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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"

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"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

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  • Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

    http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...935EST0464.DTL

    Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

    By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
    AP Sports Writer

    INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird was shocked by the suspensions commissioner David Stern handed out to his three best players, but also accepted blame for their role in the brawl with Detroit fans.

    With the dust finally starting to settle on one of the worst cases of player-fan violence in U.S. sports history, Bird and Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh on Thursday evening reflected on a tumultuous 37 days since several Pacers players fought with Detroit Pistons fans on Nov. 19.

    Two days after the melee, Stern suspended Ron Artest for the remainder of the season (73 games), Stephen Jackson for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal for 25 and Anthony Johnson for five.

    Walsh said that while sitting in his office on Nov. 21, he expected "big games. I think I would've said 30 or 40 (for Artest) and then 10 or 15 (for Jackson and O'Neal)."

    "There was a rumor going around that it was 30-20-20 or 30-20-15, and I said, 'Wow man, he's really hitting these guys hard,'" Bird said. "That's excessive. But this? This is off the charts. This is a shocker.

    "We all thought they were so excessive, but especially Ronnie's," Bird said. "We're talking about 70 games."

    Arbitrator Roger Kaplan reduced O'Neal's suspension by 10 games, allowing him to play on Saturday in the rematch at home with the Pistons. The punishments for Artest and Jackson remained the same.

    A federal judge upheld Kaplan's ruling on Thursday, and the NBA will have to wait until next Thursday to argue its case again.


    "The team has spent the last month just basically trying to fight through an extremely difficult time," Walsh said. "Not just going out and playing games, being short-handed, but all this stuff flying around their head."

    While Bird and Walsh both said they thought Stern's punishment was excessive, they didn't shy away from the players' culpability.

    "Don't go in there. You don't do that. You do not go in the stands, for anything," Bird said. "Nobody ever sat us down (as players) and told us that, but we knew."

    Artest bolted to the stands to chase down a fan who he thought hit him in the face with a plastic cup. Jackson followed him in, swinging wildly at fans who were assaulting Artest.

    "We entered this not trying to throw blame on a lot of people, because we were wrong," Walsh said. "What we're trying to say is, we were wrong and we understand you had to act, but there were mitigating circumstances that could have mitigated the punishment you gave them."

    It left Bird to think about what might have been.

    "Had Ben (Wallace) and Ron squared off at center court and fought for whatever they fought for, 10 seconds, 15 seconds and both got suspended, it would have been the best thing that ever happened to this league," he said. "Nobody would have liked it, but they probably would have got five, 10 games maybe and then you move on."

    Instead, the Pacers have stumbled to a 5-10 record without their top three scorers and enter Saturday's game against the Pistons at 12-12.

    "You can't blame Stern for that, we got to blame ourselves somewhat," Bird said. "Guys did what they did."

  • #2
    Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

    That last line is perfect, and why I get tired of the popular notion around here to "blame Stern".

    Before you blame Stern for decimating the Pacers, make sure you attach sufficient blame to Ron, SJax & Co.
    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: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

      Good to hear from Bird, he has been very quiet

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

        Originally posted by Jay@Section204
        That last line is perfect, and why I get tired of the popular notion around here to "blame Stern".

        Before you blame Stern for decimating the Pacers, make sure you attach sufficient blame to Ron, SJax & Co.
        You cant blame Stern for suspending our players. You can blame him for making the suspensions excessively long.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

          Yeah, but even according to the arbitrator, only JO's punishment was excessively long. So you can only accuse Stern of excessive punishment for JO's ten extra games.
          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: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

            Originally posted by Jay@Section204
            Yeah, but even according to the arbitrator, only JO's punishment was excessively long. So you can only accuse Stern of excessive punishment for JO's ten extra games.


            So we have to agree with the arbitrator also ?.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

              Originally posted by skyfire
              You cant blame Stern for suspending our players. You can blame him for making the suspensions excessively long.
              Excessively long in what regard? All I see mentioned is comparison to other fighting incidents. That is irrelevant. What is at stake here is nothing less than the league's image. If an NBA arena becomes a place to be a afraid to go to, this league is dead.
              This is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY..

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                Originally posted by Unclebuck
                So we have to agree with the arbitrator also ?.
                You wanted an independent/ third party who allegedly was sympathetic to the union.

                The NBA/ Stern didn't even bother to show up and testify, and in spite of all that, Kaplan still felt the punishments, with one exception, were appropriate.

                So let me ask you, or anyone else: what will it take to convince you that the punishments were not excessive? Or will anything?
                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


                • #9
                  Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                  I dont think you should ever suspend a player for a full/rest of a season. Teams play seasons, players play games. If Stern wanted to make a massively excessive suspension then make it 100 games (regular season and playoffs inlcusive till its done), 72 games which just happens to be the rest of the season just wracks of penalizing the team, not the player.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                    I don't have any problem the the idea that if a player commits a major "crime" against his league that he's told to "go away and come back next season, if you're ready to grow up and accept your role as a representative of the league."
                    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


                    • #11
                      Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                      Jay, I was objecting to your statement, and I'll quote you, "So you can only accuse Stern of excessive punishment for JO's ten extra games."

                      So you are saying that my opinion that Ron's suspension was excessive is invalid because of what the arbitrator ruled. I believe the arbitrator is wrong.


                      Jay you also ask, what will it take to convice some of you that the suspensions were not excessive. The answer is nothing. I have seen the tape 100's of times, I know what went on and I believe the suspensions were way too long. I am making my own mind up. If Ron comes out tomorrow and says the suspensions were just, I would disagree with him too.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                        Tina and I were just discussing...

                        What if the league had shown up and testified...

                        Does Kaplan think that even longer punishments - I'm mostly talking about SJax but also perhaps Ron - could've been appropriate?
                        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


                        • #13
                          Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                          Originally posted by Jay@Section204
                          Tina and I were just discussing...

                          What if the league had shown up and testified...

                          Does Kaplan think that even longer punishments - I'm mostly talking about SJax but also perhaps Ron - could've been appropriate?


                          Perhaps, I don't have any idea. But don't tell me I have to agree with the arbitrator

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                            Originally posted by Unclebuck
                            Jay, I was objecting to your statement, and I'll quote you, "So you can only accuse Stern of excessive punishment for JO's ten extra games."

                            So you are saying that my opinion that Ron's suspension was excessive is invalid because of what the arbitrator ruled. I believe the arbitrator is wrong.


                            Jay you also ask, what will it take to convice some of you that the suspensions were not excessive. The answer is nothing. I have seen the tape 100's of times, I know what went on and I believe the suspensions were way too long. I am making my own mind up. If Ron comes out tomorrow and says the suspensions were just, I would disagree with him too.
                            No, that's a fine opinion, you're entitled to make your own conclusions and disagree with the arbitrator. I'm not trying to be an @$$ here but many were just assuming that the arbitrator would automatically conclude Ron's punishment was excessive and he didn't. So this isn't about "Stern hates the Pacers" as so many on here have concluded. Maybe, just maybe, the punishment fits the crime.
                            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: Bird calls NBA suspensions 'excessive'

                              Glad to finally hear from Bird!! His description of how things should've been handled is probably the best I've heard yet.

                              It is also a shame that he's right about Ron taking on Ben rather than backing down. This would've been better. But this isn't what the players are taught. They are taught to back down and not respond! The refs should've ejected Ben immediately and get the final 49 seconds over with quickly. THE NBA and its' related parties (refs and security) failed their OWN LEAGUE and were directly a party to this incident. Once they (THE NBA) failed, our Players also failed to keep themselves on the Damn court and as Donnie and Bird said we THEN had to be held accountable. BUT THERE IS NO RATIONAL REASON FOR THE SEVERITY!! NONE!! IMHO!!

                              Water

                              Comment

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