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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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Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

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  • #31
    Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

    Originally posted by McKeyFan View Post
    I got fairly well flamed for this thread I started after Lance's first couple of summer league games three years ago:

    "Lance Stephenson will revolutionize the Pacers"

    http://www.pacersdigest.com/showthre...ize-the-Pacers
    Ha... Who the heck is Stanley Robinson?

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

      Originally posted by CJ Jones View Post
      Ha... Who the heck is Stanley Robinson?
      One of the most athletic players to ever play in a Uconn uniform. Unfortunately, that was all he could do.

      AJ used to make him look significantly better at basketball than he actually was. (He just knew how to play with him. Similar to Thabeet.) Tricked a lot of scouts. That is until the next season, where Stanley couldn't function without him.

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

        I really had no major convictions on Lance. My reactions have been from the posters who would have given up the playoff run two years ago just to give him some PT. I trusted fully in the timing of the staff and their usage of him. Vogel is a players coach and he is limiting him with reason. I do not know the reasons, but it may come from the same vein that he just benched Gerald.

        We all wanted Gerald benched quicker. Many did not want to see DJ back. But we knew that Ben Hans was not much better. I think that Vogel and the staff know their players. And they give too much of a leash if anything at all. So the pacing with Lance's development and acclimation into the rotation is all right with me. I don't get too high on minimal results from 2nd rounders. AJ was a decent pick.

        But now I am fighting not to be elated for Lance's success.

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

          Originally posted by Major Cold View Post
          I really had no major convictions on Lance. My reactions have been from the posters who would have given up the playoff run two years ago just to give him some PT. I trusted fully in the timing of the staff and their usage of him. Vogel is a players coach and he is limiting him with reason. I do not know the reasons, but it may come from the same vein that he just benched Gerald.

          We all wanted Gerald benched quicker. Many did not want to see DJ back. But we knew that Ben Hans was not much better. I think that Vogel and the staff know their players. And they give too much of a leash if anything at all. So the pacing with Lance's development and acclimation into the rotation is all right with me. I don't get too high on minimal results from 2nd rounders. AJ was a decent pick.

          But now I am fighting not to be elated for Lance's success.
          Free Lance with elation!
          "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

          Comment


          • #35
            Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

            Originally posted by Dr. Hibbert View Post
            On the subject of Lance: where do you all think he still has the most room for growth? What does he have to do to take his game to the next level?

            My quick, though dumb compared to the rest of you whole know this team better than I do , answer is that he just needs minutes, needs to go through different in-game scenarios, needs to build situational awareness. Things you can't necessarily teach in practice. I see the skillset, and I'm sure there are still a thousand things to work on there, but I mostly notice a general lack of awareness at times. Can't help but think it's youth.
            I think Lance needs to continue to work on his mid range J. He can get the space for it pretty much whenever he wants but as of yet hasn't really shown the ability to consistently knock it down. If he can get the accuracy on that shot down he would help his scoring a lot.


            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

              I wonder why nobody brought the name Dahntay Jones up,because in my opinion he played a big role in helping and developing Lance when he was young and when he said things against older players from the team. I never watched them live but for me it looked like they had a tight relationship...but maybe it's just me. I really liked Dahntay,he had a good attitude.

              Comment


              • #37
                Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                Originally posted by InYaFace View Post
                I wonder why nobody brought the name Dahntay Jones up,because in my opinion he played a big role in helping and developing Lance when he was young and when he said things against older players from the team. I never watched them live but for me it looked like they had a tight relationship...but maybe it's just me. I really liked Dahntay,he had a good attitude.
                Just speculation here, but I think they may have had a schoolyard fight relationship. Early on with Lance he and Dahntay got into it. They must have made up, decided they respected each other, and become friends.
                "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                  Originally posted by InYaFace View Post
                  I wonder why nobody brought the name Dahntay Jones up,because in my opinion he played a big role in helping and developing Lance when he was young and when he said things against older players from the team. I never watched them live but for me it looked like they had a tight relationship...but maybe it's just me. I really liked Dahntay,he had a good attitude.
                  I agree, just from the interaction.

                  In fact, I think Dahntay played a pretty large role in helping a lot of the younger guys.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                    Originally posted by Sookie View Post
                    I agree, just from the interaction.

                    In fact, I think Dahntay played a pretty large role in helping a lot of the younger guys.
                    I thought so too, so it was odd seeing Dahntay being labeled a locker room problem after he was traded.

                    Anyway, like a lot of other posters here, I'll happily eat crow on Lance. Kudos to the believers who saw it in him early on.

                    Between Lance and Paul George, who has been the more surprising this year? Getting to star level like Paul did is always tough, but to me Lance turning into a steady glue guy with the starters is even more amazing considering where he started from. And yes he still has the potential to be more than a steady contributor.

                    Is it too early to speculate on what it would cost to keep Lance? He'll need a new contract at the same time as Paul G.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                      ....damn, guys. you all are making me pretty hungry for some crow right now. unfortunately for my appetite, I was far too understanding of Lance's situation, and always hoped he would develop into something similar to what he has. I was sketched out by his disposition during the start of his career, but it takes most players a couple-few years to get acclimated to the NBA (Paul freaking George). Now that he's coming into his own, Lance is killing the competition.

                      I hope your crow tastes tasty.
                      witters: @imbtyler, @postgameonline

                      Originally posted by Day-V
                      In conclusion, Paul George is awesome.
                      Originally posted by Slick Pinkham
                      Our arena, their arena, Rucker park, it just doesn't matter. We're bigger, longer, younger, faster, and hungrier.


                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                        I think Lance is going to turn into one of the those players you love to have on YOUR team, but every other team's fans don't like. I think he may be willing to wear the black hat, like Reggie. (which, ultimately, I think the opposing fans love . . . love to hate.)

                        But that would explain why the process has taken so long here with the fans. At least in part. He has that cocky (swagger? immature? ruthless?) personality that rubs you the wrong way unless it is producing wonderfully for you or your team. That, coupled with early PR problems (of which we still don't know how much was rooted in reality) and his exciting (wild? out of control?) style of play that can easily be interpreted as unnecessary street ball -- all that has contributed to a slow awakening of the fan base. But it seems to be happening now.
                        "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                          No one could have known whether he would mature emotionally. But I think all of us could see he had game.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                            I am proud to say that I did not say harsh things about him amid his off-court stuff. But I did not back him up as much as other posters here, like 90's and McKeyFan, so I'll give them props for being a firm believer even if many had so much doubts that he'll "get it." I even have some doubts about his future in the NBA not because of character but because of him not having success on the court when he gets some time, so I'll eat some serving of a crow for that. He has the great physical gifts to succeed, and I believe everybody will agree that we know he has the greatest potential alongside PG, he just had great maturity issues early on that held him back.

                            With the partial success of the Lance Stephenson project, I would like to give credit to the following guys in the Pacers organization:

                            Larry Bird: A true Lance believer since day 1 when he became a Pacer. Picked him up when nobody did, even his hometown NY skipped him. Even gave him a guaranteed contract in spite of previous mishaps (James White). Stuck with him even if he had some questionable character and had off-court troubles that plagued the Pacers organization in recent years. And even guided him up until now even if he's not around the organization anymore.

                            Clark Kellogg: He has a major role in improving Lance's character. We know that it's still some ways to go before the transformation becomes complete (the last playoffs with Miami and last game against Miami again comes to mind). But the improvement has shown great results when comparing before and after.

                            Dahntay Jones: The big brother that just keeps him at bay. Having a firm character clashing with Lance has helped shaping up the maturity of Lance. A great buddy to hang out with Lance on the bench, and maybe outside the court if there is any.

                            Brian Shaw: Aside from his character, we know that Lance is a raw talent that needs polishing. With Brian Shaw's help, we see the improved play not only of Lance, but of PG as well. Just a great job as a mentor in terms of professional basketball development.

                            Frank Vogel: It's him who handles the rotation, and he gave him the chance. He is the one in charge of minutes distribution, and gradually he's giving him plenty. He tells what plays to execute, and we notice that he's giving Lance some plays designed for him. And we know he's giving Lance the sermons, the encouragement, and the directions needed for him to succeed in the NBA. A great coach for Lance indeed.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                              Originally posted by wintermute View Post
                              Is it too early to speculate on what it would cost to keep Lance? He'll need a new contract at the same time as Paul G.
                              As I said a month ago, the earlier, the cheaper... I think that 6 Mil is the magic # going into the summer for Lance. If a renegotiation doesn't happen this summer, he or Danny WILL BE GONE...

                              If we get him for 6, then West and Danny HAVE to agree to take a discount for Danny to stay past next year. (West at 8-10 and Danny 7-8)

                              Even then, Hansbrough is gone and we would have to figure a way to get rid of Green's 3.5 mil per to be safe...

                              It's gonna be close and I don't know if the NBA egos will be willing to take the hit...

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                                Originally posted by *astrisk* View Post
                                As I said a month ago, the earlier, the cheaper... I think that 6 Mil is the magic # going into the summer for Lance. If a renegotiation doesn't happen this summer, he or Danny WILL BE GONE...
                                That would be an interesting gamble for the Pacers. Right now we have Lance locked up for another year at a cheap price on a team option. Do we release him from the team option, and attempt to re-sign him to a long deal, presumably before his market price goes up after another year's improvement?

                                Keep in mind that the last team to try this sort of thing was the Cavs with Boozer, and that... didn't end well for the Cavs. As the Boozer case showed, the NBA won't honor any sort of wink-wink arrangement we may make with Lance's agent. Trying to be too clever could cost us here.

                                Comment

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