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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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Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

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  • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

    Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
    I question that we are bottom 5. Is he going by viewers or by rating. A 2.4 rating in NYC is 10 times more viewers than a 2.4 rating in Indy. Viewers? sure we are probably close to bottom 5. Ratings? I doubt it, but I don't have the stats to prove one way or the other
    I agree with the sentiment that we need to find out. I'm not sure what study he was citing but it would be great if someone could track it down or post it if they already know.



    Sookie, the problem is that in Indiana it takes A LOT MORE WINNING to get fans on board. If Sacto, Charlotte, Memphis, Portland or Millwaukee had this team with it's current run, they'd be selling out a lot more games and would have a lot more attendance at this point.

    Speaking of Portland, I love the "well they don't have other sports entertainment options"...um, no kidding, they have a MASSIVE advantage in outdoors and cultural entertainment options which is far worse. Cowherd's point was "what the hell are you doing in Indianapolis in the winter because it's not like there are entertainment options around the block." He's right. We don't have the level of cinema or arts options that a lot of other cities have, and the fans not going to Pacers games aren't going to the ISO anyway. We don't have many good, non-strip mall style restaurants, which was his whole dig that when you come to Indy everyone says "you have to go to St. Elmos" because that's the end-all, be-all of "things to do in Indy besides the track". (personally I prefer Mo's and used to prefer Dunaways, but only hardcore downtown types know about them)

    Comment


    • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

      Why are you comparing Al Unser Jr. to Lance or any other Indianapolis athlete Seth lol. I doubt the average Hoosier would even consider Little Al a local anymore. The 500 is just a party now.


      Comment


      • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

        Here is an article about the local TV ratings from last year - including playoffs.

        http://www.ibj.com/local-market-tune.../article/34539

        The Indiana Pacers grabbed the attention of a big chunk of the local TV market on Sunday, drawing nearly 10 times the audience they did for their regular-season games.

        After several years of struggles, the Pacers have packed Bankers Life Fieldhouse each of the last two home games in their second-round National Basketball Association playoff series with the Miami Heat, and television ratings are back to numbers not seen in years.

        Sunday’s game, which aired on WRTV-TV Channel 6, drew an 18.2 rating, according to New York-based Nielsen Media Research. That means about 195,200 central Indiana households tuned in. Nielsen reported that 36.1 percent of central Indiana households watching TV from 3:30 p.m. to just after 6 p.m. were tuned into the game, which the Pacers lost, 101-93.

        Those are numbers that rival viewership for Indianapolis Colts regular-season games.

        For the regular season, the Pacers averaged a 2.4 rating, or about 25,730 households on Fox Sports Indiana.

        As the team has improved the last two seasons, its TV ratings have been slowly building.

        This year’s regular-season ratings were up 12 percent over the 2010-2011 season, which was up 35 percent over the 2009-2010 season. The Pacers are one of a small handful of NBA teams that have seen double-digit TV-ratings increases the last two seasons.

        But Sunday’s audience was a giant leap.

        “Those were huge numbers for an NBA game,” said WRTV spokesman Paul Montgomery.

        The game helped WRTV beat its network-affiliate competitors on Sunday afternoon. During the same time slot, WISH-TV Channel 8 registered a 1.4 rating for the Byron Nelson Classic golf match and WTHR-TV Channel 13 scored a 0.1 rating in the local market for a National Hockey League playoff game, according to Nielsen.

        Local market tunes in Pacers playoff in 'huge' numbers

        Comment


        • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

          Originally posted by cinotimz View Post
          As for being rude and insulting, I find the initial spam posting very rude and insulting. And its very clear im not the only one. The fact that you as an admin and founder allow such when its not even coming from a poster or sportswriter etc is irresponsible in my eyes. But hey, thats me. You have gone to great lengths at times to keep the site clean.
          Oh man are you going to start talking about taking your grandkids for ice cream next?

          Comment


          • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

            The Colts get more rope to hang themselves with because of 2 things.

            1.) They won a lot more recently. Including that ever important championship.

            2.) It had nothing to do with helmets. It has everything to do with a roster of 53 vs. a roster of 14


            Comment


            • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

              i dont think thats whats happening here...cause those people would usually just stay quiet...i know i would...so that leaves us with folks that are just flat out defiant....they say thyre fans and spend alot of time on the message board
              I agree. There does seem to be this underlying "you can't make me" attitude where they refuse to support the team. They cite the Reggie teams yet this team to me is just as likeable and so far less trouble (ahem GOLD CLUB...sorry Antonio and Reggie, but dang). So it's not really like they are waiting for another team like them. It's almost more like "I did my duty and went to games for a couple of years, so leave me alone".


              They are missing the fundamental point which is "um, we are really just trying to give you the chance to have some FUN". Sorry to bother you, thought you might like to get outside and see the sun a little.

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              • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
                We don't have many good, non-strip mall style restaurants
                That's simply not true. Indy has a "Chain City USA" reputation, and it certainly has a lot of chains as does any metro with 1 million plus residents, but there are a TON of unique, locally owned mom and pop type joints. You just have to know where to look. West 38th street has an incredible selection of ethnic restaurants (Ethiopian, Peruvian, Cuban, etc). There's that great Greek Islands on S. Meridian, as well as Santorini in Fountain Square. There is a Turkish place on S. East St near Lilly that is incredible. There's a Moroccan place just north of downtown. There's Kountry Kitchen on N. College. I could go on and on and on about unique little restaurants in Indy. Downtown is certainly filled with chains, but if you get away from downtown then you can find some great unique joints. The Indy restaurant scene is always improving.
                Last edited by Sollozzo; 02-22-2013, 04:27 PM.

                Comment


                • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                  Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
                  And as Cowherd points out the Colts have had more problems than the Pacers in total. When Mike Doss literally did the EXACT SAME THING as Jackson did at Rio (
                  Actually the biggest problem was the Pacers were strapped with keeping players that get into trouble and the Colts had the advantage of cutting bait. It really is that simple. I can give you an example when Dungy was still coach. A certain player that had been drafted got cut within 3 days of camp starting. Wasn't cause he was hurt or playing bad in that short time. Nah, he was stupid enough to sneak a female into one of the camp residence halls and got caught during a bed check. Colts were nice and didn't kick him out at the time of discovery 1:10am. They had him packed up and gone by 6:30am.

                  I reckon if the Pacers had the same parameters as the Colts things would be completely different. Fans probably don't even realize that and give the Colts the benefit of the doubt because the knuckle heads are usually gone within a years time while the Pacer get stuck with them.
                  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


                  • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                    Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
                    I agree with the sentiment that we need to find out. I'm not sure what study he was citing but it would be great if someone could track it down or post it if they already know.



                    Sookie, the problem is that in Indiana it takes A LOT MORE WINNING to get fans on board. If Sacto, Charlotte, Memphis, Portland or Millwaukee had this team with it's current run, they'd be selling out a lot more games and would have a lot more attendance at this point.

                    Speaking of Portland, I love the "well they don't have other sports entertainment options"...um, no kidding, they have a MASSIVE advantage in outdoors and cultural entertainment options which is far worse. Cowherd's point was "what the hell are you doing in Indianapolis in the winter because it's not like there are entertainment options around the block." He's right. We don't have the level of cinema or arts options that a lot of other cities have, and the fans not going to Pacers games aren't going to the ISO anyway. We don't have many good, non-strip mall style restaurants, which was his whole dig that when you come to Indy everyone says "you have to go to St. Elmos" because that's the end-all, be-all of "things to do in Indy besides the track". (personally I prefer Mo's and used to prefer Dunaways, but only hardcore downtown types know about them)
                    Yea, but those places don't have the history with the team that Indiana does.

                    Prove that this team isn't "Miami's *****es" in the playoffs, and the fans will come.

                    You could be right, and it could take more in Indiana. But this team hasn't been at a "great" level long enough for it to catch on.

                    If the Pacers beat Miami in the playoffs, and still have an attendance issue, then I'll agree. But this team hasn't proven..to the casual fan..that it's great yet.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                      Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                      The Colts get more rope to hang themselves with because of 2 things.

                      1.) They won a lot more recently. Including that ever important championship.

                      2.) It had nothing to do with helmets. It has everything to do with a roster of 53 vs. a roster of 14
                      I disagree with #2. The helmets is a major part of it. Most casual fans couldn't spot a non-star Colt if they saw them in public. Heck, we saw them at a hotel (we were at wedding) having the before game dinner (teams stay in hotels the night before games traditionally) and I was embarrassed that I was having trouble identifying some of the various DBs at one table (we were looking in through open door and waving - geek out).

                      When Colts fans picture a typical player they picture the uniform, not his face.

                      A lot of Colts players are able to go to Pacers games and go mostly unnoticed.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                        So if the football players didn't wear helmets you would be able to identify them on the street? I doubt it. There are A LOT of them.

                        If you want to get down to the physical feature that makes most bball guys easy to recognize over a football players, it's not race, it's height.

                        And again there are FIFTY THREE of them. When they stand on the sidelines, it is a giant mob. On a basketball bench, there is no place to hide. NBA guys could start wearing helmets tomorrow and they would still be easier to recognize.


                        Comment


                        • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                          Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                          So if the football players didn't wear helmets you would be able to identify them on the street? I doubt it. There are A LOT of them.

                          If you want to get down to the physical feature that makes most bball guys easy to recognize over a football players, it's not race, it's height.

                          And again there are FIFTY THREE of them. When they stand on the sidelines, it is a giant mob. On a basketball bench, there is no place to hide. NBA guys could start wearing helmets tomorrow and they would still be easier to recognize.
                          You would have a much better chance, yes.

                          Agreed on the height, though.
                          Passion. Pride. Patience. Pacers

                          Comment


                          • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                            Ok let's just slap helmets on the Pacers....sell outs....every night. I mean listen to yourselves lol.


                            Comment


                            • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                              Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                              Ok let's just slap helmets on the Pacers....sell outs....every night. I mean listen to yourselves lol.
                              I don't think we are arguing the same point, apparently. No one is saying that. But if you don't normally see a guy's face of course your chance of recognizing him on the street is much lower.

                              But yes, I think Tyler should wear a helmet.
                              Passion. Pride. Patience. Pacers

                              Comment


                              • Re: Fan to Pacers: Maybe we're just not that into you.

                                I honestly don't know.

                                We like to act on here that the Pacers have been uber successful for so long and it's unbelievable people aren't back yet.

                                No, not really.

                                We were a .500 team that was first round fodder just two years ago. Who cares if we played hard, we were still first round fodder.

                                Last year, we were good, but the league hurt us with the lock out. Don't think the lock out didn't turn off fans as well.

                                This is really the FIRST year the Pacers are good and haven't had the NBA dicking around. Attendance is up. Season tickets are up. The signs are all positive.

                                Marketing, race, ticket price, black, yellow, purple, orange, white, whatever.

                                Just ****ing win, baby.


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