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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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Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

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  • #16
    Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

    Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
    Maybe these gals should look at the history before bailing from ESPN. Beadle, Rachel Nichols ............ the little cuties that have left ESPN are, well, pretty much insignificant now. They should quit thinking of themselves as real sports people and understand that they are simply there for the male viewing audience.
    Erin Andrews left, gets more money, hosts Fox's college football show rather than being just the side line girl, and gets to work other sports throughout the year like the World Series.

    Beadle leaves, gets more money, gets her own show, and gets to host Extra (i think its Extra) as well.

    Rachel Nichols leaves, gets more money, gets to work the NBA Playoffs and I'm pretty sure she is getting her own show as well.

    If you think these are insignificant, well you are just wrong.
    ESPN isn't all its cracked up to be as well. Things are a bit unstable in Bristol actually. ESPN has spent so much money on TV contracts and they are feeling it. They've laid off a ton of people the past month or so and have been losing talent to FOX/CBS/NBC for the past year. Those three networks are all making a bigger push into sports coverage. ESPN will always be top dog, but people have grown tired of shows like First Take. I expect to see more talent leave for FOX when their sports channels are closer to launch.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

      I think part of the problem is that ESPN grew to add so many different channels. I understand having multiple channels to cover lower tier games and highlights, but it really got out of hand in my opinion.
      Check out my autographed 1972-73 Topps basketball project

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      • #18
        Originally posted by spreedom View Post
        Um, what do you base that on? And I think NBC gave her a much bigger role than ESPN was offering, not just more money.
        Yeah...that generally comes with the extra compensation. It's a better job. Any of us would have done the same. And Michelle Beadle has always known her stuff.

        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

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        • #19
          Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

          Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
          Maybe these gals should look at the history before bailing from ESPN. Beadle, Rachel Nichols ............ the little cuties that have left ESPN are, well, pretty much insignificant now. They should quit thinking of themselves as real sports people and understand that they are simply there for the male viewing audience.
          This is one of the more sexist and demeaning things I've read in quite awhile.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

            Originally posted by TheRyanExpress View Post
            This is one of the more sexist and demeaning things I've read in quite awhile.
            But it's true.

            You think the people at ESPN don't understand their audience ?? Next, you'll tell me that you go to Hooters for the food.

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
              But it's true.

              You think the people at ESPN don't understand their audience ?? Next, you'll tell me that you go to Hooters for the food.
              The wings at hooters are awesome. I know a ton of women who eat at hooters. Hint: it wasn't because they liked the scenery.

              It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

              Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
              Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
              NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                The wings at hooters are awesome.
                Once again, we're into personal preferences.

                You go have your wings at Hooters.

                I'll have Rachel Nichols.

                We'll both be happy.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                  Originally posted by cdash View Post
                  It's a dead end show...yet the last two female hosts have used it to drastically increase their profile and move on to higher paying, higher exposure jobs. Hardly a dead end show.
                  Yes its a dead end show meaning you don't want to be tied to it for too long. Look some shows like PTI, the 2 guys are the stars for their bantering and chemistry. On a show like Sports Nation. All you are doing to showing a bunch of stupid clips and showing the reaction of a Internet polls. It is a show of no substance, just a quick 30 mins of forgettable entertainment.

                  Its almost like you just latched on to on phrase in my post. Cause I basically said the same thing you just said, the hosts spring board to a different show or network as soon as they can.
                  You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                    Originally posted by graphic-er View Post
                    Yes its a dead end show meaning you don't want to be tied to it for too long. Look some shows like PTI, the 2 guys are the stars for their bantering and chemistry. On a show like Sports Nation. All you are doing to showing a bunch of stupid clips and showing the reaction of a Internet polls. It is a show of no substance, just a quick 30 mins of forgettable entertainment.

                    Its almost like you just latched on to on phrase in my post. Cause I basically said the same thing you just said, the hosts spring board to a different show or network as soon as they can.
                    No, I didn't say the same thing you said. A dead end job, career wise, would mean you are going to be stuck in the job with no opportunity for advancement. That is not true of Sportsnation.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                      Originally posted by cdash View Post
                      No, I didn't say the same thing you said. A dead end job, career wise, would mean you are going to be stuck in the job with no opportunity for advancement. That is not true of Sportsnation.
                      Well, NOW it probably is I suppose. But that's because the people with talent, y'know, advanced their careers because of the show.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                        Originally posted by graphic-er View Post
                        Its almost like you just latched on to on phrase in my post. Cause I basically said the same thing you just said, the hosts spring board to a different show or network as soon as they can.
                        Perhaps he latched onto one phrase in your post because it was obviously wrong. A job that spring boards somebody to a different, higher profile role is by definition the exact opposite of dead end gig.
                        "I had to take her down like Chris Brown."

                        -Lance Stephenson

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                          Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
                          But it's true.

                          You think the people at ESPN don't understand their audience ?? Next, you'll tell me that you go to Hooters for the food.
                          I've been to Hooters once. I can look at pictures of Hooters girls, I don't need to eat the crappy food.

                          What I was alluding to was the fact that you reduced them to 'little cuties.' Yes, I get that it helps that they are good looking and know about sports, but they also have had to work hard, network, etc. to gain contacts to do their jobs. Rachel Nichols is typically one of the more informed field/sideline reporters, as was Erin Andrews when she was roaming sidelines.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                            Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
                            But it's true.

                            You think the people at ESPN don't understand their audience ?? Next, you'll tell me that you go to Hooters for the food.
                            if you think its just looks that gets these women their jobs at ESPN, you are sorely mistaken. Yes, looks matter. But they have to know their ****. And these women are damn good at their job. Its ****ing cut throat, I've seen it in college and it only gets worse.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                              Originally posted by ilive4sports View Post
                              if you think its just looks that gets these women their jobs at ESPN, you are sorely mistaken. Yes, looks matter.
                              Just a little contradictory - isn't that ??

                              I just think it's the opposite. They can take an attractive gal, let her learn some sports, let her learn how to ask lame questions and viola - ratings increase. There's zero knowledge about sports in these sideline interviews.

                              A lot easier than taking a sports-wise 'not so attractive' gal and teaching her how to be good looking.

                              Sexist - sure, probably - but there's so much of it going on in media anymore, people have become blind to it. They just think that - WOW, all these good looking gals really know their sports. Coincidence ?? I think not.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Charissa Thompson Leaving ESPN for Fox

                                Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
                                Just a little contradictory - isn't that ??

                                I just think it's the opposite. They can take an attractive gal, let her learn some sports, let her learn how to ask lame questions and viola - ratings increase. There's zero knowledge about sports in these sideline interviews.

                                A lot easier than taking a sports-wise 'not so attractive' gal and teaching her how to be good looking.

                                Sexist - sure, probably - but there's so much of it going on in media anymore, people have become blind to it. They just think that - WOW, all these good looking gals really know their sports. Coincidence ?? I think not.
                                Actually, the broadcasting journalism field is filled with very attractive women. So its not hard to find them. Was a perk of being a journalism major. ESPN doesn't have time to waste teaching people about sports. You know you're **** or you don't. I know people who have gone through the process. You don't get there because you look good.

                                Its like you think that because a girl is hot, she can't know sports. I went to school with thousands of good looking girls who knew their ****, many of them broadcast journalism majors.

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