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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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Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

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  • #61
    Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

    no chance Welker gets traded to their chief AFC rival
    Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

      Originally posted by OlBlu View Post
      I don't have an agenda but I just don't believe that Irsay will bring in a high priced veteran like MJD. He is into pocketing the money, not building a winner..... ...
      You do realize that quite a few vets from the last regime had huge deals. Peyton, Freeney, Dallas, Bob Sanders, Marvin, Diem, Brackett, Hayden. I could go on for a while but I'm sure you get the point.

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

        Originally posted by D-BONE View Post
        Please, please, please let the Welker thing remain a RUMOUR!!!!!!!!!!!
        Agreed, Don't want him, don't need him. Doesn't excite me one bit.

        MJD, Mike Wallace, Jake Long....Yes please!

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

          Originally posted by LA_Confidential View Post
          You do realize that quite a few vets from the last regime had huge deals. Peyton, Freeney, Dallas, Bob Sanders, Marvin, Diem, Brackett, Hayden. I could go on for a while but I'm sure you get the point.
          And the GM who signed those guys and kept them is gone. It is back to being Jimmy's team now. The current GM is just a "yes" man for Jimmy. That is what he was hired to do...... ...

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

            Originally posted by Shade View Post
            I'm giving you fair warning right now - stop with the "homers" crap. This is a Colts fan board. As such, there is going to be some level of homerism. If you don't like it, you're free to leave.

            The same thing goes with constantly posting the same thing in every thread. As I said before, you've already made your opinions on Irsay, Luck, Manning, etc. very clear. If you have something new to add, feel free. Otherwise, stop spamming.

            I am not spamming. I am responding to the same nonsense you and others post over and over again. You stop that and I'll stop making my response. If being called a "homer" is the worst thing that is ever said to these folks on a board, they are lucky. Why don't you stop them from shouting troll everytime they disagree with me or anyone else? Could it be because you just happen to agree with whatever opinion they are spouting? I have done nothing here to warrent a threat from you that I can see. But if you think it makes you popular with your cronies you agree with, go ahead and do whatever you want. If you want to send me a warning, do it in private instead of stirring up the unwashed masses...... ...

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

              Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
              Well, how about a list of these 'lies' ??
              There are lots of them over the years but how about the very biggest one. "We will find a way to have Peyton Manning back", right up until the final minute for people to renew their season tickets. I knew he was lying and I vowed to never believe anything else he said...... ...

              Comment


              • #67
                Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                Originally posted by CompACE View Post
                Can you clarify on the above quote? I'd like specific examples. I'm trying to understand where you're coming from.

                Also - I'm not a homer. I most certainly don't agree with every single move that the Colts have made. I just don't think Jim Irsay is the worst owner ever (that's a very bold statement to make).
                I explained this on a later post. Send me a message if you can't find it and I will go over it with you privately. The new management does not like hearing a voice other than his own..... I have been ordered not to use the word "homer" any longer. But you and anyone else can feel free to call me a troll all you like. We have become a three monkey forum. "Hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil." The man who runs it only wants positive message about the Colts. OK, they are going to win sixteen games and win the Super Bowl to join Miami as the only undefeated team. Does that make everyone feel more secure? ...

                Comment


                • #68
                  Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                  Ohhh yea, I think I'm seeing the light now, thanks to you, Oh Enlightened Blu, I think you're finally getting through with logic and common sense to everyone on this board, your mission is accomplished.

                  Three cheers for Blu! Hip hip hooray! Everybody now --- FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW!
                  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


                  • #69
                    Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                    I am so glad I'm not a moderator for PD.
                    You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                      The moderators shoulda banned his butt long ago simply for incessant and repetitive instigation with fellow fans, but since everything he does falls within the "rules", they can't.

                      We can't have any productive discussion about the Colts on this forum, simply because of one man. Ruins it. Every post starts off productive, and degrades when Blu takes it over talking about how much the Colts suck and how much Irsay sucks and how we're all homers.
                      Last edited by Kid Minneapolis; 08-25-2012, 11:38 AM.
                      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


                      • #71
                        Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                        In my opinion he IS outside of the guidelines.

                        "Depending on the circumstances, if something strikes us as blatantly offensive or clearly an attempt to cause trouble on the forum, we will ban an account."

                        Quoted directly from the Guidelines post.

                        In my opinion what he is doing is obviously trying to cause trouble. You could start a thread about disco music and he would make a post about Irsay, the Colts, how much Granger sucks, or one of any of his other themes. Every thread, seriously look down the Colts forum. Every thread has his tripe in it. Every single thread turns into him rehashing the same thing from every other thread. If that's not an attempt at causing trouble I don't know what is. And when the admins warned him, he sits and takes subtle potshots at them in posts in other threads. You can't even enjoy the board. I'm about done with the Colts board here, but then again that's what he wants. He wants to see how many of us he can drive away and it's starting to work.

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                          You guys could try discussing things with him and pointing out when he's wrong, ignoring him, or just making jokes. Why get all worked up because Ol Blu thinks the Manning situation was handled wrong? Let him think what he wants to think.
                          Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                          ------

                          "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                          -John Wooden

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                            Originally posted by travmil View Post
                            In my opinion he IS outside of the guidelines.

                            "Depending on the circumstances, if something strikes us as blatantly offensive or clearly an attempt to cause trouble on the forum, we will ban an account."

                            Quoted directly from the Guidelines post.

                            In my opinion what he is doing is obviously trying to cause trouble. You could start a thread about disco music and he would make a post about Irsay, the Colts, how much Granger sucks, or one of any of his other themes. Every thread, seriously look down the Colts forum. Every thread has his tripe in it. Every single thread turns into him rehashing the same thing from every other thread. If that's not an attempt at causing trouble I don't know what is. And when the admins warned him, he sits and takes subtle potshots at them in posts in other threads. You can't even enjoy the board. I'm about done with the Colts board here, but then again that's what he wants. He wants to see how many of us he can drive away and it's starting to work.
                            I have no intention of driving anyone away and I would not want that. I also have nothing to do with disco music. I have never said that Granger sucks. I have said many times that he has been our best player. I don't think he is right now but I also said he wouldn't get any better. The Pacers missed the chance to move Granger for something good. He is now vastly overpaid for his talent. Today I even suggested he should end his career as a Pacer but with a much more friendly contract. I just don't think he is anywhere near as good as some of you do and I see him as a defesive liability. It is true that I have no use for Irsay but if you eliminated every Colt fan who feels that way, there would be a lot of seats empty at Lucas Oil Stadium. My only problem with the administrators is that they protect the people they agree with and let them call whatever names they like while I got a reprimand for calling some posters homers. If you are going to enforce something, do it fairly and make it work for all. I will adjust to that. I will resent the other..... ...

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                              Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                              The moderators shoulda banned his butt long ago simply for incessant and repetitive instigation with fellow fans, but since everything he does falls within the "rules", they can't.

                              We can't have any productive discussion about the Colts on this forum, simply because of one man. Ruins it. Every post starts off productive, and degrades when Blu takes it over talking about how much the Colts suck and how much Irsay sucks and how we're all homers.
                              I think most of us have him on ignore but new posters keep coming to PD and thinking it'll be fun to engage him. No way to stop that as long as he's here. Maybe we could get a software change to ignore posts that quote people on the ignore list.

                              But I wonder if "ignore" is the wrong strategy. Maybe we should all interact with him. Everyone have the same argument with him in every thread. Sort of a nuclear option to see who survives, PD or the troll.

                              But that being said, it's obvious that Shade is taking steps. Firing warning shots across his bow. Hopefully our long nightmare will soon be over.

                              Someone should change the title of this thread. It no longer applies.

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Re: Another Colts Trade - Could be big - Irsay Tweet

                                Originally posted by Bball View Post
                                You guys could try discussing things with him and pointing out when he's wrong, ignoring him, or just making jokes. Why get all worked up because Ol Blu thinks the Manning situation was handled wrong? Let him think what he wants to think.
                                You can't discuss anything with an irrational person. Ignoring doesn't prevent him from spamming the same thing into every thread. I can certainly let him think what he wants to think, (though he can't seem to give US the same courtesy). It's reminding us in EVERY thread regardless of the topic being discussed that's he problem.

                                Comment

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