Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

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

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

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

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

Rule #1

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

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

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

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

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

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #2

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

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

The right places to do so are:

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

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

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

Rule #3

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

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

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

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

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

Rule #4

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

Rule #5

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

An example:

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

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

Rule #6

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

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

Rule #7

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

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

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

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

Rule #8

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

Rule #9

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

Rule #10

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

Rule #11

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

Preseason NBA thread 2012

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

  • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

    Originally posted by MvPlumlee View Post
    I'm very curious to see that new generation of centers (Valanciunas, Davis, Drummond) go head to head with Hibbert.
    They are talented, athletic, quick, don't have bad hands or a very low IQ.

    It scares me a bit to be honest. Competition at center has been pretty weak the last few years. What if there is a revival and these three are only the first of many more talented athletic centers to come?
    Hibbert plays pretty well against the best centers in the league because he's one of them. He'll be fine. Davis is going to be a star, but Val and Drum are a few years away from being at his level, if they end up getting there. He doesn't lose his touch, length or size advantage against anyone.
    Goodbye Captain, My Captain. I wish you had the chance to sink or swim with your ship on its quest for the "ship".

    Comment


    • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

      In a handful of preseason games this is what I have learned:

      [1] Signing Ian Mahinmi and Gerald Green to multi-year deals was wise. [2] Ian Mahinmi could start on some NBA teams. He will contribute to the Pacers as they prepare to contend. Furthermore, he will be a valuable asset, particularly after a few years of maturation. Don't misunderstand what I am saying, he could start on some teams. However, in two to three years, some teams may mean many teams. [3] Gerald Green will apply pressure to his opponents and Paul George. Paul George has a backup. Has he ever had a backup? I suppose Leandro Barbosa was a backup, but he was most certainly out of his prime. Gerald Green however has a high ceiling, and I'm not basing that off of his jumping ability. I think Gerald Green will be a contender for sixth man of the year. If nothing else, Lance Stephenson will struggle to find playing time next to Gerald Green. Dang.

      Comment


      • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

        Originally posted by 1984 View Post
        I thought Jim O'Brien was right, A.J. Price was a steal. That doesn't mean he was a starter, however as second round picks go, I though A.J. Price was an excellent player. He will play well in Washington. Good for A.J. Price.
        He had Jimmy and his crazy (I'll call it that to be nice) coaching to deal with his rookie season and the first half of his second. And then the situation with Vogel (the style Frank needed him to play in the second Unit..aka..DC's game.) combined with recovering from injuries/inconsistent playing time/whatever got in his head with his shot resulted in inconsistent (at best) play from him.

        Bottom line is, AJ Price is that solid player that's good enough to help a team, but not quite good enough for a team to invest in him, particularly with the injury concerns. And his style of play doesn't scream potential.

        I'm a fan because I like the style of point guard play that he plays. It's atypical in the NBA. (True point guard who keeps the ball moving instead of dominating it.) No, I don't think he's the most talented guy. (I do think he's quite bright though.) But I like the style. I hope he does well given this opportunity.

        BTW: Frank did have an obvious effect on the kid. He's all anti-flopping now. Said he doesn't flop, and chewed out a teammate for flopping in practice. :X

        Comment


        • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

          Austin Rivers putting up about 9ppg on ~30% shooting. It's preseason and all but that dude's the next Jerryd Bayless.

          Comment


          • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

            Originally posted by daschysta View Post
            Hibbert plays pretty well against the best centers in the league because he's one of them. He'll be fine. Davis is going to be a star, but Val and Drum are a few years away from being at his level, if they end up getting there. He doesn't lose his touch, length or size advantage against anyone.
            That's probably true. I think all 3 have potential to be better than Hibbert, though.
            I haven't seen Davis much this preseason, and the little i saw he was at PF, so I can't comment there (but I thought he looked awesome when i watched him in the Olympics).
            The other two guys look like legit starters already and their upside seems just mind blowing.
            But who knows. First and foremost, will they stay healthy? Drummond is massive and a leaper, and Valanciunas plays so recklessly for a 7 footer sometimes that he's already had a ton of twisted ankles and other small injuries, including in this Toronto camp. Staying healthy is a talent too, especially for a center. Also, we have to see Drummond over the course of the season. The big worry for teams was his coasting in some games, and I haven't seen anything like it so far; but what about playing hard for 82 games? that will determine if his upside is a superstar, or something far less.
            Last edited by hackashaq; 10-21-2012, 05:38 AM.

            Comment


            • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

              Drummond, Valanciunas and Davis have the potential to be better than Roy from the neck down. It is easy to find guys that are faster or quicker or jump higher than Roy. JaVale McGee is the poster child there. But there is much more to being a really quality big than just simple physical tools. It is about learning to use those tools and learning the skills while pushing around really big guys. There is where ROy makes him elite. If Drummond has Roy's mental talents, he would have been the run away choice for the first pick in the draft and people would be comparing him to wilt and shaq and bill russell. But he's never shown those mental skills at UConn or Detroit yet. Maybe he will learn to play. Maybe not. It is way to easy to see the physical potential of a young guy and assume he will realize it. Before those guys will be better than Roy, they have to learn how to play.

              Originally posted by hackashaq View Post
              That's probably true. I think all 3 have potential to be better than Hibbert, though.
              I haven't seen Davis much this preseason, and the little i saw he was at PF, so I can't comment there (but I thought he looked awesome when i watched him in the Olympics).
              The other two guys look like legit starters already and their upside seems just mind blowing.
              But who knows. First and foremost, will they stay healthy? Drummond is massive and a leaper, and Valanciunas plays so recklessly for a 7 footer sometimes that he's already had a ton of twisted ankles and other small injuries, including in this Toronto camp. Staying healthy is a talent too, especially for a center. Also, we have to see Drummond over the course of the season. The big worry for teams was his coasting in some games, and I haven't seen anything like it so far; but what about playing hard for 82 games? that will determine if his upside is a superstar, or something far less.

              Comment


              • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                Originally posted by Heisenberg View Post
                Austin Rivers putting up about 9ppg on ~30% shooting. It's preseason and all but that dude's the next Jerryd Bayless.
                Agreed. If Doc wasn't his Dad, Austin wouldn't be in the NBA.

                Comment


                • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                  Originally posted by xIndyFan View Post
                  Drummond, Valanciunas and Davis have the potential to be better than Roy from the neck down. It is easy to find guys that are faster or quicker or jump higher than Roy. JaVale McGee is the poster child there. But there is much more to being a really quality big than just simple physical tools. It is about learning to use those tools and learning the skills while pushing around really big guys. There is where ROy makes him elite. If Drummond has Roy's mental talents, he would have been the run away choice for the first pick in the draft and people would be comparing him to wilt and shaq and bill russell. But he's never shown those mental skills at UConn or Detroit yet. Maybe he will learn to play. Maybe not. It is way to easy to see the physical potential of a young guy and assume he will realize it. Before those guys will be better than Roy, they have to learn how to play.
                  saying that the current Drummond/Valanciunas hype is based on 'simple physical tools' is doing very little justice to their play this preseason.

                  Comment


                  • So far, drummonds motor is the absolute last thing I'm worrying about....

                    He plays the game like Dwight Howard did at the same age. See rim, attack rim.

                    Drummond's per-30 minute averages through 6 preseason games:

                    17 points
                    10 rebounds
                    2.6 blocks

                    His foul rate is a bit high, but his turnover rate is pretty low too, so you're kind of taking the good with the bad at this point.

                    He just turned 19 a few months ago. He's the 2nd youngest player in the NBA. I'd be happy if we got any sort of production out of him in year one.
                    Last edited by Kstat; 10-22-2012, 06:17 AM.

                    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                    Comment


                    • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                      Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
                      Agreed. If Doc wasn't his Dad, Austin wouldn't be in the NBA.
                      That's a little strong...

                      Comment


                      • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                        Austin is in terrible situation in New Orleans. He isn't a PG and yet they've drafted him to be one and his only reliable offensive weapon is hurt all the time.

                        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                        Comment


                        • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                          ..keeping in mind that it is only preseason, this is pretty much Drummond's entire highlight tape...










                          Last edited by Kstat; 10-22-2012, 06:22 AM.

                          It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                          Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                          Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                          NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                          Comment


                          • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                            Have I sad how high I'm on Valanciunas yet? No? Well, let me say it.

                            He will be the reason I'll be watching the Raptors this year. I also tried to watch Lietuvos last year but it wasn't as easy.
                            Originally posted by IrishPacer
                            Empty vessels make the most noise.

                            Comment


                            • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                              Will defiantly be watching a lot of Pistons game's this year i am very curious to see the Monroe and Drummond twin towers experiment.
                              Counting down the days untill DJ Augustin's contract expires.

                              Comment


                              • Re: Preseason NBA thread 2012

                                Originally posted by Nuntius View Post
                                Have I sad how high I'm on Valanciunas yet? No? Well, let me say it.

                                He will be the reason I'll be watching the Raptors this year. I also tried to watch Lietuvos last year but it wasn't as easy.
                                I caught a couple Lietuvos Rytas games last season. I think Valanciunas is going to be an all-star eventually. The Cavs were insane for passing on him for Thompson.

                                It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                                Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                                Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                                NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X