starting July 11, deals can be signed.

    Hibbert and Hill are both restricted free agents, which means the Pacers can match any offer made to them. Teams have three days to match offers made to restricted free agents. The Pacers will likely match offers made to Hibbert and Hill.

    Both players have said in the past that they want to re-sign with the Pacers.

    Pacers owner Herb Simon told Pritchard and president Donnie Walsh that he is willing to spend money in order to improve the team.

    The Pacers will have about $10 million in salary cap space available without it impacting their ability to re-sign Hill and Hibbert.

    Point guard Darren Collison, who lost his starting job to Hill because of an injury at the end of the regular season, told the front office during his exit interview that he wants to return next season.

    "I'd love to have him back. Is it possible? I think so," Pritchard said. "At some point in time there might have to be changes made, but that's not our goal. He came up and told us he wants to be back."

    Center Kyrylo Fesenko is open to re-signing with the Pacers. He only played in three games after being acquired late in the season.

    Pritchard plans to work the phones in an attempt to add another big man and scorer on the wing. Guards Brandon Roy and O.J. Mayo are two wings players the Pacers plan to pursue. Jamal Crawford could also be a possibility.

    Roy, a former All Star, retired last season because of knee problems but he's attempting a comeback. He and Pritchard were together in Portland.

    Mayo became an unrestricted free agent Friday when the Memphis Grizzlies did not tender a qualifying offer to him. Former Pacers president Larry Bird tried on several occasions to trade for Mayo in the past.

    Crawford signed with Portland instead of the Pacers last season.


    The Pacers are also expected to contact point guard Deron Williams' agent, but the top free agent on the market is expected to re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets or go to Dallas. Future Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash also reportedly has a small list of teams he wants to sign with; however the Pacers aren't one of them.
    Last edited by Will Galen; 06-30-2012, 01:36 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

    cool! I'm excited to see what Pacers FO has in store for us I still want OJ Mayo!
    Peck is basically omniscient when it comes to understanding how the minds of Herb Simon and Kevin Pritchard work. I was a fool to ever question him and now feel deep shame for not understanding that this team believes in continuity above talent.

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    • #3
      Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

      So we have a ten day period where we can line up other free agents to sign and use up our cap space, before we will have to sign/match our RFA... I knew about that in the past, but yet completely forgot about it. That makes me more comfortable we can at least add a nice piece.
      "George's athleticism is bananas!" - Marc J. Spears

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

        So technically Roy can't sign a deal until the 11th? So we would have 3 days to match after that.
        You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

          So there are some good things and a few bad things to take from this. We are actually going to try and add some major pieces. I would be very happy with Brandon Roy or OJ Mayo, although I think Roy would fit in better with our team. I know we aren't likely going to even come close to touching Williams, but at least the team is willing to make him an offer or contact him. Looks like this could get interesting.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

            I like that we can get people to agree 13 days before we have to match Hibby and Hill. PLENTY MORE time than I ever knew we had.
            Senior at the University of Louisville.
            Greenfield ---> The Ville

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

              I have it in my head that Mayo is already on the team since we have traded for him so many times already. Just get him here already, he knows we want him.

              "I've got an idea--an idea so smart that my head would explode if I even began to know what I'm talking about." - Peter Griffin

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                Dumb question: outside of showing our intent, what good does showing up at Hibbert's doorstep do for the Pacers? Aren't we at the mercy of another team's offer? I'm not sure what we can do.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                  Originally posted by imawhat View Post
                  Dumb question: outside of showing our intent, what good does showing up at Hibbert's doorstep do for the Pacers? Aren't we at the mercy of another team's offer? I'm not sure what we can do.
                  Attempting to get a deal agreed on in principle so when we can sign we can quickly sign someone else then Hibbert.
                  Senior at the University of Louisville.
                  Greenfield ---> The Ville

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                    The team's free agency strategy is simple. Re-sign Hibbert and Hill so they can keep their starting unit together, then add pieces to their bench.

                    "Continuity moving forward with good teams is real important," Pritchard said. "You want to keep the same guys because for whatever reason they learn each other better. You look at the elite teams who have had success, they stay together with small changes.
                    Elite teams have success because they keep ELITE talent together. If all we do this offseason is upgrade our bench with overpriced free agents then we're gonna be Atlanta-like for the next few years...
                    Originally posted by Piston Prince
                    Bobcat fans telling us to cheer up = epic fail season
                    "Josh Smith Re-building the city of Detroit one brick at a time"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                      Originally posted by imawhat View Post
                      Dumb question: outside of showing our intent, what good does showing up at Hibbert's doorstep do for the Pacers? Aren't we at the mercy of another team's offer? I'm not sure what we can do.
                      Well first off I don't even think Hibbert will be home at 12:01 AM. He is traveling today. So I hope somebody gets that bit of info to KP so our front office doesnt look like buffoons.
                      2nd. It might just be a figure of expression because most players refuse to meet with team about contracts without their agents present.
                      3rd. The Pacers not at the mercy of any other teams offer, they are free to sign an agreement whenever they want. Infact most teams would rather control their own destiny and sign the player on their terms. Rahter than matching a contract some other team has come up with. Because my understanding is that when you match an offer it is the exact offer that the player signed. Not just the dollar figures.
                      You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                        Originally posted by Steagles View Post
                        Attempting to get a deal agreed on in principle so when we can sign we can quickly sign someone else then Hibbert.
                        Originally posted by graphic-er
                        3rd. The Pacers not at the mercy of any other teams offer, they are free to sign an agreement whenever they want. Infact most teams would rather control their own destiny and sign the player on their terms. Rahter than matching a contract some other team has come up with. Because my understanding is that when you match an offer it is the exact offer that the player signed. Not just the dollar figures.
                        I've never heard of a player (in demand) officially becoming a restricted free agent and then agreeing to terms with their original team without signing an offer sheet from another team first. Has that ever happened?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                          Originally posted by imawhat View Post
                          I've never heard of a player (in demand) officially becoming a restricted free agent and then agreeing to terms with their original team without signing an offer sheet from another team first. Has that ever happened?
                          If the player gets everything he wants in a deal and a "fair" salary proposition (that he thinks is fair) from his original team he might as well sign it. He would have no reason to sign another deal
                          Senior at the University of Louisville.
                          Greenfield ---> The Ville

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                            Originally posted by imawhat View Post
                            I've never heard of a player (in demand) officially becoming a restricted free agent and then agreeing to terms with their original team without signing an offer sheet from another team first. Has that ever happened?
                            If I remember right they can receive an offer sheet and not sign it, and show their home team the offer as leverage if they want the extra year and larger increases.
                            "George's athleticism is bananas!" - Marc J. Spears

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Wells; Pacers aim to lock up Roy Hibbert, George Hill as free agency looms

                              I didn't know about the 10 day waiting period, but it makes sense. If it wasn't for that rule teams with valuable RFAs would be held hostage by any team that could offer them and basically cut them off from any UFAs.

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