Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

    yes olblu, we know you're a boy.

    Comment


    • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

      Like the optimism PacerGeek, but I'm more in line with 6 - 10 than 10 - 6. I've got to see this team perform well, and consistently, in a meaningful game against a non-rebuilding St. Louis team before I'd come off that.

      There's undoubtedly potential on this roster, but question marks and inexperience too, which usually mean learning by mistakes. However, if it does turn out better than expected, I'll gladly give you props for your bold prediction.
      I'd rather die standing up than live on my knees.

      -Emiliano Zapata

      Comment


      • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

        Luck ran a pro offense in college, that alone is worth 2-3 wins. Add in the fact they don't play many tough defenses in the division, and I think they could easily end with with 5-6 wins.

        Time will tell, though.

        Comment


        • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

          Originally posted by D-BONE View Post
          Like the optimism PacerGeek, but I'm more in line with 6 - 10 than 10 - 6. I've got to see this team perform well, and consistently, in a meaningful game against a non-rebuilding St. Louis team before I'd come off that.

          There's undoubtedly potential on this roster, but question marks and inexperience too, which usually mean learning by mistakes. However, if it does turn out better than expected, I'll gladly give you props for your bold prediction.
          I just think our schedule is weak. The only two elite teams on our schedule are Green Bay and NE. Every other game on the schedule is winnable.
          Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

          Comment


          • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

            Originally posted by Pacergeek View Post
            I just think our schedule is weak. The only two elite teams on our schedule are Green Bay and NE. Every other game on the schedule is winnable.
            Hoo, boy... ...

            Comment


            • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

              Originally posted by Pacergeek View Post
              I just think our schedule is weak. The only two elite teams on our schedule are Green Bay and NE. Every other game on the schedule is winnable.
              Yes, our schedule is weak but every team on that schedule except perhaps Jacksonville, is better than the Colts. We will be playing one of those non-elite teams in Chicago soon. We will see how that goes..... ...

              Comment


              • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                Stating that every team in the NFL is better than us doesn't make it true, Blu.
                There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                Comment


                • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                  It isn't me saying it. The polls and the experts are saying it. Now, I think that the Colts are probably better than Jacksonville in spite of what "they" all say. That is our chance to win a couple of games. On the prediction thread, I mentioned winning those games and the Vikings, Browns and Dolphins were possibilities. I do not see them beating anyone else on the schedule other than an upset "any given Sunday" type win. Yes, Luck looked great but our defense will be horrible and the offensive line will be very bad too although that line has a chance to improve by the end of the season. I don't see the defense improving, there is just a lot of weak players there trying a new system without the personel to play it.......Again, as you all point out these are my opinions as winning 6 to 10 games is other people's opinion. It will be fun to see how it plays out and I will be absolutely delighted to be proven wrong..... ...

                  Comment


                  • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                    Originally posted by OlBlu View Post
                    It isn't me saying it. The polls and the experts are saying it. Now, I think that the Colts are probably better than Jacksonville in spite of what "they" all say. That is our chance to win a couple of games. On the prediction thread, I mentioned winning those games and the Vikings, Browns and Dolphins were possibilities. I do not see them beating anyone else on the schedule other than an upset "any given Sunday" type win. Yes, Luck looked great but our defense will be horrible and the offensive line will be very bad too although that line has a chance to improve by the end of the season. I don't see the defense improving, there is just a lot of weak players there trying a new system without the personel to play it.......Again, as you all point out these are my opinions as winning 6 to 10 games is other people's opinion. It will be fun to see how it plays out and I will be absolutely delighted to be proven wrong..... ...
                    I believe that the NFL is a QB-driven league. If you have a superior QB, than you have a great chance to win games. I feel Luck is better than several of the QB's we play against
                    Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

                    Comment


                    • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                      I can agree with that. It's funny that Blu puts so much stock in Newton who had a ridiculous rookie season and then seems to cite historical precedence showing that rookies don't integrate into the league quickly, when recent history shows evidence to the contrary. Rookies, especially ones who run a pro offense in college (hint: Luck) don't necessarily have a huge transition to make. It's clear that Luck is already in his first preseason game making pretty good sense of how the NFL works. If Andy Friggin Daulton can come in and have success, why the hell couldn't Luck who is leaps better as a prospect? There were a lot more question marks around Newton, for that matter, no one saw that comin'.

                      I also agree that Luck is on par at least with all of the AFC south QBs, including Shaub, who isn't really a world-beater. I personally think Luck is already the best AFC south QB, but saying that out loud will get all the chickens riled up.

                      Having a good QB is a large part of success, just ask Manning and then every Colt fan in 2011.
                      Last edited by Kid Minneapolis; 08-14-2012, 12:00 PM.
                      There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                        Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                        I can agree with that. It's funny that Blu puts so much stock in Newton who had a ridiculous rookie season and then seems to cite historical precedence showing that rookies don't integrate into the league quickly, when recent history shows evidence to the contrary. Rookies, especially ones who run a pro offense in college (hint: Luck) don't necessarily have a huge transition to make. It's clear that Luck is already in his first preseason game making pretty good sense of how the NFL works.
                        Don't worry about Blu. He will do whatever it takes to get people riled up. Blu is just taking the side of the "experts" that don't realize how bad *** Luck will be this season.
                        Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

                        Comment


                        • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                          It just cracks me up how many people aren't recognizing the talent staring them right in the face, it's like they think because Newton was so good last year that the chances of someone better coming out is so slim since someone so good just came out, we're not due for another decade. Luck is the decade talent, people, lol... like they don't want to believe that we could go from the greatest QB in history to someone as good as Luck... they don't even entertain the idea.
                          There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                            Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                            It just cracks me up how many people aren't recognizing the talent staring them right in the face, it's like they think because Newton was so good last year that the chances of someone better coming out is so slim since someone so good just came out, we're not due for another decade. Luck is the decade talent, people, lol... like they don't want to believe that we could go from the greatest QB in history to someone as good as Luck... they don't even entertain the idea.
                            The fans will come around once the Colts start winning again, and I suspect it will be soon. Keep in mind that the Manning to Luck transition is still difficult for people to accept. Certain fans are still bitter that Peyton is gone, and will purposley be ignorant on just how talented Andrew is. I know this because I was one of these crazy fans. I would watch Stanford just to be over-critical on Andrew, and try to fool myself that Luck is overrated. Instead of Luck playing poorly, which is what i wanted to happen, Andrew would ball out. I was once emotionally attached to Peyton like a woman, but once I removed emotion, I was all about Luck. Manning worshippers, which I used to be, still haven't bought into Luck, and actually believe that we made the wrong decision by ending the Manning era.
                            Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

                            Comment


                            • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                              Yeah, guess I'm not in the norm on that... I celebrate Manning and I also celebrate Luck, I don't look at it as an either/or thing, I look at it as both great things.
                              There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Preseason Week 1: Rams @ Colts

                                Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                                Yeah, guess I'm not in the norm on that... I celebrate Manning and I also celebrate Luck, I don't look at it as an either/or thing, I look at it as both great things.
                                You would have the sane and rational approach. The crazy, irrational approach this off-season was one of two things:

                                1. Trade the first pick, and upgrade the roster with one maybe two blue-chip prospects in other positions of need. Basically build for a maybe 3 year window, assuming Peyton were to come back as "prime" Peyton at the advanced age of 36.

                                2. Draft Luck, but keep Manning around. This way Luck could learn under the mentoring of Peyton just like Aaron Rodgers learned from Favre.

                                These two choices are basically for fans living in a fantasy world. Irsay clearly made the correct choice
                                Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X