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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 ___________"

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"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.

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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.

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What would you do with tinsley?

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  • #16
    Re: What would you do with tinsley?

    I hope they trade him for a box of Eggo Waffles, I'm hungry!


    Comment


    • #17
      Re: What would you do with tinsley?

      Originally posted by Graham Mernatsi View Post


      I'm... speechless. I'm going to go hide in a corner and pretend it didn't happen.

      Makes OPL sound like a Rhodes Scholar, huh?

      My favorite part of the poll is where you write "hell no" next to one choice in an apparent attempt to skew poll results. Lovely.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: What would you do with tinsley?

        At this point, any deal that doesn't bring back a worse contract would be considered a worthy trade. If it happens to bring back someone servicable in the process, then all the better.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: What would you do with tinsley?

          Originally posted by jeffg-body View Post
          I voted to just get it over with myself because I'm sick of the drama involved. He needs to move on and we already have moved on. We have our TJ Ford Shelby and we're ready to drive it.
          The drama is over IMO and to be honest, I'm past this.

          He is only a Pacer in terms of a financial obligation or like an outstanding, unpaid fine. He's a nothing otherwise, because he won't see the court. Yes, he will hinder us financially, but so does Murphy. So did JO for that matter. The "team", he is not really part of, which is what I plan to focus on and I hope the fan-base focuses on.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: What would you do with tinsley?

            Originally posted by BlazinPacers247 View Post
            since i waiting like forever about tinsley be gone before season starts but i running out tie for this if we had the power what whould ya do? i say cut him (buyout) bye then start fresh he just A OMEN seriously


            I'd hire him to teach English composition.
            And I won't be here to see the day
            It all dries up and blows away
            I'd hang around just to see
            But they never had much use for me
            In Levelland. (James McMurtry)

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: What would you do with tinsley?

              Originally posted by Putnam View Post
              I'd hire him to teach English composition.
              I'm afraid the language is already "de-composing" in some areas.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                Start him!
                I'm in these bands
                The Humans
                Dr. Goldfoot
                The Bar Brawlers
                ME

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                  Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                  The drama is over IMO and to be honest, I'm past this.

                  He is only a Pacer in terms of a financial obligation or like an outstanding, unpaid fine. He's a nothing otherwise, because he won't see the court. Yes, he will hinder us financially, but so does Murphy. So did JO for that matter. The "team", he is not really part of, which is what I plan to focus on and I hope the fan-base focuses on.

                  As long as he's not been boughtout and is being paid a salary, HE'S PART OF THE TEAM! If you don't think so, just let him cause an off court PR problem while still being paid a salary. All the good PR that has been done gets flushed down the toilet, b/c the average fan just sees Tinsley as a member of the Pacers. It won't make any difference he isn't playing, for in their eyes he's a Pacer. To the average Indiana resident things with the Pacers haven't changed in their view regardless if he's sitting home and not an active playing member.

                  The REAL question is "can ownership take the chance of Tinsley causing them another PR nightmare?"

                  If you can't find a trade for him, the only option is a buyout. I am against buying Tinsley out, but keeping him on the payroll for the next 3 years hoping he plays the good citizen while trying to trade him isn't an option either. It's like with Artest. It wasn't if he'd cause another PR nightmare, but when would he cause it. Same applies to Tinsley.

                  If I was ownership, I'd try to do everything possible to trade Tinsley(which I'm sure is being done), and if no trade comes by the beginning of the season or maybe the 1st 10-15 games then I'd buy him out. The only reason I'd wait until 10-15 games is maybe a team waiting for a buyout would decide they can't wait any longer, and would then make a deal for him. Otherwise, I negotiate the best buyout possible, and order a moving van to move him to his destination of choice anywhere outside Indiana.

                  If the roster is still at 16 at the beginning of the season, I cut Baston, unless McRoberts doesn't show anything thru practice and the pre-season. After Tinsley is gone, one way or another, the Pacers can pick up another player if necessary to replace whoever. JMOAA
                  Last edited by Justin Tyme; 08-30-2008, 11:40 AM.

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                  • #24
                    Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                    The thing with this question is to distinguish what we wanna do and what we can do. Obvioulsy I'd like to trade him for something useful but it's the most difficult task from all of these. I still think that JT has some value and could be traded... we could get something useful on the court as has been mentionned but this deal will most likely not be better in financial terms than keeping him.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                      Originally posted by BKK View Post
                      The thing with this question is to distinguish what we wanna do and what we can do. Obvioulsy I'd like to trade him for something useful but it's the most difficult task from all of these. I still think that JT has some value and could be traded... we could get something useful on the court as has been mentionned but this deal will most likely not be better in financial terms than keeping him.
                      If the financial aspect of a player being taken back is the same as Tinsley, it makes no difference if that player can contibute or not. If the player is a solid citzen type player, you take the deal! It's a no brainer. You worry about how to trade that player later. You do the deal to just finally get rid of Tinsley, to close the book on him, and move on with life with never looking back! It would be like Atlas having the world lifted off his shoulders.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                        Unless someone gets really desperate, they are not giving us anything of value, taking back Tinsley's 3 years, plus all the baggage that comes with him. Add on top of that, the Union is likely not going to idly sit by and let us put Tinsley on the shelf just because we don't want him. All signs realistically point to a buyout if they're serious about him not coming back.

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                        • #27
                          Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                          Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
                          As long as he's not been boughtout and is being paid a salary, HE'S PART OF THE TEAM! If you don't think so, just let him cause an off court PR problem while still being paid a salary. All the good PR that has been done gets flushed down the toilet, b/c the average fan just sees Tinsley as a member of the Pacers. It won't make any difference he isn't playing, for in their eyes he's a Pacer. To the average Indiana resident things with the Pacers haven't changed in their view regardless if he's sitting home and not an active playing member.

                          The REAL question is "can ownership take the chance of Tinsley causing them another PR nightmare?"

                          If you can't find a trade for him, the only option is a buyout. I am against buying Tinsley out, but keeping him on the payroll for the next 3 years hoping he plays the good citizen while trying to trade him isn't an option either. It's like with Artest. It wasn't if he'd cause another PR nightmare, but when would he cause it. Same applies to Tinsley.

                          If I was ownership, I'd try to do everything possible to trade Tinsley(which I'm sure is being done), and if no trade comes by the beginning of the season or maybe the 1st 10-15 games then I'd buy him out. The only reason I'd wait until 10-15 games is maybe a team waiting for a buyout would decide they can't wait any longer, and would then make a deal for him. Otherwise, I negotiate the best buyout possible, and order a moving van to move him to his destination of choice anywhere outside Indiana.

                          If the roster is still at 16 at the beginning of the season, I cut Baston, unless McRoberts doesn't show anything thru practice and the pre-season. After Tinsley is gone, one way or another, the Pacers can pick up another player if necessary to replace whoever. JMOAA
                          Assuming Tinsley has an incident, which may not even happen, it's not likely to matter for several reasons.

                          First, the 12,000 diehard fans left are not going away unless a Pacer murders someone or molests a child. Knock on wood, but I doubt Tinsley does anything of that nature. A drug bust or gun possession charge will not phase any current fan.

                          Second, as for the public, the team is not going to draw much interest from them unless a virtual miracle happens (e.g. the team contends) and if that happens a minor drug bust or the like is not going to matter much because everyone will know the final cleansing is imminent...and everyone in the building will either forget who he is or know he hasn't played on the Pacers for more than 2 years. There's simply a big difference between this situation and your starting PG being involved in incidents.

                          The reality is, until a couple years of winning and perhaps contending we don't have much to lose. We are several years from that, at least a year after JT's contract expires. We may slip into the playoffs the next two years at best, but attendance simply is not going to spike anytime soon. The third year I suppose a PR incident could be costly, but by that time the Pacers should probably just pay off the last year and run him out of town.

                          In the meantime, we can watch the rebirth of the team and enjoy that. Seriously, Jamaal Tinsley is a non-issue beyond his impact on the books...

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                            Originally posted by QuickRelease View Post
                            Unless someone gets really desperate, they are not giving us anything of value, taking back Tinsley's 3 years, plus all the baggage that comes with him. Add on top of that, the Union is likely not going to idly sit by and let us put Tinsley on the shelf just because we don't want him. All signs realistically point to a buyout if they're serious about him not coming back.

                            As long as Tinsley is getting paid I doubt if there is anything the union can do about it. I'm sure there's no clause in the contract prohibiting a player from getting paid for absolutely nothing.
                            I hate the idea of giving up the roster spot by having Tinsley sit out but I'd rather do that then to see a buy out. If nothing else Tinsleys expiring contract will have real value 2 years from now.
                            Why do teams tank? Ask a Spurs fan.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                              Originally posted by Pacerized View Post
                              As long as Tinsley is getting paid I doubt if there is anything the union can do about it. I'm sure there's no clause in the contract prohibiting a player from getting paid for absolutely nothing.
                              I hate the idea of giving up the roster spot by having Tinsley sit out but I'd rather do that then to see a buy out. If nothing else Tinsleys expiring contract will have real value 2 years from now.
                              Good point. Let him rot as we rebuild this team, then his contract can be traded. It gets better each day that passes...

                              The sun is rising folks.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: What would you do with tinsley?

                                Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                                Assuming Tinsley has an incident, which may not even happen, it's not likely to matter for several reasons.

                                First, the 12,000 diehard fans left are not going away unless a Pacer murders someone or molests a child. Knock on wood, but I doubt Tinsley does anything of that nature. A drug bust or gun possession charge will not phase any current fan.

                                Second, as for the public, the team is not going to draw much interest from them unless a virtual miracle happens (e.g. the team contends) and if that happens a minor drug bust or the like is not going to matter much because everyone will know the final cleansing is imminent...and everyone in the building will either forget who he is or know he hasn't played on the Pacers for more than 2 years. There's simply a big difference between this situation and your starting PG being involved in incidents.

                                The reality is, until a couple years of winning and perhaps contending we don't have much to lose. We are several years from that, at least a year after JT's contract expires. We may slip into the playoffs the next two years at best, but attendance simply is not going to spike anytime soon. The third year I suppose a PR incident could be costly, but by that time the Pacers should probably just pay off the last year and run him out of town.

                                In the meantime, we can watch the rebirth of the team and enjoy that. Seriously, Jamaal Tinsley is a non-issue beyond his impact on the books...
                                You truly need to take your rose colored glasses off if you really think Tinsley is a non-factor beyond his impact on salary! Let him cause a PR nightmare, and it WILL have an impact upon the books in the form of attendance. You think the media, Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis TV, will turn a blind eye and not sensationalize Tinsley's new problem? Please! The average person will say "nothing has changed", and why support a team of pampered problem players. The average citizen has a problem understanding how people making millions can't be good citizens, especially now when the economy is in the shape it is in at the present time. Remember this IS Indiana not NY or California.

                                Reality is yes the public doesn't want to hear about any 'new" PR problems with Tinsley. If only the 12,000 diehard Pacers fans are the only ones that will be sticking around, you might want to drop the Pacers organization a memo and tell them to save their money on their PR campaign to bring back the "casual" fans is a waste of time for the next 2-3 years.

                                Reality is if Tinsley makes a PR nightmare the attendance in Conseco will be a whole lot less than 12,000. Reality is that attendance HAS to go up if the Pacers are going to survive in Indianapolis... that is REALITY!

                                Reality is the Pacers bottomline can't afford a Tinsley PR nightmare, and ownership is well aware of it.
                                Last edited by Justin Tyme; 08-31-2008, 06:08 AM.

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