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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 ___________"

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"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

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"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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Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm? {New Video link Post: 207}

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  • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

    Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
    Did you guys see how many people were at the Fever ECF game? Couldn't even fill up the whole lower level. Sorry if it makes me a dick, but it would be a waste.
    When they went to the Finals in 2009, the games were sold out and nobody bought gobs of free tickets for the games either (Bird bought some tickets for the ECF that year). So if that happens again, the answer is that more fans will see it than would during a regular Pacers game against a non-marquee opponent. I don't know if it makes you a dick, but it would make you wrong about the audience numbers.

    Anyway, your objection to this is just plain weird to me - it's not like this a consumable commodity that will somehow be used up and ruined by exposure. It will still be there in all its glory for Pacers opening night and it will still be exciting.

    It's probably all moot anyway, as odds are the Fever will lose in CT. I guess you can root for that if the possibility bothers you so much.
    "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

    "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

    "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

    Comment


    • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

      I won't root against them by any means, and if they sell out the WHOLE Fieldhouse, then that changes my opinion. Honestly didn't follow them much in 09 did they sell out the whole arena or just the lower and club?

      Anyway, Pacers almost always sell out the home opener and from talking to people I know there is genuine excitement to see this thing unveiled at that game.


      Comment


      • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

        Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
        I won't root against them by any means, and if they sell out the WHOLE Fieldhouse, then that changes my opinion. Honestly didn't follow them much in 09 did they sell out the whole arena or just the lower and club?

        Anyway, Pacers almost always sell out the home opener and from talking to people I know there is genuine excitement to see this thing unveiled at that game.
        Gotcha. They sold out the whole thing for the Finals in '09. People thought maybe that meant a big jump in fan support for the following season, but...it didn't.

        Still, I expect that if they make the Finals again the place will be packed. Even some of the most apathetic fans like to say they saw a champion win.

        If it gets used during the WNBA Finals, do you think people would be any less excited to see it on Pacers' opening night? I guess that is possible, though it seems weird to me. If I lived in Indy, I'd be excited to see that thing every game.
        Last edited by gummy; 10-09-2012, 03:48 PM.
        "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

        "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

        "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

        Comment


        • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

          First off - sucks that it sounds like Houston is getting rid of the Rocket Lift Off that Gnome and I both saw (and me again last year) because that's pretty cool. IIRC Gnome posted video maybe? I think I have one from last year. Sounds like the rocket is being moved.

          Personally I love mixed media (ie, video and physically tangible items), to me that's a lot more interesting and cool than just video production. Imagine if Boomer were only a video character on screens, it wouldn't be the same.



          Second - I agree with T Joe a little bit, there is a sense of anti-climatic to revealing the scoreboard to a non-full house. Remember that Conseco itself was opened for the season opener and not before. They had a night before the game very exclusive tour but made the reveal a big event.

          WNBA Finals is a nice deal and I'm all for supporting the Fever, but the Pacers home opener is going to be a sell-out and the Pacers are the big deal in the Fieldhouse. In fact they are basically saying just that when they suggest that it would only be revealed early if they make the Finals. They recognize the idea of showmanship and the required prestige of the event they want to associate the reveal with. It's why a Pacers pre-season isn't appropriate either.

          So what we boil down to is the view of WNBA Finals vs Pacers Home Opener, and I hate to be the bearer (2nd after TJ actually) of bad news, but even at Finals level the Fever are still below a Pacers season opener I think. TJoe is definitely right to say that the WNBA ECF crowd was not enough for the prestige they are looking for. Great team, great game but just not considered a huge local event at this point.


          Gummy, it's like any ribbon cutting or whatever. Every new thing can be enjoyed just as much 5 days later, but you'd never want to open Lucas with a 5000 attendance event vs a 65000 person Colts game. The 2nd time or the 10th time just isn't the news that the 1st time is.
          Last edited by Naptown_Seth; 10-09-2012, 04:32 PM.

          Comment


          • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

            We went to game 3 of the WNBA Finals in 2009. It wasn't anywhere near filled to capacity. Tickets sold doesn't represent butts in the seat.

            Larry bought out the entire balcony for Game 3, and there wasn't many people actually sitting up there.
            http://indianapolis-indiana.funcityf...-free-tickets/

            EDIT: Whoops, that's for the Shock series.
            EDIT2: I remember the balcony being empty, and the announcers really hitting getting your tickets for game 4 before you left.
            Last edited by Since86; 10-09-2012, 04:45 PM.
            Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

            Comment


            • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

              Plus let's be honest, this scoreboard was not installed for the Fever, this was installed for the Pacers.


              Comment


              • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                Did big names keep buying up tickets throughout the WNBA finals? Because in 2009, attendance magically went from about 9K in Game 2 of the ECF to a sold out 18,165 in Game 3. And wiki claims that both games 3 and 4 were also complete sell outs, but I am just finding that very hard to believe.


                Comment


                • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                  Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                  Did big names keep buying up tickets throughout the WNBA finals? Because in 2009, attendance magically went from about 9K in Game 2 of the ECF to a sold out 18,165 in Game 3. And wiki claims that both games 3 and 4 were also complete sell outs, but I am just finding that very hard to believe.
                  Like I said before - Larry bought tickets for the ECF. No big names bought tickets for the WNBA Finals series that year. It was widely reported as a sell out at the time. Can't report on butts in the seats (other than seeing some pictures on Indy Star and it looked like a full house), so there ya go. You can find references to it, like here:

                  http://www.swishappeal.com/2009/10/9...-have-the-2009
                  http://www.wnba.com/playoffs2009/att...rd_091009.html

                  I know the Indy Star wrote about it too, but they are trying to make me pay to read one of their "archived" stories. Noooope.

                  Anyway, I don't care much either way though Naptown's point ala ribbon cutting is somewhat persuasive to me. I just needed to push back against the idea that the ECF attendance numbers are predictive of Finals attendance. I don't think they are.
                  "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

                  "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

                  "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

                  Comment


                  • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                    Originally posted by gummy View Post

                    It's probably all moot anyway, as odds are the Fever will lose in CT.
                    Well, I was really wrong about this. The Fever walloped the Sun on their home court even after Katie Douglas was carted off to the hospital. So I guess we'll see what happens now, in terms of attendance and the jumbo board!
                    "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

                    "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

                    "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

                    Comment


                    • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                      Originally posted by gummy View Post
                      Well, I was really wrong about this. The Fever walloped the Sun on their home court even after Katie Douglas was carted off to the hospital. So I guess we'll see what happens now, in terms of attendance and the jumbo board!
                      True that and congrats to the Fever. Anyone know Katie's status?


                      Comment


                      • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                        Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                        True that and congrats to the Fever. Anyone know Katie's status?
                        Nope. Info probably won't be released until tomorrow. Her ankle rolled over such that she created a 90 degree angle though. Nasty sprain at the very least.
                        "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

                        "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

                        "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

                        Comment


                        • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                          Here is a video of the new scoreboard operating in the Fieldhouse. I don't see the temp boards hanging...
                          http://www.indystar.com/videonetwork...fe-Fieldhouse-
                          ...Still "flying casual"
                          @roaminggnome74

                          Comment


                          • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                            The local news this morning said that the scoreboard was going to be unveiled at tonight's preseason game.... w00t!

                            Comment


                            • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm?

                              Originally posted by CoolHand View Post
                              The local news this morning said that the scoreboard was going to be unveiled at tonight's preseason game.... w00t!
                              Have any other news outlets said this? It just seems strange that they would suddenly change their minds and unveil it now instead of waiting until the home opener.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Big announcement tomorrow @ 2pm? {New Video link Post: 207}

                                I'm guessing they want it to be up for the national TV coverage of the WNBA Finals, but still want Pacers to be the first team to play with it up. Plus if Pacero is right that video is going to still be "old size" then I doubt the Fever will have full video. So home opener will still be the first time for that.


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