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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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Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

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  • #46
    Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

    Originally posted by DrFife View Post
    Well, from what I heard before the feed crapped out, I believe his intention is to:

    i) keep our pick
    ii) stay at #13 and see who drops down
    iii) draft someone other than a PF because he doesn't think there'll be anyone worthwhile at #13
    iv) instead try to obtain a non-star veteran PF who isn't currently signed to a long-term contract and who's known for his D and can score a bit in the post

    Best guess??

    Hoping to draft Gerald Henderson
    Will try to sign (s&t?) Drew Gooden
    Good catch. I think he is looking to FA for our big.

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

      Originally posted by bellisimo View Post
      it was interesting to me that he first said that they had about 10million to spend and then backed up and said "the budget is not decided yet, still have to discuss it with Herb"...
      I thought once Granger's extension kicks back, we'll still be over the cap. We still have to MLE
      "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


      Comment


      • #48
        Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

        I would not be suprised to see Nick Cathelises on this squad next year.

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

          Originally posted by bellisimo View Post
          it was interesting to me that he first said that they had about 10million to spend and then backed up and said "the budget is not decided yet, still have to discuss it with Herb"...
          Well, he was basically giving a rough idea of what he knew, but is going to confirm that with Herb.

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

            Originally posted by stevo View Post
            Good catch. I think he is looking to FA for our big.
            Besides the MLE, do we have any cap space available for FA signings? DrFife mentioned Gooden which was a good mention. We could use part of the MLE on him. But im pretty sure we dont have cap space to spend because Granger's extension will kick in soon

            It would be nice if Boozer would accept the MLE, but I think he'll be getting more from a team like Detroit. I just realized that Boozer has a $12 million player option. My guess is that hes going to exercise his option because of all the time he missed this season, his value might have dropped. Which means that Milsap will be an restricted FA. I think Milsap should be given a $6 - $7 million / season. When he got the mins, he produced.

            Also, Brandon Bass is FA. Im sure we should pick him up for cheap and have him come off the bench. I would love to see Hibbert and Milsap be our front court and have Bass come off the bench
            Last edited by MillerTime; 04-21-2009, 11:21 AM.
            "So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.


            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

              Originally posted by DrFife View Post

              iv) instead try to obtain a non-star veteran PF who isn't currently signed to a long-term contract and who's known for his D and can score a bit in the post

              Best guess??
              Darko for Tinsley.

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                Originally posted by MillerTime View Post
                Besides the MLE, do we have any cap space available for FA signings? DrFife mentioned Gooden which was a good mention. We could use part of the MLE on him. But im pretty sure we dont have cap space to spend because Granger's extension will kick in soon

                It would be nice if Boozer would accept the MLE, but I think he'll be getting more from a team like Detroit. I just realized that Boozer has a $12 million player option. My guess is that hes going to exercise his option because of all the time he missed this season, his value might have dropped. Which means that Milsap will be an restricted FA. I think Milsap should be given a $6 - $7 million / season. When he got the mins, he produced.

                Also, Brandon Bass is FA. Im sure we should pick him up for cheap and have him come off the bench. I would love to see Hibbert and Milsap be our front court and have Bass come off the bench
                I think this all depends if we pick up Marquise's option. Larry will have decide if the risk of loosing Marquise and not getting Dun back healthy is worth the cap space.

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                  Originally posted by MillerTime View Post


                  I would love to see Hibbert and Milsap be our front court and have Bass come off the bench
                  Why do the Pacers want 2 undersized PF's?

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                    Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
                    Why do the Pacers want 2 undersized PF's?
                    Apparently not making sense makes sense these days.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                      Originally posted by duke dynamite View Post
                      Apparently not making sense makes sense these days.
                      I think we need to follow Chicago's lead. They picked up Tyrus and he has been an absolute beast on defense in the playoffs. He's long and athletic. Not a huge mass but very quick off his feet. With this type of player we can still run. If we picked up a banger that needs to score off the block to be effective, I think this may set us back. imo

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                        From Conrad...

                        http://my.nba.com/thread.jspa?threadID=5700035807

                        Bird anticipates "creative" moves in offseason
                        Apr 21, 2009
                        In his just-concluded year-end press briefing, Larry Bird didn't break any major news but the Pacers President made several interesting and perhaps telling points.


                        Like Coach Jim O'Brien, he believes the key to significant improvement for 2009-10 begins with the defense. But he differs from O'Brien's stance that it's primarily a matter of personnel. Bird said he believes "(the players) have more in them" than was apparent in 2008-09.


                        One of the keys to internal improvement defensively will rest with Danny Granger, who needs to "take leadership on the defensive end," Bird said. "When he does that, the other players will follow him."


                        Bird would like to add a post player to strengthen the inside game at both ends of the floor but indicated that need would much more likely be filled with a veteran player through a trade or free agency than in the draft.


                        The interest in another post player is in no way an indicator of a lack of faith in Roy Hibbert, who started 42 games as a rookie but struggled with foul trouble, but rather reflects a desire to strengthen the overall frontcourt rotation.


                        Though the Pacers fell short of the playoffs in 2008-09, Bird was pleased that "we've changed the culture" of the team, playing a style that fans enjoy with players that not only avoided off-court trouble but actively reached out to the community.


                        If not for the injury to Mike Dunleavy, Bird believes the Pacers would've made the playoffs in 2009.


                        Uncertainty over Dunleavy's return could change the team's plans for free agent Marquis Daniels. It has been generally assumed the Pacers would not pick up the option on Daniels' contract but Bird said he'd consider re-signing Daniels "if we feel Mike won't be back in time."


                        Bird will make a qualifying offer to and would like to re-sign Jarrett Jack, who he believed made progressive improvement throughout the season to the point he "was one of our best clutch players" in the second half of the season.


                        Because of the recession and the potential for a dramatic reduction in the salary cap, Bird said the franchise needs to be prepared for a variety of possibilities in the free agent market this summer. "I see a major change in free agency in this league," he said.


                        Bird believes the Pacers might be able to split the mid-level exception to sign two free agents as well as retain Jack, assuming the price is right. "We've got to be creative with what we do this summer," he said.


                        The point guard position is in good hands with Jack and T.J. Ford. "They both can get the job done," Bird said.


                        He has not talked to ownership about a contract extension, saying he'd prefer "a handshake agreement" to continue in his current role.


                        He has not talked to O'Brien, whose contract also expires after the 2009-10 season, about an extension.


                        Bird said he will make an effort to re-sign free agent Josh McRoberts "because with his athletic ability, he could be a big plus for us this year."


                        Though O'Brien also said his wish list includes drafting a bigger, more athletic point guard to develop, Bird said the point guards in this year's draft are generally small. "It's nice to have a wish list," Bird said with a smile. "I'd like to have $30 million to spend."
                        Passion. Pride. Patience. Pacers

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                          So, it seems Bird isn't looking PF in the draft and there are no big point guards, by his estimation. I wonder if this just means best available player, which really is what they should do anyway to improve the overall talent period, imo.

                          I keep thinking a guy like Joe Smith.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                            Originally posted by stevo View Post
                            I think we need to follow Chicago's lead. They picked up Tyrus and he has been an absolute beast on defense in the playoffs. He's long and athletic. Not a huge mass but very quick off his feet. With this type of player we can still run. If we picked up a banger that needs to score off the block to be effective, I think this may set us back. imo
                            In fact, I think the Bulls lost last night because they played Brad Miller over Tyrus Thomas down the stretch.
                            "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                              Originally posted by stevo View Post
                              I think we need to follow Chicago's lead. They picked up Tyrus and he has been an absolute beast on defense in the playoffs. He's long and athletic. Not a huge mass but very quick off his feet. With this type of player we can still run. If we picked up a banger that needs to score off the block to be effective, I think this may set us back. imo
                              Okay, I'm following. How do we obtain him?

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: Larry Bird to give "season post mortem" at 10am today, there will be live Indystar.com feed

                                The Bulls didn't exactly "pick up" Tyrus Thomas, they drafted him with the second overall pick.
                                "A man with no belly has no appetite for life."

                                - Salman Rushdie

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