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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.

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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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Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

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  • Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

    First let me say hi to Hicks Able Peck KStat and my good friend from down the road Haywoode nice to see you all!!

    OK So after we drafted Hansbrough I pretty much lost all hope that the Pacers were ever going to interest me again. I was pretty excited by Hibbert but at that point he was still only seeing playing time from the end of the bench. Then we go and draft this big slug and I just said fine, if Larry is going to just draft big dumb clumsy white guys then I am not watching this crap.

    You old timers who know who I am are going to laugh when you find out why I started watching again. I had read that the player that only I seemed to like was in the D league and was going to be playing in Fort Wayne against the Mad Ants (love that team name) and I got all excited and it started making me think about the Pacers again.

    Of course he never actually came to Fort Wayne because he got picked up by an NBA team so I did not get to watch him play, but I watched the Pacers opener and then watched the next one and man I am kicking myself for not watching Hibbert this last couple of years. I dont yet have the same reverence for him as say the Great Dale Davis but I am sure warming up to him.

    on the other players I still hate Hansbrough I am liking Collison so far, and Lance Stephenson is showing enough promise last night to make me want to keep watching. Thats enough to keep me interested as long as Hansbrough does not get the starting job.
    Last edited by Ragnar; 01-12-2012, 03:04 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

    Well West should continue to improve as the season goes on and he gets his legs under him, we're already seeing his confidence in his midrange grow, and he's simply a much better player than Tyler, so I don't think you need to worry about Hans taking that job unless it's because of an injury.

    And yeah I don't think anyone can accuse hibs of being soft this year. He's a double double guy in only 29 minutes per game, and some of the rebounds he's been yanking down have been really visceral and badass.
    Goodbye Captain, My Captain. I wish you had the chance to sink or swim with your ship on its quest for the "ship".

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    • #3
      Welcome back!

      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

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      • #4
        Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

        What makes you dislike Hansbrough so much? I understand being upset when got drafted, but for the most part hes been exactly, if not 50 times better than we ever expected him to be.

        So what if he gets starting minutes, it would only mean hes outplayed D.West

        Oh ya Welcome Back btw
        Last edited by CreekShow; 01-12-2012, 04:25 PM.
        I Bleed Blue

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        • #5
          Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

          Originally posted by CreekShow View Post
          What makes you dislike Hansbrough so much? I understand being upset when got drafted, but for the most part hes been exactly, if not 50 times better than we ever expected him to be.

          So what if he gets starting minutes, it would only mean hes outplayed D.West

          Oh ya Welcome Back btw
          He left PD as soon as Tyler was drafted, I think he just really hates the guy for some reason
          @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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          • #6
            Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

            I wasn't excited about Hans being drafted (though I didn't hate it either). He has flaws that have been discussed ad nauseum. But he's better than I expected and better than most people expected, so you might want to give him a try as you watch with refreshed eyes this season. He's an important piece of what we're trying to accomplish right now.

            Welcome back. The Mad Ants do have a great name. I've never seen them play since I was long gone from Fort Wayne by the time the team came into existence.
            "Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

            "Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." - Voltaire

            "Everyone's values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others." - William Greider

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            • #7
              Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

              Wait, no it can't be, can it? Ragnar, really. What is next A-Train, oh wait.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                Welcome back Ragnar! Tyler is a good player to have coming off the bench for the Pacers. Give this a try and let me know if it makes him more bearable:

                The next time the Pacers play and Tyler snags a tough rebound, deflects or steals the ball, blocks a shot, or hits one of those funky looking runners in the lane yell "Good Hands, Bro!". You'll find that there will probably be at least 3-4 moments a game that fit. You'll enjoy his time on the floor much more. You could even turn it into a drinking game (not that I'm endorsing overindulgence).

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                  Originally posted by Ragnar View Post
                  First let me say hi to Hicks Able Peck KStat and my good friend from down the road Haywoode nice to see you all!!

                  OK So after we drafted Hansbrough I pretty much lost all hope that the Pacers were ever going to interest me again. I was pretty excited by Hibbert but at that point he was still only seeing playing time from the end of the bench. Then we go and draft this big slug and I just said fine, if Larry is going to just draft big dumb clumsy white guys then I am not watching this crap.

                  You old timers who know who I am are going to laugh when you find out why I started watching again. I had read that the player that only I seemed to like was in the D league and was going to be playing in Fort Wayne against the Mad Ants (love that team name) and I got all excited and it started making me think about the Pacers again.

                  Of course he never actually came to Fort Wayne because he got picked up by an NBA team so I did not get to watch him play, but I watched the Pacers opener and then watched the next one and man I am kicking myself for not watching Hibbert this last couple of years. I dont yet have the same reverence for him as say the Great Dale Davis but I am sure warming up to him.

                  on the other players I still hate Hansbrough I am liking Collison so far, and Lance Stephenson is showing enough promise last night to make me want to keep watching. Thats enough to keep me interested as long as Hansbrough does not get the starting job.
                  I just started posting again last week... I was a heavy poster on Indy Star back in the brawl era... Jermaine7Fan...

                  I have been watching and supporting the team through our down years but became a read only forum member basically due to limited time with my then new job with my family's business... But the Pacers success is to good to resist talking about anymore! And I can't carry actual Pacers conversations with people in my town as no one in Seymour seems to care about them as much as I do

                  I wonder how many more ghosts of forums past will start to come out of the woodworks?
                  Nothing in life worth having comes easy.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                    Darn bandwagoners!




                    Welcome back....
                    Nuntius was right for a while. I was wrong for a while. But ultimately I was right and Frank Vogel has been let go.

                    ------

                    "A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork."

                    -John Wooden

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                    • #11
                      Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                      I'm also not sure if we have space in the bandwagon anymore


                      @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                        Bandwagon ???

                        ma fwiend there drove the team-bus!

                        It's very very good to see ya again, and yes i had in mind you would travel to see the little fella at work, i too still have a weak spot for him, and amazingly enough am not enamored with Tyler.

                        Roy on the other hand..... to me he is a lovechild of DD and Rik Smits; the way he plays this year he is "tough"

                        last week of the season, 4 home-game stretch, i will be there, will you ?
                        So Long And Thanks For All The Fish.

                        If you've done 6 impossible things today?
                        Then why not have Breakfast at Milliways!

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                        • #13
                          Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                          Welcome back Ragnar. At the risk of chasing you away again, I wonder...did you ever find that DVD that you were going to send to me? I've got good balcony seats I can give you to just about whatever game you want in the regular season if you did.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                            Hey, I remember posting a response to you a while back about how you seem like someone who lost interest in the team like many fans during the rebuilding process and now you're back.

                            Guess I was right.

                            Watching more Pacers basketball, you'll appreciate Tyler. He's a hell of a 6th man and brings a ton of energy. He's proved a lot of doubters wrong this season. I don't know of a single Pacers fan who doesn't like him and there's no reason not to like him now.

                            Anyway, welcome back. It's nice to see you and many others back on board. Hopefully you watch more/attend more games.
                            Last edited by Scot Pollard; 01-12-2012, 06:34 PM.
                            In 49 states it's just basketball, but this is Indiana!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Thoughts on this team from a somewhat disolusioned / starting to have new hope fan

                              So basically you saved yourself the despair of watching the last few seasons of the train wreck that was Jim O'Briens coaching.

                              Welcome back and yes I saw Dustpan sitting and chearing on the Utah bench last night. I'm proud of him for making an honest effort and finding a new home.


                              Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

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