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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.

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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

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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James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

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  • James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

    James Harrison tweets his goodbye to the Steelers

    Posted by Darin Gantt on March 9, 2013, 11:50 AM EST

    AP
    For days, it’s been clear the Steelers and James Harrison weren’t getting anywhere in talks about lowering his salary/cap hit.

    So now the inevitable has apparently happened, with Harrison tweeting out his goodbye to Steelers fans.


    Harrison played well when he got well last year, but approaching 35 years old and with a $6.57 million salary, the Steelers did what they have done so many times — they walked away from one of their own sooner rather than later.
    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ry/rumor-mill/

  • #2
    Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

    This one hurts. Really hurts. It was completely expected, and has been rumored all week as they were clearly miles apart in contract renegotiations. But this guy has been one of the top five football players for several years until injuries caught up with him last season. While I liked Joey Porter more, this may sting a bit more because when we let Joey go, we had James waiting in the wings. No clue who will step up at this point...

    James' facebook post,

    "
    It's been a great run but all good things must come to a end. Thank you Steelers Nation I will miss you all!"
    Hines Ward's facebook post,

    "
    A big shout to James Harrison, aka DEBO. It's been a pleasure to have played with you. You're one special player. I know the rest of the AFC North offensive players are celebrating. Keep your head up. Whatever you decide to do my brother, I'll always be cheering for you. Much respect."

    He's just been one of my favorite players as he's extended the legacy of our LB factory. Lots of pressure on Jason Worlids to step up now... (and low expectations that he'll be the player we need over there.)

    Along with Gregg Lloyd and Joey, its been a lot of fun watching these guys dominate the game in the offensive backfield and truly disrupt a number of high octane offenses for the better part of 20 years.

    James' agent told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

    Parise declined to say how much salary the Steelers wanted to cut and how much Harrison was willing to give them, but maintained there is no ill feelings.

    "First and foremost, I think James understands it's a business. We're both hurt by this. You have to remember the Steelers are like a family and any of these types of separations are hurtful.

    "But James and I are very appreciative with the Steelers, the Rooneys and the opportunity they gave James. He had a very good run here. We really appreciate the love and we're sorry it's over.


    Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...#ixzz2N55R5YL3
    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


    • #3
      Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

      Several big name defensive players have left their longtime teams this off-season:

      Dwight Freeney
      James Harrison
      Ray Lewis (retired)
      Charles Woodson
      John Abraham

      Maybe Ed Reed soon?

      Am I leaving anyone out? I feel like I am.

      EDIT: Add Osi Umenyiora to that list.
      Last edited by Sollozzo; 03-09-2013, 09:53 PM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

        Per a league source, the Steelers offered a reduction of roughly 30 percent in Harrison’s base salary of $6.57 million, with an opportunity to earn the money back via incentives. (The specific terms of the incentives aren’t known.)

        http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-earn-it-back/

        I'm a little surprised that he would balk at the Steelers' fair offer before at least seeing what his market value is, but I guess it's possible that the "incentives" were that he put up Madden-like numbers.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

          He had said a while ago that he wasn't going to take a paycut. I think he would have restructured (as Ben and Timmons just did), but they didn't take pay cuts just shifted money to bonuses for cap reasons.

          I think he wants to test the waters, and I think there's a decent chance he's still wearing black and gold by fall if he figures out that he's overvalued himself.

          On the other hand, he's a young 34/35 by NFL standards, having gone undrafted and not playing many downs over his first four years because he couldn't get on the field ahead of Porter, Gildon, and Hagaans in their primes. And once his knee recovered from the surgery last season, he was as good as any LB in the league over the last six games or so of 2012.
          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


          • #6
            Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

            I'd rather the Colts sign this guy to a lower dollar short-term agreement than tie up lots of cap space in somebody like Krueger or Avril for the long-term.

            Outside pass rushers need to come from the draft otherwise teams usually end up overpaying.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

              Originally posted by Downtown Bang! View Post
              I'd rather the Colts sign this guy to a lower dollar short-term agreement than tie up lots of cap space in somebody like Krueger or Avril for the long-term.

              Outside pass rushers need to come from the draft otherwise teams usually end up overpaying.
              The same can be said about RT, RG, CB, and just about every position in th NFL if the player is a difference maker. The question is should the Colts spend big money of a couple free-agents and fill in with lower end players or create a lot of depth with several "middle the road" type players?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                Originally posted by troyc11a View Post
                The same can be said about RT, RG, CB, and just about every position in th NFL if the player is a difference maker. The question is should the Colts spend big money of a couple free-agents and fill in with lower end players or create a lot of depth with several "middle the road" type players?
                You can get a top flight guard or a very good RT for well under $5 MIL a year and lock them up long-term. The highest paid RT in the league now is Doug Free at $6.2 MIL and he got that money when playing LT.

                ILB's, Safeties, Centers, Guards all positions with a much better track record of providing long-term value when spending cap space in the free agent market.

                Outside pass rushers come at a premium and teams don't let them go unless there are issues or they have strong feelings about them being overvalued. Free agent cap space is better spent at certain positions. Free agent money spent on the high end QB's, CB's, DE/OLB's, RB's and WR's is historically a very poor investment. These positions are best filled through the draft. Even trades for these type players tend to be one sided and frequently don't turn out well for the team getting the big name guy.

                Any buyers remorse in Buffalo with Mario Williams right now? The Redskins and Pierre Garcon? Seahawks and Matt Flynn? Cowboys and Brandon Carr? Tampa and Eric Wright? Taking a quick look at last years "glamour position" free agent signings and basically the only ones that stand out as being worth the money would be Vincent Jackson & Manning and given the age and injury history of those guys either one could turn into a bust by the end of next year.
                Last edited by Downtown Bang!; 03-10-2013, 11:32 AM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                  Originally posted by Downtown Bang! View Post
                  You can get a top flight guard or a very good RT for well under $5 MIL a year and lock them up long-term. The highest paid RT in the league now is Doug Free at $6.2 MIL and he got that money when playing LT.

                  ILB's, Safeties, Centers, Guards all positions with a much better track record of providing long-term value when spending cap space in the free agent market.

                  Outside pass rushers come at a premium and teams don't let them go unless there are issues or they have strong feelings about them being overvalued. Free agent cap space is better spent at certain positions. Free agent money spent on the high end QB's, CB's, DE/OLB's, RB's and WR's is historically a very poor investment. These positions are best filled through the draft. Even trades for these type players tend to be one sided and frequently don't turn out well for the team getting the big name guy.

                  Any buyers remorse in Buffalo with Mario Williams right now? The Redskins and Pierre Garcon? Seahawks and Matt Flynn? Cowboys and Brandon Carr? Tampa and Eric Wright? Taking a quick look at last years "glamour position" free agent signings and basically the only ones that stand out as being worth the money would be Vincent Jackson & Manning and given the age and injury history of those guys either one could turn into a bust by the end of next year.
                  I was responding to your quote about overpaying by stating the Draft will almost always produce cheaper talent than Free Agency will - at every position. Think Luck makes more than $4mill if he is on the open market now?
                  In my post, I stated that I am of the opinion NOT to overspend on a Free Agent and spread the money out to provide depth. But any strong pass rushing OLB in the draft will probably be long gone before we pick. I bet Griggs spends the money for a G and OLB. Would be shocked if he doesnt

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                    He's going to regret not taking Pitt's offer:

                    Although the agent for free agent linebacker James Harrison says the door is open to a return to Pittsburgh, the Steelers apparently don’t agree.

                    Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers have informed Harrison that they no longer are interested in him playing for them in 2013.


                    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ot-interested/

                    He should have gauged the interest from other teams before completely rejecting Pitt's very fair 30% pay cut.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                      http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/91...ng-deal-source

                      Bengals try to sign James Harrison


                      James Harrison, Bengals Working On Deal

                      The Cincinnati Bengals and former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison will try to complete a deal this week, a source familiar with situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

                      [+] Enlarge
                      Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
                      James Harrison has long been a thorn in the side of AFC North quarterbacks, such as the Bengals' Andy Dalton, pictured. He might soon be a player Ben Roethlisberger has to worry about as well.
                      Harrison and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby each visited Cincinnati last week, and while the Bengals are interested in Dansby, a deal with Harrison seems more attainable and realistic at this time.

                      The Bengals have a need at outside linebacker, as 2012 starter Manny Lawson signed with the Buffalo Bills this offseason.

                      The 34-year-old Harrison, who was set to make $6.57 million in 2013, was released by the Steelers last month after refusing to take a pay cut. His agent said his client would be open to a return to the Steelers, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the team is not interested in a reunion.

                      Harrison was meeting with the Baltimore Ravens on the same day Baltimore reached agreement with linebacker Elvis Dumervil, which ended the team's interest in signing Harrison. Otherwise he has received little interest from teams looking for a linebacker.

                      Harrison missed the first three games of the 2012 season with a minor knee injury but was one of Pittsburgh's steadiest performers over the second half of the year. He finished with six sacks, tied for the team lead, and a pair of forced fumbles as the Steelers finished No. 1 in total defense for the fourth time since Harrison became a starter.

                      He has 64 career sacks and was named The Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 after finishing with a career-best 16 sacks.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                        Man the Bengals could be good this year
                        Smothered Chicken!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: James Harrison has been released by the Steelers

                          Originally posted by Coopdog23 View Post
                          Man the Bengals could be good this year
                          It seems like I've heard that a lot in recent seasons, yet they never win anything more than ten games and always lose their first playoff game. I won't stay awake at night worrying about them, that's for sure.

                          Comment

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