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

NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

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

  • NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

    Don't think this will end well

    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-on-the-field/

    NFL may impose 15-yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

    The NFL may implement a new rule this offseason calling for 15-yard penalties for any players who use racial slurs on the field.

    John Wooten, head of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, told CBS Sports that he expects the league to make it an automatic 15-yard penalty if a player uses the N-word on the field, and an automatic ejection for a player who does it twice.

    “I will be totally shocked if the competition committee does not uphold us on what we’re trying to do,” Wooten said. “We want this word to be policed from the parking lot to the equipment room to the locker room. Secretaries, PR people, whoever, we want it eliminated completely and want it policed everywhere.”

    Wooten’s comments were strictly about the N-word, but if the NFL is going to implement this rule, other racial slurs would presumably be included as well, along with slurs that are homophobic, sexist or religious in nature.

    However, the NFL may find such a rule tougher for its officials to implement than it sounds. Would the NFL provide every player, coach and official with a list of words that can’t be used? And who would determine which words make the list? Some slurs may be considered offensive in some contexts but not in others. Members of a racial or ethnic groups sometimes use slurs among themselves, with no offense intended or taken. If one black player uses the N-word toward another black player, and a white official hears it and throws a penalty flag, that may open a can of worms the NFL would rather avoid.

    And, of course, not everyone agrees on what constitutes a racial slur. Some people consider “Redskins” a racial slur. If the NFL is so concerned about policing use of offensive words, why is one of its teams using a name that many people find offensive?

    Despite all the potential problems with the rule, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the NFL implement it. The investigation into the bullying in the Dolphins’ locker room, which revealed that racial slurs were frequently used by players, made the NFL look bad. Cracking down on racial slurs could be an opportunity for the NFL to make a positive stand. Or it could turn out to be a big mess.

  • #2
    Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

    Geeze, enforce this rule and every drive would begin from the 1.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

      Trying to kill football i see

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

        Between this and the Harbaugh to Cleveland thing someone's getting trolled

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

          no ref will ever enforce this rule if they approve it. can you imagine one trying to?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

            Pretty soon the Redskins will be forced to forfeit games when they show up in their uniforms.

            This is quite simply the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Fans don't want to see games decided by something they can't see or hear. Pretty soon NFL training camps are going to be more about sensitivity training than they are preparing for football. Teams will soon start spending more time learning how to deal with a gay teammate than they will learning the new offense.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

              Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
              Pretty soon the Redskins will be forced to forfeit games when they show up in their uniforms.

              This is quite simply the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Fans don't want to see games decided by something they can't see or hear. Pretty soon NFL training camps are going to be more about sensitivity training than they are preparing for football. Teams will soon start spending more time learning how to deal with a gay teammate than they will learning the new offense.
              Just follows the same pattern the NFL has embraced in recent years: make everything except the competition on the field the center of the show, especially the referees and whatever social issue is hot at the time. If it wasn't for the Colts I wouldn't follow the NFL at all.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                Originally posted by ilive4sports View Post
                no ref will ever enforce this rule if they approve it. can you imagine one trying to?
                As a white guy myself, I don't care what the written rules are, I would be 100% uncomfortable telling a black man whether or not he can say the "n word" or penalizing him for doing so.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                  http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...r-locker-room/

                  Ryan Clark: Rooney wanted the N-word out of our locker room

                  Posted by Michael David Smith on February 23, 2014, 8:49 PM EST
                  Pittsburgh Steelers v Cincinnati Bengals
                  Getty Images
                  The NFL is considering throwing penalty flags on players who use the N-word on the field. At least one team owner is also telling players he doesn’t want them using the N-word at the team facility.

                  Steelers safety Ryan Clark said on ESPN on Sunday that Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney made it known last season that he didn’t want to hear the N-word in the locker room, either spoken by members of the team or in music played in the locker room.

                  “Mr. Rooney actually talked to Ike Taylor about it this season. Ike and Mr. Rooney have a very good relationship,” Clark said. “He told Ike, ‘I don’t want you guys using that word.’”

                  Although in some cases it might not seem like a white man’s place to tell a mostly black group of men not to use the N-word, Clark said that there’s so much respect among the players for Rooney, a former U.S. ambassador to Ireland whose commitment to diversity is reflected in the Rooney Rule that bears his name, that Clark said the black players on the team were willing to comply.

                  “Ike went around to specific people and said, ‘Listen, this is what Mr. Rooney told me.’ He’s the ambassador. We call him Old Man Rooney. He has a lot of respect, and because of the way he has treated us as players, as black athletes, also treated Coach Tomlin as a black coach, you know it’s coming from a place of love,” Clark said.

                  However, Clark said that while players initially respected Rooney’s request, it didn’t last.

                  “You stopped hearing it immediately that day,” Clark said. “But after a while it came back because it’s the culture. After a while it comes back because this is what these guys have grown up with.”

                  If the NFL is serious about stopping players from using the N-word, the league may find exactly what Clark described: It sounds like a good idea in theory, but it’s easier said than done.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                    Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
                    Pretty soon the Redskins will be forced to forfeit games when they show up in their uniforms.

                    This is quite simply the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Fans don't want to see games decided by something they can't see or hear. Pretty soon NFL training camps are going to be more about sensitivity training than they are preparing for football. Teams will soon start spending more time learning how to deal with a gay teammate than they will learning the new offense.
                    This is why I had to laugh when I heard about this potential rule. It will not be ok to use the n word, but it is ok for a team to be called Redskins? So racial slurs are bad, but what about gay slurs? It will not be ok for someone to call a guy the n word, but it is ok to call them a gay slur? This just seems like a rule that will just never be enforced.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                      Wouldn't this rule somewhat risk a Tim Donaghy situation in the NFL? I mean, a ref could "hear" a slur at any time and its not like it could really be proven or not since cameras don't always get a great view of the player's face. Even then its the word of the official vs. the word of the player and the player will probably win out?

                      Or, maybe the call would be reviewable. "The call on the field stands. Video evidence and expert lip reader analysis confirms the tip of the players tongue touched the roof of his mouth, indicating the "n" word was said. Replay first down."

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                        I don't think its going to be enforced I think this is all lip service on the NFL's part they did nothing to Riley Cooper for using the N-word why start now?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                          How about the lineman who stands up, points across the line, and screams he said.........
                          Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                            Not a big deal at all to me.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: NFL may impose 15 yard penalties for racial slurs on the field

                              First off... I'm fine with trying to keep the on field language from that level. I mean it isn't exactly like you can go into your day job and say it without impunity. And most of us probably make far less $$$ than an NFL player so I don't see why that level of pay shouldn't include at least the same level of decorum. That said, I'm not sure about the 15 yard penalty. I'm thinking if the ref catches a player making racial slurs then note it and send the infraction to the league and let them levy a $$ penalty. Of course if it happens within the course of something that would get flagged (like a punch or whatever) then of course normal flag rules would apply (personal foul, unsportsmanlike conduct) but you'd still note the language and turn the infraction into the league to levy a fine against that player.
                              Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                              ------

                              "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                              -John Wooden

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X