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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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Stern to retire

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  • #61
    Re: Stern to retire

    Originally posted by imbtyler View Post
    Could Adam Silver be the NBA's Frank Vogel?
    Isn't Frank Vogel the NBA'a Frank Vogel?

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Stern to retire

      If someone would have told anyone back in 1983 that the NBA Finals someday would get higher TV ratings than the World Series, they would have put that person into a mental hospital. And yet the NBA Finals routinely beats the World series. This year through the first two games of each NBA Finals has outdrawn WS by 25%.

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Stern to retire

        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
        I do wonder if Stern has properly indoctrinated Silver on how to fix games. We wouldn't want the "wrong teams" in the NBA Finals now would we.
        While I will never think the NBA is on the same level as WWE, I find it funny (especially after the Tim D. mess) that people still mock those who question the integrity of the league.

        But that is a thread for another day

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Stern to retire

          How much of that is because baseball world series viewing figures have dropped by about 20 million (even though the population has grown by about 70 million) since 1983? Still, we've had this argument before, NBA finals ratings have been lower every years since 1998 than they were in 1982. Stern is a first class A-hole who has been horrible for the game for the last 12 years (and I would agree very good for it until about 1997.) Still, I hear the only reason he's leaving is because he got an offer to oversee the building of a death star.
          Danger Zone

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Stern to retire

            Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
            If someone would have told anyone back in 1983 that the NBA Finals someday would get higher TV ratings than the World Series, they would have put that person into a mental hospital. And yet the NBA Finals routinely beats the World series. This year through the first two games of each NBA Finals has outdrawn WS by 25%.
            I was a far bigger baseball fan than basketball many years ago. There are several reasons what you describe happened and most of it has nothing to do with David Stern. The strike turned off an entire generation of baseball fans. This wiki is worth reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994%E2...aseball_strike

            I was a huge Reds fan. The Cincinnati Reds were having their best season in over a decade and the strike ended the season in August after following 114 games. They were headed to the world series. Mind you, people followed them religiously not just for those 114 games but for years. It was so bad that I have not looked at a box score in nearly 20 years and the only player I can even name in the league is Derrick Jeter and I don't even know if that's the correct spelling.

            In fact, I am an NBA basketball fan mostly because of the MLB strike.

            Second, our culture has changed. People don't have the patience to watch a slower paced 2 or 3 hour game. Everything today has to be immediate.

            Third, Michael Jordan stood on the shoulders of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to bring the league to another level. Movies and McJordan burgers brought the league more notoriety.

            Sure, Stern might have made adjustments on top of all that to improve the NBA's TV ratings. But there are a lot of other factors involved.

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Stern to retire

              Originally posted by Heisenberg View Post
              NFL.
              So all lockouts are the same?
              Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

              Comment


              • #67
                Re: Stern to retire

                I love Stern's personality and agree with most of what he's done. He's made a few mistakes along the way, sure, but who hasn't. I hope he stays involved with the league and I can't wait for the inevitable memoir and whatever league award they decide to name after him. The David Stern Executive of the Year Award brought presented by Kia.

                Comment


                • #68
                  Re: Stern to retire

                  David Stern is without question the best commissioner currently in North American sports. You have to look at the big picture, not a myopic view such as, he hurt the Pacers after the brawl. First, that is one decision in a 30 year career. Second, the Commishioners job is to protect the league, not protect each team in the league. If you can't see past the Pacers, and look at how the league has changed, I can't help you. Also, saying that the league would have grown without Stern is laughable at best. Who was bigger to their sport, MJ or Gretzky? What did Jordan do that Gretzky didn't? Maybe some of you should give Stern a lot more credit.

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Hockey is never going to be as popular as basketball in America, just as basketball will never surpass football.

                    Now, basketball and baseball are very comparable, especially on the world stage. The nba has done far better than baseball at capitalizing on that, IMO.

                    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Re: Stern to retire

                      Originally posted by kent beckley View Post
                      David Stern is without question the best commissioner currently in North American sports. You have to look at the big picture, not a myopic view such as, he hurt the Pacers after the brawl. First, that is one decision in a 30 year career. Second, the Commishioners job is to protect the league, not protect each team in the league. If you can't see past the Pacers, and look at how the league has changed, I can't help you. Also, saying that the league would have grown without Stern is laughable at best. Who was bigger to their sport, MJ or Gretzky? What did Jordan do that Gretzky didn't? Maybe some of you should give Stern a lot more credit.
                      Considering his competition, being the best isn't impressive at all. And its not that Stern hurt the Pacers. Stern hurt small market teams, while continuing to add more small market teams. Helping to build to this point where the NBA is in 3rd place behind both MLB and NFL.

                      25 teams out of 30 every year can't know they have no shot of winning a title and expect a league to be a success. You have to have some shred of parity. Baseball and Football have over half their fanbases at the beginning of the year, believing they can win a title. Get to the playoffs, then anything can happen. Where as in the NBA is crazy easy to get to the playoffs, but so hard for all but a handful of superstar laden big market teams to get through it.

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        You're assuming that all 4 major sports commissioners are incompetent.

                        I don't think you realize exactly how hard it is to do the job well, let alone to sustain it for 30 years.

                        Here's a hint: if the fans all love you, you're probably not very good at your job.

                        You're also comparing apples to oranges. It is far harder for one or two players to impose their will in a baseball or nfl playoff. In the nba, where only 5 players play at a time, it's much easier.

                        If the nba wants to legislate parity, they have to change the rules of basketball. Jordan is still Jordan, no matter if he plays in Chicago or Minnesota. Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan, no matter if he plays in San Antonio or New York. The small market thing is just a crutch.
                        Last edited by Kstat; 10-26-2012, 01:35 PM.

                        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Re: Stern to retire

                          Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                          You're assuming that all 4 major sports commissioners are incompetent.

                          I don't think you realize exactly how hard it is to do the job well, let alone to sustain it for 30 years.

                          Here's a hint: if the fans all love you, you're probably not very good at your job.
                          Hockey is not a major sport. At this point if you want to refer to the 4 Major Sports, one of them is the MLS and lol that. Its the 3 Major Sports.

                          See the problem here is, that just because the fans hate you. Doesn't mean you are doing a good job.

                          Goodell seems to simply chase issues nobody cares about. His punishments are completely arbitrary and seems to be based on how much punishment would hurt the league. Which I guess is fine if you just came out and said that.

                          Selig is a moron. Single Elimination in BASEBALL WTF. Not to mention letting an all-star exhibition affect the World Series. And so many other little things. Not the least of which was pretending like PEDs weren't an issue.

                          Whoever the NHL Commissioner is, they just canceled games for the second time in less than a decade. Even if he is good at his job. He has to take some flak for that.

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Hockey is not a major sport TO YOU.

                            In some places in America, basketball isn't a major sport, either.

                            I'm not saying stern was great because people hated him. I'm saying he was great because he did a great job. You're basing your opinion of his career on your personal dislike for him. My point was that you aren't really supposed to base it on that.
                            Last edited by Kstat; 10-26-2012, 01:41 PM.

                            It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                            Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                            Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                            NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Re: Stern to retire

                              It wasn't Jordan, it was Bird and Magic. I am also pretty sure basketball has always been more popular than hockey. There were more people craving exciting basketball than craving exciting hockey.

                              Most of what has happened to increase the NBA's popularity had more to do with Bird and Magic than Stern. Sure Stern helped, but don't ever value a single executive over the players and the sport.

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Re: Stern to retire

                                Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                                Hockey is not a major sport TO YOU.

                                In some places in America, basketball isn't a major sport, either.

                                I'm not saying stern was great because people hated him. I'm saying he was great because he did a great job. You're basing your opinion of his career on your personal dislike for him. My point was that you aren't really supposed to base it on that.
                                Hockey is not a major sports. Major sports don't have a lockout every time their CBA expires. Major Sports don't get out attended by MLS. Thats barely a top 10 soccer league, having better attendance than it.

                                In America. You have the NFL. Then quite a ways below that, you have Baseball and Basketball, MLB and NBA that is. Then significantly below that. Is MLS and the NHL.

                                There are parts of the country where NHL is popular. But not enough for ESPN to show their games apparently.

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