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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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Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

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  • #16
    Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

    Originally posted by Kstat View Post
    No, you win or lose that title in the playoffs.

    Until then, you get the benefit of the doubt, no matter what you do in the regular season.

    The "championship belt" exists. It's the respect you earn as the 2-time reigning champion. You can't win or lose it until elimination time.
    So as of right now, the Ravens are the NFL's best team. Got it.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

      Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
      The above is the statement I took exception to. It's not true.

      If the heat win the title this year, that means you are saying the Heat would be the BEST team next year too.

      That's nonsense! For example what if Lebron, Wade, and Bosh all go to a different team next year and Miami starts to rebuild. Saying they are the best team would be silly.

      If you want to say they are the champion until someone eliminates them, that's fine I'll buy that statement, but to say they are the best team . . .no!
      This is a tad obtuse.

      Of course if a team jettisons their core, it's an exception. Last I checked, Miami's core is still intact. The guys that won the last two titles are still there.

      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


      • #18
        Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

        Originally posted by Kstat View Post
        This is a tad obtuse.

        Of course if a team jettisons their core, it's an exception. Last I checked, Miami's core is still intact. The guys that won the last two titles are still there.
        You're the one who said they get the benefit of the doubt "no matter what".

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

          Originally posted by Smits Happens View Post
          You're the one who said they get the benefit of the doubt "no matter what".
          Right. The lebron/wade/bosh heat get the benefit of the doubt no matter what. The regular season does nothing to change their status.

          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


          • #20
            Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

            Originally posted by Kstat View Post
            Right. The lebron/wade/bosh heat get the benefit of the doubt no matter what.
            Fine if that's your opinion, but to be fair, you didn't give that qualifier previously.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

              Originally posted by Smits Happens View Post
              Fine if that's your opinion, but to be fair, you didn't give that qualifier previously.
              I didn't think I had to state the obvious.

              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


              • #22
                Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                After winning two championships and barely losing one no team can say they are better than the heat until the heat are beat. You cannot be considered any worse when you have not lost players.


                the heat will not even start playing until mid January. Turn it up some in march and actually play to their potential in June. Judging them no is just laughable because they do the same thing every year.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                  Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
                  The above is the statement I took exception to. It's not true.

                  If the heat win the title this year, that means you are saying the Heat would be the BEST team next year too.

                  That's nonsense! For example what if Lebron, Wade, and Bosh all go to a different team next year and Miami starts to rebuild. Saying they are the best team would be silly.

                  If you want to say they are the champion until someone eliminates them, that's fine I'll buy that statement, but to say they are the best team . . .no!

                  Well I don't think that anyone would have ever said that the 1999 Chicago Bulls were the best team until proven otherwise after they lost Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Philip. Obviously their recent championships meant nothing as far as that pitiful 1999 team was concerned.

                  But the Heat are still basically the same team as the one that has been to the Finals three straight seasons and won two championships. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh are still there. They've earned the respect of being considered the best team until someone in the East eliminates them on the court. We may very well win more regular season games than Miami this season, but we're never going to be a better team than them until we go out there and beat them in 4 out of 7 when it matters most. Like them or not, the Heat have earned that respect. For three straight seasons, everyone in the East has failed to take them out.

                  It's like the Lakers a few years ago. They made the Finals three straight years and were back to back champs. They earned the right to be considered the best team until Dallas rightfully took it away from them. The Shaq/Kobe Lakers are another good example. They won three straight rings and no one else in the West could be considered better until the Spurs knocked them out in 2003. The Heat obviously aren't going to win titles until infinity, but some other East team is going to have to prove it on the court by sending them packing.
                  Last edited by Sollozzo; 11-09-2013, 11:06 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                    Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                    Right. The lebron/wade/bosh heat get the benefit of the doubt no matter what. The regular season does nothing to change their status.
                    Hmmm, I wonder why polls and rankings go up and down?

                    Adios.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                      Originally posted by Will Galen View Post
                      Hmmm, I wonder why polls and rankings go up and down?

                      Adios.
                      Because this isn't figure skating and polls and rankings do not determine anything real. They're something fun for fans to fawn over, nothing more.

                      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


                      • #26
                        Yes, the Heat are the champs until someone else wins in the finals.

                        But I'd rather be the team forcing them to work at keeping it than to be just another speed bump.

                        Sent from my TouchPad using Tapatalk 4
                        BillS

                        A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
                        Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                          When the Colts won the SuperBowl, they were defending champs. nothing more nothing less. only defending the crown (or belt if you prefer). Heat are defending a crown this season, that does not mean they are the best team. Much like the Colts were not the best team the following year.

                          Both the Heat and Pacers will improve as the season goes on. No one is crowning a team champion in November, way to much can happen between now and then. Other teams will improve in the east also like Brooklyn, Chicago.

                          on paper at full strength I believe the Pacers are one of only a few teams that can a win a crown this year. As of right now the Pacers are not exactly at full strength. Grangers return if healthy makes the Pacers the better TEAM.

                          I hope to see MIA in the playoffs, preferable ECF. Bron, Wade will be forced to play 48 minutes every game. No way MIA can stack up with our depth. If Wade is less than 75-80% I don't believe Bron get beat the Pacers 4 games by himself.

                          Way to early to even think about really. like another poster stated above, we as Pacers fans need to just enjoy the ride. Who knows what Legend may do at the trade deadline. As of right now, don't care one bit about the Heat. Pacers need to get Granger back and integrated with the offense.

                          as Hicks said.

                          We will find out. its gonna be fun season.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                            Originally posted by maragin View Post
                            Here's a image capture of the article just in case people need to know what stock images were used.

                            http://i.imgur.com/UKBKc75.jpg
                            You forgot to edit out your name.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                              For once I actually agree with Slick Pinkham on something.

                              The Heat are the odds-on favorites, and have earned a certain amount of respect for being not just last year's champion, but the previous year's as well.

                              Here's the thing, though: Neither of those past championships logically entail that Miami is the best team this year.

                              Are they the team to beat? Sure.

                              Are they the best team in the league? That remains to be seen. All we can say for certain is that they have a proven track record, but a proven track record only proves past accomplishments, not current and future accomplishments.

                              If people like KStat want to let bumper sticker-like cliches do their thinking for them, so be it. I'll stick to logic.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Insider request: Are Pacers better than the Heat?

                                Originally posted by PacersPride View Post
                                When the Colts won the SuperBowl, they were defending champs. nothing more nothing less. only defending the crown (or belt if you prefer). Heat are defending a crown this season, that does not mean they are the best team. Much like the Colts were not the best team the following year.
                                When the Colts won that Super Bowl, it was the first one they had made it to. That's a big difference than the Heat, who have made the Finals three straight years and have won two straight. Also, the NFL has way more of an unpredictability factor to it because of the one and done format. The NBA is way different because you have to beat a team 4 out of 7 times. That's tough to do when the opponent has one of the greatest players in league history who happens to be in his prime.

                                We can win more games this season than the Heat. We can win the season series against them like we did last year. We can top them in "expert" power rankings. But we're not going to be a better team than them until we prove on the court that we can eliminate them 4 out of 7 times when the stakes are highest. We all hate Miami, but they are at the top of the mountain and it's going to have to be taken away from them.

                                I agree with you that we need to just enjoy the ride. This Pacer team obviously has a nice chance to win it all.

                                Comment

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