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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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Tank-o-Meter

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  • #16
    Re: Tank-o-Meter

    Originally posted by SycamoreKen View Post
    A top 10 pick is not going to fix this team. Also, JO is not going to walk away from the money left on his contract. Demand a trade? Maybe, but no one walks away from 60 million in the bank. But we have already had this discussion.


    I think he should opt out and resign for minimum.


    Seriously though, why do they never sign for minimum to get a ring until they are old? Tells me a ring isn't really all that important to them.
    "Danny Granger is one of the top players in the league. To move Danny, you better get a lot back." - Larry Bird

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Tank-o-Meter

      Wow. I am surprised to see that my vote broke a 17-17 tie. It's been a frustrating year, but maybe our expectations were too high if it looks like it's better to lose than win.

      If we are going to lose, that'll take care of itself-no rooting necessary . We ain't a perfect team, but c'mon!

      Go Pacers!

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Tank-o-Meter

        These Pacers are not going to be the same team you watched earlier this year.
        And as I proved (and said) neither are the Magic. Back when the Magic weren't losing to non-playoff teams all over the place the Pacers beat them (when they were also better of course).

        If THAT Magic team was coming into Indy then okay. But they are just as long gone as that Pacers team that beat them.

        There are 4 teams (possibly 5 if Philly beats us) fighting for the last two spots and we are not healthy and are sinking fast.
        Like I'm saying, the focus has to be on NJ and NY I think. Philly is coming on but I don't think they will be the team to put Indy out. It will have to be NJ/NY. Can they? The 2 games vs NJ are huge, just like the brawl season. Remember when they beat the Nets in Conseco with Reggie's scoring flurry followed by the huge jumper by James Jones (and FTs to lock it)?

        We could be seeing a repeat of that.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Tank-o-Meter

          Originally posted by Naptown_Seth View Post
          And as I proved (and said) neither are the Magic. Back when the Magic weren't losing to non-playoff teams all over the place the Pacers beat them (when they were also better of course).

          If THAT Magic team was coming into Indy then okay. But they are just as long gone as that Pacers team that beat them.
          Due to the trade, the only thing you can look at to make any judgment is recent performance. Orlando has been bad. The Pacers have been worse.

          Since the all star break, the Pacers average deficit is 12ppg. Orlando is losing, but only by an average of 7.8ppg. The only common opponent has been Milwaukee. The Pacers beat them by 7, Orlando beat them by 17.

          What is most significant, however is schedule:
          Orlando:
          at Detroit L 88-110
          vs Detroit L 89-94
          vs Houston L 93-97
          at Chicago W 94-87
          at Denver L 101-111
          at San Antonio L 74-98
          at Dallas L 98-103
          vs Milwaukee W 99-81
          vs Chicago L 76-100
          at Houston L 92-103
          at Charlotte L 108-119 - back to back on the road

          Indiana:
          vs Milwaukee W 136-129
          at Toronto L 88-110
          vs Sacramento L 93-110
          vs Phoenix L 92-103
          at Phoenix L 90-115
          at LA Clippers L 64-87
          at Sacramento L 98-102
          at Utah L 72-94
          vs Philadelphia L 96-100
          at Cleveland L 88-99

          It's pretty obvious Orlando has performed poorly, but not as bad considering a much tougher schedule. Goodness gracious. Detroit twice, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston twice, Chicago twice, Denver..all in 12 games...and their schedule gets easier while Indiana's gets significantly more difficult.

          Not saying Orlando will pass us. ...but on paper, it's pretty clear who is playing better.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Tank-o-Meter

            Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
            No, a top 10 pick even in this deep draft will not fix this team by itself but it is a step in the right direction...one of several we need to start making asap. ...but I think some have forgot just how good a top 10 pick can be.

            Not rooting to tank necessarily, but I do believe Acie Law IV would help out a lot.
            Read my Pacers blog:
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            • #21
              Re: Tank-o-Meter

              I hope the Pacers only lose games they are supposed to lose. That said, I hope JO and Quis do not return, giving the young guys a chance to play. Jordan mentioned (saw on Hoopshype) that he is considering trading the Bobcats pick and Toronto's pick for a go to scorer. I wonder if he would be interested in JO and Harrison for both picks and bad contract.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Tank-o-Meter

                Seeing as how the Bobcats only have $7 million more in total salary next year than JO's contract I'm not sure how that would work. That's assuming Wallace and Brezec don't opt out. If those guys do opt out then JO makes more than the entire team, they have on the books as of today, for next year.

                P.S. That means they would have to sign someone to a bad contract to trade with us.
                I'm in these bands
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                ME

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                • #23
                  Re: Tank-o-Meter

                  I dont beleive so, since the Bobcats are under the cap salaries do not have to match up in a trade.
                  Hulk - "I'm 5 for 5 from the line. I should shoot technicals now."

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Tank-o-Meter

                    Unreal, Unreal!!!! 31 people are wanting the Pacers to lose! No, I don't post here a lot but I check in daily and this flat out upsets me. Pacer Fans? HA

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Tank-o-Meter

                      Originally posted by Karmakillaz View Post
                      I dont beleive so, since the Bobcats are under the cap salaries do not have to match up in a trade.
                      My Face---Egg
                      Egg---My Face
                      I'm in these bands
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                      Dr. Goldfoot
                      The Bar Brawlers
                      ME

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                      • #26
                        Re: Tank-o-Meter

                        Originally posted by Matney33 View Post
                        Unreal, Unreal!!!! 31 people are wanting the Pacers to lose! No, I don't post here a lot but I check in daily and this flat out upsets me. Pacer Fans? HA
                        Then don't come here. And, YES, HELL YES, PACER FANS!
                        2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                        2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                        2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Tank-o-Meter

                          Originally posted by Matney33 View Post
                          Unreal, Unreal!!!! 31 people are wanting the Pacers to lose! No, I don't post here a lot but I check in daily and this flat out upsets me. Pacer Fans? HA
                          Why does it upset you? First of all if the Pacers make the playoffs, they will be embarassed in the first round. Not just beaten, embarassed. Do you know who the starting two guard and center are for the Pacers? Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy. There is not a team in the league that does not match up well offensively against those two, and neither is a scorer or distributor, either.

                          The Pacers need a TON of help to even think about making the playoffs next year. This should be obvious by now. Because they are responsible for so many bad contracts, they will not be able to be major players in the free agent market, so forget about that as a means of improving the team.

                          What other options are available? Well, there's trade. But nobody is dumb enough to trade for Dunleavy and/or Murphy. Well, except for Donnie Walsh. But nobody will do that again. And none of the other Pacers players outside of JO will bring in any value at all. And trading JO just creates another hole on the roster.

                          There's only one other means of improving an NBA team, and that is the draft. Guess what? The Pacers only shot at the draft this year is to be a lottery team.

                          So what would a diehard fan want? For the team to play out the season and win as many as possible, only to be embarassed this year and fail to make the playoffs the next few seasons? Or for them to wave the white flag, take an L on the season, play the youth, get a head start on next season and get back into the draft?

                          It's an individual preference, hence the near 50/50 split. But I find the choice quite obvious.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Tank-o-Meter

                            Originally posted by Mourning View Post
                            Then don't come here. And, YES, HELL YES, PACER FANS!
                            No, I will come here and voice my opinion if thats o.k with you Mourning, last time I checked this was a forum, right?
                            Iam rooting for the Pacers to win tonight and I will for every game for the rest of the season. As I have for over twenty years. My feeling is if you make the playoffs you have a shot, maybe a long shot but a shot. And I feel like watching some basketball this post season. When the Pacers season is over, Iam finished watching basketball. So go Pacers lets get a W tonight and gain some post-season momentum!!!

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Tank-o-Meter

                              Originally posted by Matney33 View Post
                              No, I will come here and voice my opinion if thats o.k with you Mourning, last time I checked this was a forum, right?
                              Iam rooting for the Pacers to win tonight and I will for every game for the rest of the season. As I have for over twenty years. My feeling is if you make the playoffs you have a shot, maybe a long shot but a shot. And I feel like watching some basketball this post season. When the Pacers season is over, Iam finished watching basketball. So go Pacers lets get a W tonight and gain some post-season momentum!!!
                              I can respect your opinion, but I have seen enough 1st round exits in the last 20 years. ...and this team is not as good as many that made those early exits. Not even close to some of them. So I consider this no shot at all. I don't even want to see this team get embarrassed.

                              The problem I see is that JO and this group will always be good enough to be a little over .500. It will never be as good as some of the contending teams we have had because it is not constructed properly and we are a little light on talent.

                              We no longer have the assets it takes to make a substantial improvement to this roster. We do not want to deal Granger or JO...and no one else has much trade value. We have only two options to get over the hump. It will require trading JO or obtaining draft picks. I pick the latter for now.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Tank-o-Meter

                                Originally posted by Matney33 View Post
                                No, I will come here and voice my opinion if thats o.k with you Mourning, last time I checked this was a forum, right?
                                Iam rooting for the Pacers to win tonight and I will for every game for the rest of the season. As I have for over twenty years. My feeling is if you make the playoffs you have a shot, maybe a long shot but a shot. And I feel like watching some basketball this post season. When the Pacers season is over, Iam finished watching basketball. So go Pacers lets get a W tonight and gain some post-season momentum!!!
                                Hey, sure, don't get me wrong ... everyone is entitled to his/her opinion .

                                But, you were the one that posted you were upset by the position of a lot of other fans, almost questioning them as fans. I thought that was a little uncalled for and since we have had more then our fair share of debates as to who constitutes beying called a "fan" or a "better fan" (with a predictable BAD result for the thread/topic and a worse atmosphere on the forum) ... I didn't want to get into that stuff again .

                                Anyway, I am more of the position that I want the team to do well, but with a reasonable chance of success with regards to the post season aswell.

                                That's why I rather not go to the post season ONE year (it's just four games and there's almost no way that we will be going to the second round or further, we have no business there) to benefit from it for the coming years and gain a better negotiating position/improve our flexibility this summer to improve the roster.

                                Regards,

                                Mourning
                                2012 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                                2011 PD ABA Fantasy Keeper League Champion, sports.ws

                                2006 PD ABA Fantasy League runner up, sports.ws

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