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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

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

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

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

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Rank the East

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  • #91
    Re: Rank the East

    Didn't relaly know where to put this tweet from Candace so just thought I'd put it here




    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Rank the East

      I am not sure that this thread is too early. I mean, how many difference making dominos are left that have not fallen? Cleveland is going to be really good no matter what happens with Kevin Love and everyone else has made their significant moves of the offseason. Speculation at this point is fair game.

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Rank the East

        Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
        Didn't relaly know where to put this tweet from Candace so just thought I'd put it here


        You have to love Candace. I do think losing Lance made her last tweet a given no matter what else happened though.

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Rank the East

          Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post
          Didn't relaly know where to put this tweet from Candace so just thought I'd put it here


          This is what I think, we didn't improve on paper, but we improved overall as a team imo due to maturity. The more and more quotes I read and see leads me to believe Lance was a locker room issue. Unfortunately, all that matters to a lot of people now is talent on paper.

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Rank the East

            If the Cavs trade for Kevin Love, then they're number one in the East. If they do NOT acquire Kevin Love, then this will what the East will be in my opinion:

            1) Chicago
            2) Indiana
            3) Cleveland
            4) Washington
            5) Charlotte
            6) Miami
            7) Toronto
            8) Atlanda

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: Rank the East

              Originally posted by BlueCollarColts View Post
              This is what I think, we didn't improve on paper, but we improved overall as a team imo due to maturity. The more and more quotes I read and see leads me to believe Lance was a locker room issue. Unfortunately, all that matters to a lot of people now is talent on paper.
              I think the fit will be much better. Think about it this way. If we rewind to the beginning of last season Granger is now Miles, and Lance is now Stuckey. While there was disagreement on how to use them, most everyone was excited to have both. The difference is Miles isn't coming off of a career changing injury, and Stuckey isn't as talented as Lance. This means Miles > Granger, and Stuckey < Lance.

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Rank the East

                Derrick Rose Unlikely to Play Full season for Chicago Bulls

                This should make a difference somewhat for us in the central. Still a tough team regardless....

                http://www.givemesport.com/486775-de...-chicago-bulls

                70 Games Max

                According to Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders, even if D.Rose can get himself back to full fitness for the course of the season, the Bulls will still make it so that he misses a good chunk of the season.

                Getting Rose on the court for 70 games may be the target for the Bulls, but we should all be waiting to see if he can get through ten matches, never mind 70.

                Injury Struggles

                Rose is looking to bounce back from two straight disappointing seasons, in which he has only played a total of 10 games. The former MVP missed the entire 2012-13 season due to a torn ACL in his left knee and only played in 10 games last season after sustaining a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

                The 25-year old now has to show that he can get back to his best or just become another guy who will rue injuries for the rest of his career.

                The former Memphis standout was also named to the 19-man USA Basketball pool, who will train for the upcoming 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

                Bulls Hopeful

                Chicago are looking at this season with a lot of hope as the team went out and added two huge pieces to their team and cut out an expensive one in Carlos Boozer.

                All of this was an attempt to finally field a championship worthy roster and the additions of Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic have gotten fans excited about this upcoming season. But while the new additions are nice, the Bulls need Derrick Rose to be able to walk five steps without screwing up his knees — which is apparently a lot easier said than done.

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Rank the East

                  1. Cleveland
                  2. Indiana
                  3. Washington
                  4. Toronto
                  5. Chicago
                  6. Atlanta
                  7. Miami
                  8. Brooklyn

                  I've been talking friends off of cliffs all week. I'm going to miss rooting for lance as much as the next guy, and I will concede we lost a good young talent for nothing. But I believe 100% that Cj miles is a better fit in the starting lineup and on the team. Not only will the pacers NOT regress, they're going to be better next year. I think the east is wide open next year and I'm pumped to see this team play together as constructed.

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Rank the East

                    I hesitate doing this because I don't think the rosters are set, as Chicago just resigned Hinrich. Monroe and Bledsoe are still out there for the Hawks to grab.

                    1. Indiana
                    2. Chicago
                    3. Miami
                    4. Cleveland
                    5. Hawks
                    6. Wizards
                    7. Charlotte
                    8. Toronto

                    Chicago will be number if they are healthy, I just don't think they will be. I really think Lebron will be in the ECF. They will either have a slow start or a trade will slow them down. Kyrie gets injured as well. The Hawks will be better and could even climb top three in the conference. The Wizards as well. ALthough I think they will miss Ariza's defense. Toronto slips because Lowry got a contract and he will be injured a lot because of it. Miami will be better than people give them credit for.

                    Seriously though I think Wade will be better than the previous 4. He and Bosh will pick and pop teams into oblivion. Deng and Granger will give them solid defense and Battier clones in this system. Deng being a better one.

                    The Hornets are interesting. They lack the three ball. If their lineup of Kemba/Lance/MKG/Vonleh(Zeller)/AlJeff logs too many minutes I think their offense will be worse than the Pacers. Their defense will be good. I can't wait to see Lance and PG go at it.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Rank the East

                      Originally posted by Major Cold View Post
                      The Hornets are interesting. They lack the three ball. If their lineup of Kemba/Lance/MKG/Vonleh(Zeller)/AlJeff logs too many minutes I think their offense will be worse than the Pacers. Their defense will be good. I can't wait to see Lance and PG go at it.
                      Completely agree. That team began to play well towards the end of last year. Al is very good, and Zeller really struggled last year so I imagine he will improve. I think MKG is a good player, and Kemba and Lance is, well, an odd couple to me. There is a lot of talent on that team, but it is so young.
                      Danger Zone

                      Comment


                      • Re: Rank the East

                        Originally posted by Major Cold View Post

                        The Hornets are interesting. They lack the three ball. If their lineup of Kemba/Lance/MKG/Vonleh(Zeller)/AlJeff logs too many minutes I think their offense will be worse than the Pacers. Their defense will be good. I can't wait to see Lance and PG go at it.
                        It should be pointed out that the Charlotte coaching staff has made it abundantly clear that Marvin Williams will be the starting PF this coming season due to his ability to spread the floor with his 3pt shooting, allowing Al Jefferson to go one on one in the paint. Zeller and Vonleh will be brought along slowly, so this team won't be relying on as many young players as you think.

                        Last season they finished 7th in the east with two starting wings who couldn't shoot, Henderson and MKG. Stephenson is a HUGE upgrade over Henderson in almost every way. They drafted a knockdown shooter in PJ Hairston. So Henderson may be on his way out of town. Meanwhile MKG has spent all summer working with Mark Price to breakdown and rework his shooting stroke. Gary Neal is also still on the roster. So expect improved shooting from the Hornets next year.

                        I wouldn't be surprised to see Henderson traded for a backup center. With Stephenson, Neal,and Hairston, they don't need a SG who sucks from 3 pt range. Plus the fans in Charlotte had some college related reasons they never warmed to Henderson.
                        <---- Hansbrough smiling in the training room after Gerald Henderson's cheap shot. UNC won the game, Tyler was happy so he took this picture. Roy Williams keeps it on his desk.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Rank the East

                          Originally posted by Shabazz View Post
                          It should be pointed out that the Charlotte coaching staff has made it abundantly clear that Marvin Williams will be the starting PF this coming season due to his ability to spread the floor with his 3pt shooting, allowing Al Jefferson to go one on one in the paint. Zeller and Vonleh will be brought along slowly, so this team won't be relying on as many young players as you think.

                          Last season they finished 7th in the east with two starting wings who couldn't shoot, Henderson and MKG. Stephenson is a HUGE upgrade over Henderson in almost every way. They drafted a knockdown shooter in PJ Hairston. So Henderson may be on his way out of town. Meanwhile MKG has spent all summer working with Mark Price to breakdown and rework his shooting stroke. Gary Neal is also still on the roster. So expect improved shooting from the Hornets next year.

                          I wouldn't be surprised to see Henderson traded for a backup center. With Stephenson, Neal,and Hairston, they don't need a SG who sucks from 3 pt range. Plus the fans in Charlotte had some college related reasons they never warmed to Henderson.
                          Stephenson isn't a huge upgrade over Henderson in terms of shooting. I don't think Stephenson will play that much better than Henderson there tbh. Lance is a driving type of player, and he had Hill and PG here to spread the floor, no one in Charlotte to do that.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Rank the East

                            Originally posted by BlueCollarColts View Post
                            Stephenson isn't a huge upgrade over Henderson in terms of shooting. I don't think Stephenson will play that much better than Henderson there tbh. Lance is a driving type of player, and he had Hill and PG here to spread the floor, no one in Charlotte to do that.
                            I take it you didn't watch much of Gerald Henderson. His favorite move is to turn his back from 20 feet, run the shot clock down, and then jack up a turn around fadeaway that clanked off the rim. I think you are letting bitterness towards Lance cloud your judgement. No educated ball fan would say "I don't think Lance will play that much better than Henderson there." The current coaching staff doesn't even feel that Henderson is a legit starter in this league.

                            As for spreading the floor, that was pointed out in the post you quoted. Charlotte will be starting a 3pt shooter at the PF spot, which is the number one way to space the floor in the NBA today. They also drafted PJ Hairston who has ridiculous range, and have Gary Neal on the roster too.
                            <---- Hansbrough smiling in the training room after Gerald Henderson's cheap shot. UNC won the game, Tyler was happy so he took this picture. Roy Williams keeps it on his desk.

                            Comment


                            • Re: Rank the East

                              Originally posted by Shabazz View Post
                              I take it you didn't watch much of Gerald Henderson. His favorite move is to turn his back from 20 feet, run the shot clock down, and then jack up a turn around fadeaway that clanked off the rim. I think you are letting bitterness towards Lance cloud your judgement. No educated ball fan would say "I don't think Lance will play that much better than Henderson there." The current coaching staff doesn't even feel that Henderson is a legit starter in this league.

                              As for spreading the floor, that was pointed out in the post you quoted. Charlotte will be starting a 3pt shooter at the PF spot, which is the number one way to space the floor in the NBA today. They also drafted PJ Hairston who has ridiculous range, and have Gary Neal on the roster too.
                              Henderson and Lance both shot 35% from 3 is my point. I don't think Lance can succeed in a system with little 3 pt shooting, Gary Neal sucks, and Hairston will play when Lance is on the bench. Marvin Williams is the best 3 pt shooter outside of Lance who will start and he didn't even shoot 35% last season, I don't think Lance can succeed there. The floor was spread in Indy with PG and Hill, it won't be in Charlotte with MKG and Walker.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Rank the East

                                Off the absolute top of my head:

                                1. Cleveland
                                2. Chicago (if Rose is healthy--HUGE if for me)
                                3. Indiana
                                4. The District
                                5. Charlotte
                                6. Brooklyn
                                7. Atlanta
                                8. Miami
                                9. Toronto
                                10. New York
                                11. Detroit
                                12. Boston
                                13. Orlando
                                14. Milwaukee
                                15. Philadelphia

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