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

OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

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

  • #16
    Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

    Originally posted by Unclebuck
    Kstat, you have been one of my very favorite posters ever since you came aboard. You are as knowledgeable as anyone on here. It was fun meeting you last year, yopu semed like a great guy.

    What I am about to say is not politically correct espeically in Indy right now. But I went to a Pacers v Pistons game at the Palace in March of '03, and I thought the fans I spoke with, sat near, and saw seemed like very good fans who were well behaved. I never felt like I should not have been there. of course I was about 5 rows off the floor across from the Pistons bench. But I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Palace. Much better than Gund Arena, United Centrer or Bradley Center.

    But I was bothered by the obnoxious behavior of Pistons fans at Conseco in the ECF last year.
    Yeah, but U.B. I bet you set with your arms folded & were nice & quiet during the game. I would be willing to further bet that everytime the Pistons traveled or turned it over or lost a board you didn't stand up & yell IIIIInnnnnnndddiiiiaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a bbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasketttttttttttttttttt ttttbaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllll.

    Detroit fans are fine by me, but when you are in somebody else's house it's just my opinion you respect them. Doesn't mean you don't cheer your team, but you don't tell everybody around you all about it if you are winning.

    I go back to my old theory when I told PFFL the same thing years ago when he was going to philly games, you never p!ss in another mans cornflakes, it's just not right.

    As to Kstat, I'm not sure why you are making this post, I must have missed something. But I don't feel there is a need for you to explain yourself. I've never considered you a troll. A Detroit homer? Of course, but a realistic one. Hell we're all homers in our own way.

    You think you got it bad, try being a Pacers fan who understands why the NBA did what did. Nobody as of yet has questioned my loyalty, but I'm sure it's coming.

    To me there is enough blame to go around so Detroit gets a black eye & Indiana gets a black eye.

    BTW, I don't know if I agree with you that in 8 months everything will be ok. Sometimes you only get one shot at a title & who knows this might have been the year. We may never have Artest on our team again & if everybody else around here is right that alone will mean we can't win a title. So we may go years with mediocrity, then again we may not. Only time will tell.

    Does it really matter what the rep. is for Detroit to outside fans? People will think what they want it doesn't really matter.


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

      Listen, special K-stat isn't that special. I read some of those things he was fighting 'fire' with. He seems like the proto-typical Pistons fan. Probably a decent guy at work and all, but wait till his team gets it *** handed to them on a stick (like the Pacers recently did to them), and he'll start chucking insults. There have been plenty of people tossed from this forum for a lot less than what special K has been up to.

      I thought equal treatment was part of this board.

      Toss K-stat.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

        Kstat, I respect your basketball mind and your point of view, although we don't agree on some issues. However, as Alabama-Redneck said, sometimes your timing is kind of bad. To a lot of us, it really rubs us the wrong way. However, in general, it's all good.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

          Stat, I'd just like to say a few things about the city of Detroit. For starters, I have seen no evidence to indicate that THe BrAwl has set the city's reputation back in mind's of most Americans. Yeah, there were a few a-holes who wrote columns along the lines of "Only in Detroit," but the general consensus seems to be that fans across the country need to be better behaved.

          But let's face some facts here, Detroit ain't exactly turned itself into a utopia. Have you been catching those Free Press columns this week entitled "Homicide in Detroit: Echoes of Violence?" Detroit has a bad rap for a reason -- it's a hell hole in many places. Poster Los Angeles hit it dead on when he called it one of the great urban tragedies.

          I think all the murder, poverty, desolation, grime and dirty politics do more to hurt Detroit than this brawl did. It would be naive to blame this stupid basketball fight for any ounce of Detroit's negative reputation.

          In order to cover all the bases, let me say that the entire Metro area, however, is rather decent, and is obviously extraordinarily nice in many places. But the decency of the metro area will always be overshadowed by its mostly bleak heart, Detroit, the place where all roads meet.

          So I don't know why you're hurt by this brawl, Kstat. Our fans screwed up, and then some Pacers screwed up, and now Pacer fans are watching some guy named Edwards play in a Pacers uniform, which leads me to conclude that Pacer fans are suffering more than anyone else. Why are you, a Piston fan, suffering? Because Detroit has sustained a blow to its reputation? HA! No, I don't buy that.

          Sure, it's ironic that Pacer fans embrace Artest despite his immaturity, which is the same reason they hate Piston fans, but that's an argument for a different day. Overall, Pacer fans should not have to listen to any of us say that we're suffering just the same as they are.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

            Our fans screwed up, and then some Pacers screwed up, and now Pacer fans are watching some guy named Edwards play in a Pacers uniform,
            +++++++++++++++++

            Perhaps they should throw the doors open and let us in for free for a while.
            Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

              You are correct Peck, I was very respectful of the fact that I was sitting among Pistons fans. I believe in being respectful so when the Pacers won that game I very calmly worked out with a smile on my face. Most people sitting near me likely had no idea I was a Pacers fan. I did cheer some in the 4th when the Pacers pulled it out,

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                kstat, in reading the threads from what I've seen, most of the posters who've been really flaming you have been screwballs. Not sure why you bothered replying but that's your business.

                I will mention that during the 90's I often had nosebleed seats in MSA during the playoffs - got some pretty rude comments and the occasional beer shower there.

                In 2000 at Conseco I didn't get the same treatment - not sure if the new arena civilized people or what.

                During the season I generally get better seats for Knick games and if I often get to sit next to someone pretty knowledgable who I can actually talk basketball with.

                Detroit may be a bit worse than other places but it's pretty much the same all over. You pack 18,000 of anything in one place and there will be a few bad ones.
                The poster formerly known as Rimfire

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                  Besides, everyone knows that it's Philly fans that are the worst thugs.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                    Originally posted by Peck
                    Yeah, but U.B. I bet you set with your arms folded & were nice & quiet during the game. I would be willing to further bet that everytime the Pistons traveled or turned it over or lost a board you didn't stand up & yell IIIIInnnnnnndddiiiiaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a bbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasketttttttttttttttttt ttttbaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllll.

                    Detroit fans are fine by me, but when you are in somebody else's house it's just my opinion you respect them. Doesn't mean you don't cheer your team, but you don't tell everybody around you all about it if you are winning.
                    Amen.

                    At game 5 last year they were so freaking obnoxious. Did they do this during games 1 and 2 also? Pissing in our cornflakes, is right on. It is testimony to the good fans that we have here that there was no violence. I have a hard time believing after the brawl we saw in Detroit, their fans would have been so forgiving. Especially during the ECF. Especially during a blow out. Especially after winning on the road to tie the series up.

                    For those that didn't experience this, it was about 10-15 (I think, Peck correct me if I'm wrong) Detroit fans, including one or two with brightly colored bozo-like afro wigs . Chanting over and over and over and over and over:
                    Deeeeeeeeetrooooooooooit Baaaaaaaaaaasketballlllll.

                    They chanted that in the stands, over and over and over again. Then they chanted it in the corridor/hallway/whatever you call it around the arena, over and over and over, as the Pacer fans were exiting all around them.

                    Made me want to puke.

                    As far as I saw they were left alone to do their thing.

                    Oh yeah, and Kstat you are ok and I hope that you continue to dpost on here. I enjoy reading your posts (usually).

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                      Kstat - a few things.

                      I think game 5 was my worst sports memory - my 7 year old was visiting Conseco for the first time, after attending many games in other arenas (Boston, NY, NJ) and we were treated to the most obnoxious Pistons fans behind us. This is after I tought him to respect that you are in another team's house - root for your team, but do not disrespect the people in the seats next to you. I did also see the group you refer to - classless.

                      I know Detroit. I was born there and spent more Thanksgivings than I can count in the Pontiac Silverdome. They have earned their reputation. They embrace being the Bad Boys - just listen to the announcer at the Palace.

                      NOW - as far as reputation. I am in Connecticut and continue to wear the Pacers colors. And I get comments - are you going to try and kick my ***... you guys are a bunch of thugs... and lots of things I should not type here. My point is that the Pacers and Indy are scarred - which is a shame - because the damn mess happened in Detroit.

                      On a personal note towards you Kstat - I have said that it is my opinion that you lay low a bit and be a bit more defferential to the depressed and angry Pacers fans. Becuase we are - at least most of us are. Our season has been taken from us. I can't even bring myself to watch... because we have some guy named Edwards suited up.

                      You said that night in the chat room - afater the brawl, directly to me - that nothing that happens in November would ruin the Pacers championship hopes. I wonder what you think now, because you were dead wrong. I still cannot get over the irony that bad behaavior by your fans has led to eliminating your most worthy opponent. I think we could almost live with it more if it was in another arena - because the irony is killing us.
                      Heywoode says... work hard man.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                        Remember It's a Pacer board.... you have good comments to make with an interesting perspective... but when you come in here with the attitude of a Laker/Yankee/Cowboy fan ...with that sense of entitlement... you can F-off.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                          I think we just all need to keep in mind that in the heat of those first few days we were all on edge. I kept out of any discusion with Kstat at the time because I respect his opinions and I knew that this was dynamite and should be left alone for a few days.

                          One of the things that I love about this board (other than the spectacular job the mods do of rooting out the trolls) is that we do have fans from other teams and we for the most part are not total homers.

                          When something like this happens of course we are going to want to defend our guys and of course Kstat is going to want to defend his home.

                          If it had happened in Philly there would be some people shouting at Dipperdunk and it would not be any more his fault than it was Kstat's

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                            K-Stat As I have told you before it sad that maybe 50 people out of what 20000 can represen you. I know better. Also what is the address for your board? From what I have of you you are knowlegable of basketball hang in there things will settle down

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                              KStat 90% of the time you aren't a homer. You don't have to try to start a thread to explain yourself. I think most of the knowledgeable posters on this board think you are OK.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: OK, here goes, anyone that has taken issue with me, read up

                                Well, I didn't start this thread by choice: it was REQUESTED of me, in the best interests of the board, so I obliged.

                                as for my Pistons forum:: you can fidn it here at http://wc4.worldcrossing.com/webx/?1...hxZW5@.eebaada

                                However, there are some guidelines you MUST READ FIRST.

                                First of all, its a worldcrossing board, which means in about 3 days it will become a PAYSITE. The cost? $12 a year. You can still register and view the board, but unpaid users will be limited to 10 posts a day.


                                Now, when you first look at the site, you'll laugh. Yes, we actually PAY for a site that looks like it was designed in 1982. We had the option to find a new home, but our membership voted unanimously to stay. We don't do it for the site, we do it because it's a very simple, easy site to navagate, and our membership has been around for years. Also, we WILL be getting some extra frills as a result of the fee, but those aren't getting installed till later.

                                Secondly, we're not PD. We don't PRETEND to be PD. Vulgarity and profanity ARE allowed here. thats because %95 of our members are adults, and its easier to vent that way. I don't approve of vulgar insults between members, but it happens. To an outsider, it may look like flaming, but typically we're just messing with each other. And sometimes, it has been WARRENTED (like the pacer fan who made fun of Ben Wallace's dead brother).

                                I remember last year some of our members tried to post on PD and were removed, because they weran't used to the more stringent rules on language. You may find the same difficulty in adjusting to the Pistons forum's more lax rules on conduct. Just a warning.

                                Despite the fact its a pretty loose board, you'll find a lot of guys are old timers that REALLY know their stuff. Most of us have been basketball fans since the early 70's.

                                well, thats about it.

                                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

                                Working...
                                X