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

Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

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

  • #76
    Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

    Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
    Leno loyalists are some hard-headed folks, they generally like Leno and no one else. Fairly close-minded. They like their set-in-stone, rather dry but predictable show, lol.

    Nope, I've always liked Letterman too. Also generally liked Conan on Late Night, but his Tonight Show just sucked big time.

    Us "Leno loyalists" have the two decade long consistent record of success on our side of the argument. The "Conan Loyalists" OTOH can't understand why the masses don't agree with them and therefore they try to come up with every possible excuse under the sun to cover up the fact that Conan failed to deliver a successful product in a business that is completely driven by ratings success.

    Comment


    • #77
      Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

      I watch these shows for the guests if its someone I really like otherwise I rarely do but I would be more inclined to listen to Letterman if not for the Indiana references alone

      Comment


      • #78
        Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

        Originally posted by Basketball Fan View Post
        I watch these shows for the guests if its someone I really like otherwise I rarely do but I would be more inclined to listen to Letterman if not for the Indiana references alone

        Yeah, I used to watch Letterman over Leno, and I will go back to watching Letterman now since I refuse to help validate NBC's decision to kick the top dog out the door for the second time. I've felt that the quality of Letterman's show has been going downhill in recent years though and that's why I've watched fare more of Leno lately.

        Comment


        • #79
          Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

          Fallon's OK, he is talented, especially his musical bits and impressions (he's legitimately great there), but that dude owes a ton to his writing team. He's talented but not stand alone funny, for me anyway.

          Anyway, I'm just kinda bummed Letterman's still hanging around. He's approaching having a legacy of being a curmudgeony dickhead instead of being the guy that reinvented the entire genre of late night tv. I guess it's because CBS has no viable replacement, there's not a chance in hell Ferguson could carry a network 11:30 show and the ship's way out of port on John Stewart taking the gig. Colbert though, minus the Bill O'Reilly schtick that's been fading more and more, I'd give it a chance.

          OR, get serious and see if a guy like Bill Moyers wants to do an hour a night for a couple years. I'd really, really dig that.

          Comment


          • #80
            Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

            Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
            Yeah, I used to watch Letterman over Leno, and I will go back to watching Letterman now since I refuse to help validate NBC's decision to kick the top dog out the door for the second time. I've felt that the quality of Letterman's show has been going downhill in recent years though and that's why I've watched fare more of Leno lately.
            Go watch Kimmel. His show is funnier than Letterman's and you don't have to supply NBC with ratings.

            Comment


            • #81
              Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

              Originally posted by cdash View Post
              Go watch Kimmel. His show is funnier than Letterman's and you don't have to supply NBC with ratings.
              Kimmel's show really started taking off once Bill Simmons left. I'M JUST SAYIN.

              Comment


              • #82
                Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                Leno loyalists are some hard-headed folks, they generally like Leno and no one else. Fairly close-minded. They like their set-in-stone, rather dry but predictable show, lol. Have this argument with my friends and family all the time, and it's always the same... they either like Leno and no one else... or they like everyone else and not Leno. My grandparents, for instance, love Leno, hate the new guys. All my younger peeps like Conan/Kimmel et all and don't really care for Leno. My grandparents also are brainwashed by Fox News 15 hours a day, and are very regimented in their thinking and logic, lol.... so there's definitely a large niche group out there of people like this. I'm a Republican and I still can't stand Fox News.... Anyway, I think Leno is part of that old guard that I just don't see much future in beyond Leno himself. I think that's why the execs are always tryin' to replace him. Letterman is somewhere in between.

                I actually think of all the late night guys, Kimmel is far and away the biggest surprise and possibly the most polished, able to carry on a great conversation and have great skits... he's been a real surprise. If you had asked me 15 years ago when he was on The Man Show that he'd develop into the host he is today, I'da said, "Nuh uh." But his show is really very good, he does a great job.

                Conan has a very unique deliver, he's a very intelligent, witty, funny man... some folks don't have that part of their brain developed (lol), and so they don't like him. My wife hates him, but she also has no sense of humor.

                Fallon often is the hardest for me to watch, I don't predict great things for him replacing Leno... sorta like Drew Carey replacing Bob Barker on the Price is Right, its just not the same. I sorta think Fallon is better suited in other roles, not exactly a host. I'm probably in the minority though. His convos can get awkward. He has some good skits, though.

                Ferguson is entertaining, if the show isn't the best produced. He's still a decent talker. He's suckin' hind tit, but I'd still watch him over Leno.

                Arsenio Hall just needs to stop.

                Kind of ironic that you're saying Leno viewers are "close minded" when you're writing off Leno viewers as falling under one or all of the falling categories:

                1) Close minded and unwilling to watch any other comic.

                2) Brainwashed

                3) Old, as if all of his viewers were born before the Titanic sank and are sitting in nursing homes waiting for their quickly impending death.

                Who is really being close minded here? It obviously drives you nuts that Leno always has been and always will be more popular than Conan. Instead of admitting that more people simply find him funnier, you blame it all on Leno viewers having some deep personality flaw, while the Conan viewers are the new young hip sophisticated class and are the only ones who have the smarts to appreciate good comedy.

                I'm 26, so I guess that makes me one of the few Leno viewers who isn't knocking on death's doorstep. I'm certainly not close minded. I've watched a lot of Letterman over the years, I liked Conan on Late Night, I liked Chappelle's show back in the day, I like Tosh.0 and The Soup, etc. I have a very wide ranging appreciation of different comics. I happen to like Leno and I don't view that as meaning that I have the soul of some 85 year old brainwashed goon. And I'm also looking at this through a business angle. The business angle of this has never been debatable. Leno has delivered the goods for NBC for a long time, while Conan's Tonight Show quickly turned viewers fleeing for something else because most people simply didn't view it as being as good as what it replaced.

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                  Seriously though, you related to Leno Sollozzo?

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                    Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                    Leno loyalists are some hard-headed folks, they generally like Leno and no one else. Fairly close-minded.
                    Exactly what I think about Conan fans.

                    Originally posted by Kid Minneapolis View Post
                    Conan has a very unique delivery, he's a very intelligent, witty, funny man... some folks don't have that part of their brain developed (lol), and so they don't like him. My wife hates him, but she also has no sense of humor.
                    Yep, exactly.

                    I don't find wearing tight pants and jumping around all that funny. Nor sitting in a weird chair.
                    Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                      I don't DVR any of them anymore. Used to be a big Conan guy years ago, though. Leno was never anything special to me. Letterman has his moments, and I like his personality, but I rarely go out of my way to see his stuff, and his top 10 lists are mostly weak/lame IMO. But to me, it's not about rating their jokes, it's just, "Do I have a good time watching this person," and to varying degrees I still do with Conan, Letterman, Kimmel, and now I'd include Pete Holmes as well. But I don't watch any of their shows in traditional (live) or semi-traditional (dvr) ways. I just watch clips from Conan, Kimmel, Holmes, and sometimes Letterman on YouTube; I just pick and choose little pieces that catch my eye and leave it at that.

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                        I'll add too that debating which one is best by how popular they are is silly to me. They're a type of art, it's about personal enjoyment, not number of eyeballs. I'm speaking from the fan side of things, not the network business side of things, mind you.

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                          Originally posted by Basketball Fan View Post
                          I watch these shows for the guests if its someone I really like otherwise I rarely do but I would be more inclined to listen to Letterman if not for the Indiana references alone
                          And this is where Fallon is going to take a hit. Seems like a big mistake moving the show to New York. I have to believe part of Leno leading the pack was his access to many celebrities all the time.
                          You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                            Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
                            Kind of ironic that you're saying Leno viewers are "close minded" when you're writing off Leno viewers as falling under one or all of the falling categories:

                            1) Close minded and unwilling to watch any other comic.

                            2) Brainwashed

                            3) Old, as if all of his viewers were born before the Titanic sank and are sitting in nursing homes waiting for their quickly impending death.

                            Who is really being close minded here? It obviously drives you nuts that Leno always has been and always will be more popular than Conan. Instead of admitting that more people simply find him funnier, you blame it all on Leno viewers having some deep personality flaw, while the Conan viewers are the new young hip sophisticated class and are the only ones who have the smarts to appreciate good comedy.

                            I'm 26, so I guess that makes me one of the few Leno viewers who isn't knocking on death's doorstep. I'm certainly not close minded. I've watched a lot of Letterman over the years, I liked Conan on Late Night, I liked Chappelle's show back in the day, I like Tosh.0 and The Soup, etc. I have a very wide ranging appreciation of different comics. I happen to like Leno and I don't view that as meaning that I have the soul of some 85 year old brainwashed goon. And I'm also looking at this through a business angle. The business angle of this has never been debatable. Leno has delivered the goods for NBC for a long time, while Conan's Tonight Show quickly turned viewers fleeing for something else because most people simply didn't view it as being as good as what it replaced.
                            Me observing close-minded people doesn't by definition make me close-minded, lol... I watch more late night shows than you I'm guessing, so that would make me fairly open-minded.

                            Most of the people I know who watch Leno ONLY watch Leno. It's my observation; it's not fact, and never said it was.
                            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


                            • #89
                              Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                              I'll speak for the old people!

                              I think Fallon is going to have the same ratings pattern that Conan did. Strong with the young demographic but a drop among the old people. His numbers will be significantly less than Leno's. But it's really the young demographic that NBC wants so the drop in overall ratings won't be a problem, just like it wasn't for Conan.

                              And I agree that being in NYC is going to hurt Fallon with guests. Hollywood was always a big advantage for the Tonight Show over Letterman.

                              But as long as NBC is patient and Leno isn't lurking in the shadows, Fallon should survive. But to me he doesn't really have the track record to be taking over the Tonight Show. He hasn't really earned it, in my opinion.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Re: Why is NBC making the same mistake again?

                                Fallon strikes me as having wider appeal than Conan, but he's no Leno in that department, either IMO. Then again, not having to deal with the 10:00 Jay Leno show will help him, too...

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X