Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #76
    Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

    Originally posted by rock747 View Post
    This is ridiculous. The man could have just fallen trying to get back to his seat. (Ushering by other people in their seats doesn't always leave much room). Yet, she is blaming Pacer games? It's too bad her son got hurt... but was this story worth writing an article over? Nope.
    When a person's kid get hurts all rationality goes out the window. The fact that Indy Star ran this article when it is clearly fielded by emotion and not rational thought just speaks volumes about their quality.

    Comment


    • #77
      Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

      I've taken my daughter to a few games this year and have never been slightly concerned about her safety. Just be aware of your surroundings (like anywhere). If someone seems drunk they shouldn't be hard to avoid. If they are sitting near you, have an usher address the issue. If a drunk person falls on your kid, understand that shoot happens (very rarely) and enjoy the free tickets I'm sure you can get if it's that big of a deal. If it happened to us I'm sure my wife might have a few words for the person but it would never stop us from attending games.

      Click image for larger version

Name:	photo (1).JPG
Views:	1
Size:	43.0 KB
ID:	3241230

      Comment


      • #78
        Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

        1) I hope you guys responding to me actually have a young son. Your perspective will change a lot.
        2) I don't know if the guy was drunk. But let's be real. You guys know what was probly goin' on.
        3) You knock my son's tooth out on his first trip to see his favorite team, one of two things are going to happen: 1) if you aren't visibly drunk and it truly appears to be accidental, I'll let you by with a light scolding. 2) if you've been tipping back a few and you fell on my son because you're feeling good, you are going to get a large earful from me.

        If you don't like that, then this is what I suggest for you --- I suggest you don't get drunk and fall on my son and knock his tooth out. I don't know what else to tell ya. Lol.

        I'm going to defend my son.

        That said, I've taken my boy to Pacer games, and I've never had an incident or felt threatened.
        There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

        Comment


        • #79
          Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

          Originally posted by thewholefnshow31 View Post
          When a person's kid get hurts all rationality goes out the window. The fact that Indy Star ran this article when it is clearly fielded by emotion and not rational thought just speaks volumes about their quality.

          Exactly. No one is saying that the lady shouldn't be upset. Seeing your 7 year old get hurt would upset any parent. But her whole dramatic article makes it seem like taking a young kid to a Pacer game is risking their safety. It was just a freak accident that could happen in any public place. I know that most people aren't silly enough to think that a Pacer game is a dangerous spot for a kid, but I still don't like how the hometown newspaper is allowing such a dramatic over-the-top article to be on the front page of the their website. The Pacers struggled with attendance for years and have just finally turned the corner with the community, so an article like this doesn't do them any good. I know that this won't deter people from going to games, but it's still pretty unnecessary to print this. It's not like Boomer and the Power Pack started beating her kid up.

          Comment


          • #80
            Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

            Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
            1) I hope you guys responding to me actually have a young son. Your perspective will change a lot.
            2) I don't know if the guy was drunk. But let's be real. You guys know what was probly goin' on.
            3) You knock my son's tooth out on his first trip to see his favorite team, one of two things are going to happen: 1) if you aren't visibly drunk and it truly appears to be accidental, I'll let you by with a light scolding. 2) if you've been tipping back a few and you fell on my son because you're feeling good, you are going to get a large earful from me.

            If you don't like that, then this is what I suggest for you --- I suggest you don't get drunk and fall on my son and knock his tooth out. I don't know what else to tell ya. Lol.

            I'm going to defend my son.

            That said, I've taken my boy to Pacer games, and I've never had an incident or felt threatened.
            I think a lot of people would agree with you that you handle it on site. You don't go using the Indianapolis Star as your own personal platform to further scold the guy that reportedly apologized, and then also act like going to Pacer games is like going to an "eyes wide shut" party.
            Last edited by The Sleeze; 01-16-2014, 12:01 AM.
            I know "Sleeze" is spelled incorrectly. I spell it this way because it's based on a name.

            Comment


            • #81
              Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

              I didn't take that from the article. I took it as someone just *****ing about someone's carelessness. I think some of you are taking this article as some attack on the Pacers environment...
              There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

              Comment


              • #82
                Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                I've taken my kids to countless Pacers game and never had any sort of issue.

                I've taken them to one Padres game in San Diego and some carousing bozo came running up from a lower section, barfed in the aisle right next to us, turned around and left. My youngest was closest to the aisle, but luckily was sitting cross legged in his seat and avoided the splatter.
                PSN: MRat731 XBL: MRat0731

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                  Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                  I didn't take that from the article. I took it as someone just *****ing about someone's carelessness. I think some of you are taking this article as some attack on the Pacers environment...

                  People have warned us that Pacers games can turn into bacchanalias, suggesting they’re not places for kids.

                  Pretty over the top, IMHO.

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                    Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                    I didn't take that from the article. I took it as someone just *****ing about someone's carelessness. I think some of you are taking this article as some attack on the Pacers environment...
                    There is no reason for this to be anything more than a Facebook post. That's what I don't like.

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                      Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
                      People have warned us that Pacers games can turn into bacchanalias, suggesting they’re not places for kids.

                      Pretty over the top, IMHO.
                      Sure, it's over the top, but it's not exactly an attack either. The entire article is a *****-fest, and I've stated that I agree that the story isn't newsworthy, but some of the feedback this lady seems to be getting is pretty calloused. Words of advice --- don't come between a momma bear and her cub. As much as you might dislike the theory, that's how they are. And ya know what? It's a good thing.
                      There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                        Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                        Sure, it's over the top, but it's not exactly an attack either. The entire article is a *****-fest, and I've stated that I agree that the story isn't newsworthy, but some of the feedback this lady seems to be getting is pretty calloused. Words of advice --- don't come between a momma bear and her cub. As much as you might dislike the theory, that's how they are. And ya know what? It's a good thing.
                        I'm not as irritated at the lady as much as I am at The $tar. I expect the lady to be emotional after her son got hurt, but the newspaper should be a bit more rational when deciding whether or not to run it on their front page.

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                          Originally posted by rabid View Post
                          with AT&T Park for Giants games being in second.
                          I saw a Giants-Cubs game at that park in 2008. Fantastic ballpark. Definitely one of the greatest sports venues I've ever been to. The picturesque location on the bay is unparalleled.

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                            At last night's IU game, a drunk fan fell into my wife and sent her over the seats in front of her. It messed up her leg pretty bad. Luckily for that guy (and probably for me) I wasn't there, but that kind of stuff infuriates me.

                            But if a drunk guy landed on my son during a Pacers game.....


                            Having said that, there's been an anti-Pacers feel to the IndyStar since at least 2004, and this article does nothing to change that. I understand the Star wants to beef up it's amount of content, but putting a lower-quality article on the front page is really going out of the way. I don't know how else it can be interpreted.
                            Last edited by imawhat; 01-16-2014, 12:30 AM.

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                              I understand being mad, but the hyperbole about the crowd was a bit much. Furthermore, it's the Star's decision to call this newsworthy is what bothers me. There is no reason to run this story. It's not like security didn't respond, it's not like the Pacers are at fault. This is a personal matter, and it has no business being in a newspaper, especially the only daily paper in a fairly large city. It's easy to interpret this as a subtle attack on the Pacers. The Star and some local people in general search for faults with the team and organization.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Re: My son’s first Pacers game was ruined by carousing bozo

                                I just can't imagine The $tar ever running an article implying that Colts games aren't a place for kids. Blue the Colt could beat up one of the kickoff kids, but that still wouldn't be enough for them to run an article like this.

                                For a long time, the Pacers definitely reaped what they sewed when it came to bad front page headlines. But this was just a silly thing to run when the team is doing so well and the fans are back. They Pacers don't deserve even the slightest bit of negativity right now.
                                Last edited by Sollozzo; 01-16-2014, 12:48 AM.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X