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Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

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"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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The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

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  • #76
    Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

    Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
    Well let's not act like Timmy didn't get his when he was the same age as Roy, Paul, etc.

    Timmy's contracts from 2004-2012 in order

    $14,260,641
    $15,845,156
    $17,429,672
    $19,014,188
    $20,598,704
    $22,183,220
    And then he snuck in this wiley two year deal right before the cap rules changed
    $18,700,000
    $21,164,619
    He still took less than he could have when he signed that extension that took him to 2012:

    Duncan has reached agreement with the Spurs on a two-year, $40 million extension that figures to give the team enough salary-cap flexibility to continue to surround him with a competitive support cast in the waning seasons of his career, two sources with knowledge of the deal said Monday.

    By signing the extension, which is expected to be finalized within the next few days, Duncan forfeits his option to become a free agent after this season. He will be under contract with the Spurs until the summer of 2012.

    The extension doesn't come as a surprise. Duncan, 31, said prior to last season's NBA Finals he felt as healthy as he has been in years and hoped to continue playing "as long as I can."

    But what is notable about the deal are the terms: Although Duncan is eligible to receive a two-year extension worth about $51 million under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, he agreed to nearly $11 million less because it could afford the Spurs greater flexibility to pursue free agents after the 2009-10 season.


    http://sports.yahoo.com/news/duncan-...0085--nba.html
    Last edited by Sollozzo; 06-10-2014, 04:16 PM.

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    • #77
      Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

      Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
      I'm confused as I thought Able said no trades other than in the trade forum?? Has he changed his mind? Just askin.
      It's just like in the NBA....Refs give certain Players SuperStar treatment. Clearly, UB is the the Dwayne Wade of PacersDigest.
      Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

      Comment


      • #78
        Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
        Then you make other moves to get under the LT threshold. If lance is so good, if he is that valuable then we need to find a way

        It has been 11 years, but see I think the pacers more or less decided that Brad Miller wasn't a player they really wanted to keep or they would have. Sure he got a nice contract so Pacers did a sign and trade, but I contend Pacers decided that Brad wasn't worth keeping long term. Sure it may have been CYA after the fact, but the reports after Brad left were such that pacers didn't really want Brad that bad.

        I just hope either we really want lance and we do whatever it takes to keep him, or we decided nope he is not worth it and we makes the best of a sign and trade.

        The problem with a S&T is Stephenson has to be willing to do it. The Pacers might come up with a great trade for themselves, but the team isn't one Stephenson wants to play for. I just don't count on a S&T with Stephenson getting done. You either sign him or you let him go.

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        • #79
          Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

          Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
          I'm confused as I thought Able said no trades other than in the trade forum?? Has he changed his mind? Just askin.
          I'm not sure either but if I'm allowed to, a consolation could be a sign and trade to OKC for Reggie Jackson, maybe try and nab Jeremy Lamb too (I think they like him even though they don't seem to play him).
          "It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

          ----------------- Reggie Miller

          Comment


          • #80
            Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

            Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
            He still took less than he could have when he signed that extension that took him to 2012:

            Duncan has reached agreement with the Spurs on a two-year, $40 million extension that figures to give the team enough salary-cap flexibility to continue to surround him with a competitive support cast in the waning seasons of his career, two sources with knowledge of the deal said Monday.

            By signing the extension, which is expected to be finalized within the next few days, Duncan forfeits his option to become a free agent after this season. He will be under contract with the Spurs until the summer of 2012.

            The extension doesn't come as a surprise. Duncan, 31, said prior to last season's NBA Finals he felt as healthy as he has been in years and hoped to continue playing "as long as I can."

            But what is notable about the deal are the terms: Although Duncan is eligible to receive a two-year extension worth about $51 million under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, he agreed to nearly $11 million less because it could afford the Spurs greater flexibility to pursue free agents after the 2009-10 season.


            http://sports.yahoo.com/news/duncan-...0085--nba.html
            Still after he had already taken his big deal.


            Comment


            • #81
              Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

              Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
              The problem with a S&T is Stephenson has to be willing to do it. The Pacers might come up with a great trade for themselves, but the team isn't one Stephenson wants to play for. I just don't count on a S&T with Stephenson getting done. You either sign him or you let him go.
              A sign-and-trade would be initiated by Lance and the team that wants to sign him. Not by the Pacers. The other team might do it if they're over the cap and can't sign Lance outright or if they have some guaranteed contracts that they want to unload. Like they might offer up their old shooting guard and a draft pick to get us to take him.

              Comment


              • #82
                Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                Originally posted by CableKC View Post
                It's just like in the NBA....Refs give certain Players SuperStar treatment. Clearly, UB is the the Dwayne Wade of PacersDigest.
                Naw. UB isn't nearly the flopper Wade is.

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                  Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                  Still after he had already taken his big deal.
                  For a guy who is probably the best player in the history of his position, I'd say he's been pretty generous.

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                    Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
                    The problem with a S&T is Stephenson has to be willing to do it. The Pacers might come up with a great trade for themselves, but the team isn't one Stephenson wants to play for. I just don't count on a S&T with Stephenson getting done. You either sign him or you let him go.
                    Totally guessing here....but if are talking about taking less $$$ in a S&T...yeah, I don't see why he would want to agree to it.

                    But I think that as long as Lance is paid more than what the Pacers are offering, is getting a chance to Start and be a big part of running the offense on whatever Team he ends up on.....even if it's a Lottery Team...I don't see why he won't agree to a S&T.
                    Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                      Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
                      I'm confused as I thought Able said no trades other than in the trade forum?? Has he changed his mind? Just askin.
                      No, but you are going to get me in trouble. In my defense, it wasn't a trade proposal, just a passing thought. (is that a good argument?)

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                        Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post

                        No, but you are going to get me in trouble. In my defense, it wasn't a trade proposal, just a passing thought. (is that a good argument?)

                        LOL! I'll accept your argument and won't tell Able.

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                          Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
                          Right I had those numbers in my post but where is it said that Miami could have paid them more than that? I thought you were saying Lebron gave Miami a break on the contract he has right now?

                          Also, Lebron and Bosh have identical contracts, Wade's is slightly less in each year though.

                          Maybe they each took about a million less per year with Wade taking closer to 2 million less per year? Not sure.

                          Here's where I got the "they each took $15 mil less" thing:

                          Sources told ESPN.com's Chad Ford that James and Bosh are scheduled to make $14.5 million and Wade $14 million in 2010-11.

                          Each player took $15 million less over the life of the contract to sign with Miami, but the deals came with a caveat.

                          All three contracts, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein, have an early termination option after the fourth season that would allow LeBron, Bosh and Wade to return to free agency in the summer of 2014. Each player also possesses a player option entering the final season of the contract (2015-16).


                          http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5368003

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                          • #88
                            Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                            Originally posted by CableKC View Post
                            Totally guessing here....but if are talking about taking less $$$ in a S&T...yeah, I don't see why he would want to agree to it.

                            But I think that as long as Lance is paid more than what the Pacers are offering, is getting a chance to Start and be a big part of running the offense on whatever Team he ends up on.....even if it's a Lottery Team...I don't see why he won't agree to a S&T.

                            If it has to come down to it, I hope your're right, but I just won't count on it happening.

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                              Originally posted by Downtown Bang! View Post
                              That's the thing. The first half of the article gives the stats & observations that support the case against keeping Lance & the second half of the article gives the stats & observations that support a strong case for keeping him. Cue people ignoring the part of the piece that doesn't support their views. What Lowe does is give a very balanced evaluation of Lance's current game, insight on what he could become and the risk/reward conundrum facing the team that signs him to a long-term deal.
                              And the long term commitment is what any team should be VERY wary of including the Pacers and I believe will keep the price below 10 million a year. The new CBA will put a damper on teams going crazy especially with a player with problems attached to him.
                              {o,o}
                              |)__)
                              -"-"-

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Re: The Courtship of Lance Stephenson- Zach Lowe, Grantland

                                Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
                                If it has to come down to it, I hope your're right, but I just won't count on it happening.
                                Do you mean you are counting on Lance taking more $$$ and agreeing to a S&T?

                                or

                                Do you mean Lance getting more $$$ in a S&T but not agreeing to it?
                                Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.

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