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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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Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

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  • #16
    Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

    Originally posted by MvPlumlee View Post
    Conference Finals
    Finals
    Championship

    One step at the time, my friend. After next year
    Originally posted by daschysta View Post
    Let's not be unrealistic. We are what we are right now, 2nd tier contenders.

    We have a very good chance of beating anyone else in the East other than Miami, or Boston (assuming Pierce and Garnett are still able to perform like they did in the playoff last year next year.)

    If Miami is injured again, and George or Hibbert makes a big step maybe.

    But we don't know that yet. We can hope, but we can't make declarations at this point. I'm optimistic, but we just can't know yet. If we're the same as last year Miami is a fair bit better than we are. If we make the ECF it is a very successful season, and sets us up well to take that next step to the finals. ECF isn't a pie in the sky kind of thing, it has a real chance to happen, Finals, however, are very unlikely, though I hope it happens as much as anyone.
    We're on the same page
    Originally posted by IrishPacer
    Empty vessels make the most noise.

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    • #17
      Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

      I'm usually pretty pessimistic, but I think we have an outside shot at a title this year, maybe 20-1 odds. In my opinion the Pacers are the best of the second tier teams (Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Sixers, Nuggets). With some good luck I see our path to the finals as this: Upset the Celtics in the second round, which I think is entirely possible. LeBron just played a compacted schedule and entire playoffs as well as the Olympics with the world on his back. If he ever has an off-year, this will be it. Then ride that momentum into the finals and hope we match up well with whoever comes out of the West.

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      • #18
        Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

        Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
        I'm usually pretty pessimistic, but I think we have an outside shot at a title this year, maybe 20-1 odds. In my opinion the Pacers are the best of the second tier teams (Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Sixers, Nuggets). With some good luck I see our path to the finals as this: Upset the Celtics in the second round, which I think is entirely possible. LeBron just played a compacted schedule and entire playoffs as well as the Olympics with the world on his back. If he ever has an off-year, this will be it. Then ride that momentum into the finals and hope we match up well with whoever comes out of the West.
        You're a lot more confident about Lebron having an off year than I am. I'm a lot more inclined to say that when people look back in 25 years they'll say last season was the beginning of the Age Of Lebron and when he began to cement his status as the greatest player ever. Much the same way we look back at the Reggie Pacers and say "if it just weren't for the Bulls..." it's going to be that way with Miami from here on out.

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        • #19
          Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

          Originally posted by Heisenberg View Post
          You're a lot more confident about Lebron having an off year than I am. I'm a lot more inclined to say that when people look back in 25 years they'll say last season was the beginning of the Age Of Lebron and when he began to cement his status as the greatest player ever. Much the same way we look back at the Reggie Pacers and say "if it just weren't for the Bulls..." it's going to be that way with Miami from here on out.
          This is probably closer to the truth. I may have mixed in a little Pacers Kool-Aid with my post. Like I said, 20-1, so about a 5% chance that happens.

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          • #20
            Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

            Plumsanity!

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            • #21
              Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

              Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
              This is probably closer to the truth. I may have mixed in a little Pacers Kool-Aid with my post. Like I said, 20-1, so about a 5% chance that happens.
              That's fair, it's certainly a lot more fun to be somewhat optimistic. I wouldn't put a dime on it right now, but I think 20:1's a fair ratio.

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              • #22
                Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                Originally posted by BornReady View Post
                Whatever koolaid you're drinking, I want in on

                In more seriousness though, it seems like you make the assumption that nobody else in the league is going to come back improved. Everybody in the NBA (aside from Eddy Curry) is working hard and improving their game. Other teams have made improvements to their roster talent wise as well.
                What have the Magic, 76ers, Bulls, Knicks, and Hawks actually done to improve their roster. They made some moves to replace people they lost. But hardly enough to really say they have improved. Hell the 76ers are missing 3 starters from the playoffs last year. For all intents and purposes they are a new team

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                • #23
                  Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                  This is the classic summer time thread. The problem is, it's fall and we all need to wake up.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                    Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                    This is the classic summer time thread. The problem is, it's fall and we all need to wake up.
                    Yeah, and this team is a championship contender. Are they one of the favorites no, but only an idiot would say they aren't a contender.

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                    • #25
                      Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                      Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                      This is the classic summer time thread. The problem is, it's fall and we all need to wake up.
                      You can't make a statement like this and be taken seriously. If you are going to say they aren't. State the teams that are contenders and why. And then compare and contrast why the Pacers aren't.

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                      • #26
                        Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                        Originally posted by cdash View Post
                        It was?
                        Of course not. Best record in the East till the Artest meltdown. Coach fired because 3rd in the East and a first round loss was considered unacceptable given the team's record, and Carlisle had already won CotY with his insta-fix of Detroit 2 years prior.

                        Losing Miller hurt, but they were still supposed to be better than the year before. That's what firing Isiah said to the world.



                        This year's team looks to be facing the same issues as last year. Nice team, going to be fun to root for, but I couldn't put real money (even) down on them making the Finals or even the ECF. To me they have to be 5 or 6-1 to make the ECF alone.


                        I will be very pleased with a repeat of last season or something along those lines. I'm hoping for a push into the ECF, but that's on the shoulders of Roy, Danny, West, Paul and George who each need to improve for various reasons. Roy, Paul and George are supposed to be developing, Danny is supposed to be getting his game back on track after JOB and the terrible shooting to start last year, and West is supposed to be showing improvements with more time past his surgery. Otherwise this roster did not get more talented in a noticeable way, even if the bench pieces seem more interesting.

                        Don't get me wrong, I love replacing DC for DJ (love that kid), Green for Jones (young and athletic), and Sam Young for Barbosa (Young was my "trade down and get him" draft choice back then). Maybe Mahimi is the difference maker over Lou.

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                        • #27
                          Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                          Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
                          Of course not. Best record in the East till the Artest meltdown. Coach fired because 3rd in the East and a first round loss was considered unacceptable given the team's record, and Carlisle had already won CotY with his insta-fix of Detroit 2 years prior.

                          Losing Miller hurt, but they were still supposed to be better than the year before. That's what firing Isiah said to the world.



                          This year's team looks to be facing the same issues as last year. Nice team, going to be fun to root for, but I couldn't put real money (even) down on them making the Finals or even the ECF. To me they have to be 5 or 6-1 to make the ECF alone.


                          I will be very pleased with a repeat of last season or something along those lines. I'm hoping for a push into the ECF, but that's on the shoulders of Roy, Danny, West, Paul and George who each need to improve for various reasons. Roy, Paul and George are supposed to be developing, Danny is supposed to be getting his game back on track after JOB and the terrible shooting to start last year, and West is supposed to be showing improvements with more time past his surgery. Otherwise this roster did not get more talented in a noticeable way, even if the bench pieces seem more interesting.

                          Don't get me wrong, I love replacing DC for DJ (love that kid), Green for Jones (young and athletic), and Sam Young for Barbosa (Young was my "trade down and get him" draft choice back then). Maybe Mahimi is the difference maker over Lou.
                          Big Deal, that still would have left them at what 6th best in the league. with most of the wins in the incredibly weak east. I don't remember anybody seriously talking about us being in contention until the season had already started that year.

                          This team is far better poised to make a leap like that. Superteams have made teams more susceptible to individual injuries. Which could benefit us if one of those names is Durant or James. 4 Starters with legit potential to improve. And the East got weaker from last year, which should help us get a better record which gives us a better chance to have a better record if we do luck into the finals.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                            Originally posted by Eleazar View Post
                            Yeah, and this team is a championship contender. Are they one of the favorites no, but only an idiot would say they aren't a contender.
                            If the 4th or 5th best team in the east is a contender for the NBA championship, the Pacers are a contender. We are behind Miami, Boston...and New York spanked us badly last year. Derrick Rose is scheduled to return as early as January and I would not be surprised to see him out there in March. If he's anywhere close to 100% they are clear favorites. The Sixers are our equal. The Hawks will have Horford back. The Nets and Cavs may not be better than the Pacers, but they will be much improved. The schedule will not be so condensed and our depth will be less of a positive factor. There's a reason we struggled to get by Orlando in the first round and it's because we are not a contender. No real contender struggles against Big Baby and company.

                            Nobody outside Indiana considers the Pacers to be a contender for the NBA championship. We haven't even won a second round series.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                              Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                              If the 4th or 5th best team in the east is a contender for the NBA championship, the Pacers are a contender. We are behind Miami, Boston...and New York spanked us badly last year. Derrick Rose is scheduled to return as early as January and I would not be surprised to see him out there in March. If he's anywhere close to 100% they are clear favorites. The Sixers are our equal. The Hawks will have Horford back. The Nets and Cavs may not be better than the Pacers, but they will be much improved. The schedule will not be so condensed and our depth will be less of a positive factor. There's a reason we struggled to get by Orlando in the first round and it's because we are not a contender. No real contender struggles against Big Baby and company.

                              Nobody outside Indiana considers the Pacers to be a contender for the NBA championship. We haven't even won a second round series.
                              You keep repeating the same things, without backing them up at all. People including myself have refuted your points dozens of times. So your either trolling, or your just sticking your fingers in your ears and ignoring it.

                              76ers lost 3 starters
                              Knicks lost their PG that they sucked without, and they didn't spank us. They won the season series 2-1. With us missing George Hill 2 of those IIRC
                              Bulls lost alot of pieces
                              Celtics are who knows
                              Hawks will have Horford back, but they lost Joe Johnson

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                              • #30
                                Re: Why the Pacers will win the NBA Championship next year

                                Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                                If the 4th or 5th best team in the east is a contender for the NBA championship, the Pacers are a contender. We are behind Miami, Boston...and New York spanked us badly last year. Derrick Rose is scheduled to return as early as January and I would not be surprised to see him out there in March. If he's anywhere close to 100% they are clear favorites. The Sixers are our equal. The Hawks will have Horford back. The Nets and Cavs may not be better than the Pacers, but they will be much improved. The schedule will not be so condensed and our depth will be less of a positive factor. There's a reason we struggled to get by Orlando in the first round and it's because we are not a contender. No real contender struggles against Big Baby and company.

                                Nobody outside Indiana considers the Pacers to be a contender for the NBA championship. We haven't even won a second round series.
                                I don't agree with how you view some of the other teams (Philly aren't equal to us, Rose won't have such a quick comeback, Hawks will not be a serious factor without JJ)
                                But I generally agree with you that we aren't contenders, and that we're probably going for that 3-4 seed.
                                We don't have a superstar. We don't have a guy who dominates. We have a bunch of good players who are good guys that work hard on their game. Our balanced team is good enough to get a decent record and probably get past the 1st round, but I think best case for us is ECF.
                                Originally posted by Piston Prince
                                Bobcat fans telling us to cheer up = epic fail season
                                "Josh Smith Re-building the city of Detroit one brick at a time"

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