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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

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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.

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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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"Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

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  • "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

    This topic was brought up in another thread. The suggestion was that the Pacers just need to go back to winning with class. I found that rather strange because here is how they used to win.

    Please define "winning with class" What does that mean.

    Hitting threes and glaring at the opponents bench. Hitting threes and getting into with the courtside fans. Hitting threes and grabbing your crotch. Beating your archrivals and screaming "chokers".

    Reggie did all those things in games the Pacers won. So is that winning with class.

    Please explain.

    My point is before we suggest the Pacers need to go back and win with class "like they used to" lets remember the way it was.

  • #2
    Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

    Originally Posted by sixthman
    I am not ashamed of the Indiana Pacers as a group or individually. Some of the young guys do need to better learn the ways of the world, but I think we have a good group of guys and what others think doesn't matter.

    What is important now is that when these guys get back together as a team, they need to go on a mission making the team more important than individual success. I think there is a chance that will happen. The best way to get the last laugh is to win and win with class. I think we can and will do that.


    I think you are mis-characterizing sixthmans post. At no point in there do I read where he said going back to winning with class. It says get back together as a team & go on a mission.

    I even went back & re-read my post to it to see if I accidently said go back to winning with class.

    I think your all upset over nothing on this one.


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

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

      One Mission is my sig

      see
      The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

        Oops - forgot I had more to say.

        I don't necessarily think we always won with class. Particularly in the past "couple of years". But I do think the Pacers have always been regarded as a class organization.
        The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

          I am not upset at all. I think many of us forget what some Pacer players did in the past. This is more for those who think the pacers franchise was so pure and clean until Artest arrived

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

            I may have been one of those who used that language.

            You make a good point. The Pacers have never played with John Wooden's stoic attitude and some of Reggie's histrionics had to be seen as pretty bush league, especially if you were not a Pacers fan.

            However, I think the Pacers are good enough now, and the setting is such, that the time is right for these guys, when they get back together, to just go out and get the job done without a lot of baiting and histrionics regarding referees and other players. That's the best way they can get even and the best way to restore their own personal images.

            By the way, the image haven't been tarnished with me in the slightest. I love these guys, warts and all. And, by and large, I think they have represented the Pacers very well, anyway.

            But let's face it, the image has probably taken a beating with most casual fans. I don't know how important that is anyway. One thing for sure: More people than ever are going to be following the Pacers and the team has undoubedly moved up the pecking order in desirability for boob tube exposure. As the Pacers make a run for the playoffs, I think national attention on the Pacers could be much improved. So: we need to play well and we need to play with a purpose.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

              Originally posted by Unclebuck
              I am not upset at all. I think many of us forget what some Pacer players did in the past. This is more for those who think the pacers franchise was so pure and clean until Artest arrived
              But the premise of your post is that somebody (sixthman) said that we need to go back to winning with class. He didn't say that. I've already quoted above what he did say.

              If you wanna go ahead & make the topic about did we always win with class then that is a differant topic.

              The answer is depends. Yes, I know that is gutless but it's a true statement.

              We only really ever won anything in the mid to late 90's so we can only go by their actions. So, no Reggie Miller did not always win with class & dignity. I used to gripe about him all of the time on the starnews board.

              However, there were people were players during that time frame that did express winning with class. Rik Smits never gloated over anybody. Satan to the best of my memory mocked nobody other than me. It could be argued that Jackson sometimes had a little bit if uncouthness in him with that dumb cross he made. Both Tony & Dale I thought were pretty classy in victory.

              Now you are gonna have to go ask ABAdays about the ABA days cause I was to young. But anything I've ever heard about back then tells me that Roger Brown was the essence of class. Same for Mel & Big Mac.

              So overall, yes as a franchise we have won with class.

              However our franchise player has not always done that.


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

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                To me, the casual fans only care about winning teams. As long as the team is winning, people will forget all that.

                The Stockton/Malone Utah team was one of the dirtiest teams in the history of NBA, but the team was successful. So whenever people talk about that team, is them playing dirty being the first thing in casual fans' mind? No. People only remember how good that team was. So as the Knicks in the 90s, people only remember their great defense but not them being dirty.

                I'm not saying we should not care about class, but I think at the end of the day, once the Pacers is winning again, or winning it all, people will forget about the whole thing.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                  It's interesting Wooden was brought up. You hardly ever saw him on the bench without a rolled up piece of paper. Rumor had it he would make disparaging remarks to other player about "not belonging on the same floor with his player". Rumors, of course but interesting.

                  Look, every team in every era has had it's times when it didn't win with class. But, I think the sum total is what is representative of an organization. I think the Pacers have always been regarding as "class" in that vein.

                  Shoot, the guy who could probably talk more trash than any of the players in the ABA days was Slick. Daniels was one of the great battlers in the history of the game so I'm sure he had his "say". I do think Roger Brown was one of the classiest guys in the game. I think he was truly thankful for his second chance and acted accordingly.
                  The best exercise of the human heart is reaching down and picking someone else up.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                    Originally posted by NewType
                    To me, the casual fans only care about winning teams. As long as the team is winning, people will forget all that.

                    The Stockton/Malone Utah team was one of the dirtiest teams in the history of NBA, but the team was successful. So whenever people talk about that team, is them playing dirty being the first thing in casual fans' mind? No. People only remember how good that team was. So as the Knicks in the 90s, people only remember their great defense but not them being dirty.

                    I'm not saying we should not care about class, but I think at the end of the day, once the Pacers is winning again, or winning it all, people will forget about the whole thing.

                    No casual fan ever talks about the Jazz.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                      Early in Reggie's career, many of us thought he was just a loudmouthed hotdog.

                      It took him six or seven years to start to back it up.

                      For every time Reggie did something boorish or less-than-perfect, he made up for it by showing class in so many other ways. The bowling event, visiting kids at Riley, representing his country on national teams more than once. Just because he wasn't perfect, and he occasionally displayed less class than he should have, doesn't make him or the Pacers un-classy.
                      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                      And life itself, rushing over me
                      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                        Originally posted by Jay@Section204

                        For every time Reggie did something boorish or less-than-perfect, he made up for it by showing class in so many other ways. The bowling event, visiting kids at Riley, representing his country on national teams more than once. Just because he wasn't perfect, and he occasionally displayed less class than he should have, doesn't make him or the Pacers un-classy.

                        Thank you, thank you, thank you. Finally someone said what I wanted someone to say. You are 100% correct. And that is why Kravitz comments bothered me and painting with a broad brush really bothers me.

                        We really don't know the players guys except what we see on the court, and it bothers me for people to draw conclusions about what the players are like in private by their public actions.

                        Thanks Jay

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                          Originally posted by sixthman
                          ....By the way, the image haven't been tarnished with me in the slightest. I love these guys, warts and all. And, by and large, I think they have represented the Pacers very well, anyway.

                          But let's face it, the image has probably taken a beating with most casual fans. I don't know how important that is anyway. One thing for sure: More people than ever are going to be following the Pacers and the team has undoubedly moved up the pecking order in desirability for boob tube exposure. As the Pacers make a run for the playoffs, I think national attention on the Pacers could be much improved. So: we need to play well and we need to play with a purpose.
                          Word... and good points....

                          Yeah the poor NBA had its image "tarnished" ... The image of pro sports and athletes has been tarnished for years... at worst this reconfirmed to those who already felt this way about athletes and sports ....but it also peaked the interest of the everyday person and media who don't normally follow or lost interest in basketball.... this at least shows players and fans still have some passion and sense of rivalry.

                          If you watch the brawl tape... you can see big smiles on everyones face from the press row up into the stands... people eat this **** up....only after Ron got hit and went into to the stands did you see any concern or fear come across anyones face.

                          I don't know who determines what playoff games get shown on national TV and such....but what is Stern and the NBA gonna do when/if the Pacers vs. Pistons series is on.... relegate it to NBATV... when it could garner some of the highest ratings (advertising dollars) in years. Don't tell me that companies would feel morally obligated to not advertise... in fear of their product being associated with the NBA... where the consumer eyeballs are focused... they will come... checks in hand.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                            Originally posted by btowncolt
                            You're still misinterpreting Kravitz, and his article today confirmed what I thought his comments yesterday meant. He isn't saying Ron is a bad person, bad father, or bad husbad. He's saying Ron's actions paint a negative light on the city and franchise no matter how good of people everyone else invovled is, something that's hard to deny given the backlash of his most recent action.
                            I agree with UB, myself and Btown.

                            Huh?

                            I read that column the same way Btown did - I just stood in line at the Union Station Corner Bakery behind two guys that were basically intimating that Indianapolis must be as bad of a place as Detroit for harboring/ encouraging/ cheering for these criminals. I think they're wrong, and if I were more aggressive with complete strangers I would've butted into their conversation, but I'm not sure that would have helped the matter any.
                            Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                            Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                            Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                            Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                            And life itself, rushing over me
                            Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                            Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: "Winning with class" did Pacers used to always win with class

                              Btown and Jay. I guess I am using Kravitz comment that perhaps I misinterpreted to make a larger point.

                              Comment

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