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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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Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

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  • #16
    Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

    Agree with the sentiment on this thread. Football on the face of it is incredibly boring compared to basketball in my view. But the league does a great job making sure that every game counts and maintaing parity and unpredictability. The regular season counting is HUGE and keeps my attention. It is pretty funny that after the Pacers beat the Heat, Lebron basically said in a nice way that the regular season doesn't matter and is just a time for the team to work out its kinks. So in many cases at least half of the NBA regular season isn't that much more important than the NFL preseason.

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    • #17
      Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

      Originally posted by Dr. Awesome View Post
      I think a huge part of it, is the fact that officials dictate the sport.

      Now, officials can make impacts in other sports as well, but none quite like basketball. College basketball is still popular, why? Because officials let people play. There aren't touch fouls in college basketball. David Stern has actively ruined the sport by catering to superstars. I sure as hell wouldn't pay money to go watch LeBron James shoot FTs all day long. Don't get me wrong, LeBron James is one of if not the most athletic person on this planet - he can draw fouls more than most. However, anyone who thinks he or any other superstar doesn't get favorable treatment is blind.

      You don't see that as often in the NFL. A bad call is a bad call, but its not because a certain player is more known than someone else. Same with baseball and hockey. Those games are dictated by the players - the NBA isn't.
      I think this video is the perfect example of what I was trying to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjRcTiwVEwo

      How many fans do you think the NBA lost because of this? How many gained? I can't guess how many the NBA lost, but I can promise you no one became a fan of the NBA watching that game.

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      • #18
        Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

        Originally posted by Basketball Fan View Post
        I agree and don't forget in the NFL every team has a shot at an SB... in the NBA you pretty much can figure who's going to win it all its not really a surprise most of the time.
        You say that, and yet the AFC has been the antithesis of parity. This is the first season since 2002 that someone other than the Colts, Steelers, or Patriots have made the Super Bowl out of that conference. The Colts are basically the NFL's version of the Spurs or Lakers.

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        • #19
          Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

          Originally posted by Ransom View Post
          As said earlier, the NFL is perfect for television. The stop and go works well for tv breaks and quick analysis. It's one game a week, easy to remember. And the shorter schedule means games count. The Colts were probably not as good as some other teams that missed the playoffs, but there's a penalty for not producing in the regular season. Despite playing Sub-500 ball most of the season I think many people expect the Lakers to make the playoffs and contend. The Heat are winless against the Pacers, Knicks and Bulls but are still the favorites to win the East because they'll "win when it counts." Why even bother watching till playoffs?

          That and, unlike the NFL, a sizable number of college ball fans think the pro game is inferior in quality (rightly or wrongly). Typical view of the NBA is "Iso for 20 seconds then drive with your star."
          This is wrong on so many levels. in the NBA there is absolutely a penalty for not producing in the regular season. Its called a lower seed and thus facing a better team in the playoffs. And if that is the case with the Lakers, where they're squeaking into the playoffs and then contend.....doesn't that make it a better overall playoffs? Meaning the Lakers at a 6 or 7 seed will end up beating the who ever is the 2nd or 3rd seed? In a hard fought series no less? Isn't that the level of competition you want? I'd much rather see a lower seeded team who has caught fire towards the end of the season have a chance to contend rather than watching some team that has played just above average the entire season get blown out in the 1st round.

          Also lets touch on the NFL format, the idea to me that certain teams get a first round bye is in direct contrast to the idea that the NFL has so much Parity. In such a violent and physical game, the best teams get a week off in the tournament. So it sets it up so that the top teams have the best chance of getting to the superbowl. At least in the NBA every team has to win a series to advance.

          In reality the NFL and the NBA has the same amount of Parity year to year. In both leagues franchises can supposedly buy a team. Redskins are always big spenders, just like the Knicks. In both leagues teams who draft really well can have long sustained success.

          As for college basketball. I admit, I love watching March Madness when there is an Indiana based team to watch. But as for the game itself, its full of teams who make mistakes all game long. Its full of teams who play lesser competition to pad their records and player stats. And just like the NBA has a perception of 20 second iso, College has the run out the 35 second shot clock and camp in the lane on defense. The style of play in college basketball is not very innovative.
          You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

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          • #20
            Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

            exactly, in the NFL you can basically predict baring injuries who the final 4 teams will be competing for the superbowl.
            You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

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            • #21
              Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

              Originally posted by idioteque View Post
              The regular season counting is HUGE and keeps my attention. It is pretty funny that after the Pacers beat the Heat, Lebron basically said in a nice way that the regular season doesn't matter and is just a time for the team to work out its kinks.
              Agreed. I would enjoy the NBA so much more if the regular season was more meaningful. There is no mystique to making the playoffs. How often is there a really "important" regular season game? Why is it you never hear the term "playoff implications" like you do with MLB and the NFL?

              This will never happen, but I would love to see the NBA adopt MLB's new playoff system. The top 3 teams make the playoffs, and the #4 and #5 seeds have a one-game playoff for the rights to advance. You would see far-less superstars sitting late in the season then. Remember how the Celtics were criticized for this late last year?

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              • #22
                Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                Originally posted by shags View Post
                You say that, and yet the AFC has been the antithesis of parity. This is the first season since 2002 that someone other than the Colts, Steelers, or Patriots have made the Super Bowl out of that conference. The Colts are basically the NFL's version of the Spurs or Lakers.
                Yeah, but isn't also true that the NBA has had something like 7 different champions in the last 28 years? It's something close to that, anyway.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Dr. Awesome View Post
                  . College basketball is still popular, why? Because officials let people play. There aren't touch fouls in college basketball..
                  I totally disagree with the mentality that they let them play In college basketball. NCAA officials call 10 times the touch fouls Nba officials do. I don't know what college teams you watch, but that is one of the reasons I enjoy college basketball a whole lot less then Nba, the constant touch fouls that disrupt the flow
                  Of the game. I know Iu fans last night can safely say they do not let players play physical defense without a quick whistle.
                  There is no NBA player named Monte Ellis.

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                  • #24
                    Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                    Originally posted by Handoverfist View Post
                    Football has more moving parts, an offensive and defensive unit, special teams, field goal unit ect. Not to mention all the complex plays. I like football and I'm a big Colts fan, but after all these years of watching football I still couldn't tell you what every player does on a football team.
                    so not knowing something makes the sport less rewarding? still dont get how basketball doesnt have as much hype as football..... thats all sports are is hype, thats wat makes them exciting

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                    • #25
                      Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                      Originally posted by graphic-er View Post
                      exactly, in the NFL you can basically predict baring injuries who the final 4 teams will be competing for the superbowl.
                      And in the NBA you can't???

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Randolph_HorseLips View Post
                        Agreed. I would enjoy the NBA so much more if the regular season was more meaningful. There is no mystique to making the playoffs. How often is there a really "important" regular season game? Why is it you never hear the term "playoff implications" like you do with MLB and the NFL?

                        This will never happen, but I would love to see the NBA adopt MLB's new playoff system. The top 3 teams make the playoffs, and the #4 and #5 seeds have a one-game playoff for the rights to advance. You would see far-less superstars sitting late in the season then. Remember how the Celtics were criticized for this late last year?
                        The MLB has 162 games. The NBA has 82. That point doesn't make sense.
                        There is no NBA player named Monte Ellis.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                          Originally posted by Randolph_HorseLips View Post
                          Yeah, but isn't also true that the NBA has had something like 7 different champions in the last 28 years? It's something close to that, anyway.
                          The NFL has the perception of parity, I won't argue that. And perception is reality.

                          Unfortunately, the numbers don't back it up. I'd argue that if you've made the conference finals in your sport, you have a real chance at the championship. I took a look at all 4 major sports in the last 10 years awhile back, and all 4 sports had approximately the same amount of teams make the final 4 of their leagues at least once.

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                          • #28
                            Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                            Originally posted by graphic-er View Post
                            exactly, in the NFL you can basically predict baring injuries who the final 4 teams will be competing for the superbowl.
                            eh i think the NBA is way more predictable. looking at the standings for both leagues, other than the Lakers struggling, there isn't a single surprise. Looking at the NFL, Washington, Seattle, and Indianapolis making the playoffs was a pretty big surprise to everyone. I dont think anyone really had the Ravens making the Super Bowl, hell a lot of people didnt have them in the playoffs over Pittsburg and Cincy.

                            16 games means every game matters so much. 82 games means i really am not concerned with losing a few here and there. Its the same thing with hockey and baseball. There is so much room for improvement throughout the course of a season in those sports while the NFL its dog eat dog, you better win today because if not, you ain't playing in January. Hell its february and the Lakers, even though they have played like **** up to today, still have a shot at a decent seed. If you are 3-5 (pretty much what the Lakers are in an NFL record at the halfway mark), you got some serious work to do and chances are you aren't making the playoffs.

                            If I wasn't such a fan of basketball, I'd treat it the same way i do with baseball and hockey, don't pay much attention until the playoffs.

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                            • #29
                              Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                              But it's harder to make the playoffs in baseball.

                              Besides, there is a certain beauty to MLB's 162 games. Everyone knows it's a marathon, not a race. The NFL's 16 games has its own beauty, too. The games have much greater gravity. The NBA is awkwardly somewhere in the middle. It's not really a sprint nor a race, either one.

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                              • #30
                                Re: Why the NBA can't keep up with the NFL.

                                I really hope when Adam Silver takes over he takes some steps to try to reinvent the image of the league. People have an "image" of the NBA that even if not reflected by reality (no defense, superstar treatment, etc...) is widely believed by casual basketball fans who prefer college ball. Silver has a real chance to begin a new era and hopefully make some changes (even if they are superficial changes, this is mostly about PR) to hopefully bring some of these people back into the fold. I can't count the number of times I've talked to someone who was like "oh yeah I'm for the pacers I just really hate the NBA" ...They are usually casual sports fans who kinda don't know anything too... but those are the butts that you need to fill those seats.
                                "As a bearded man, i was very disappointed in Love. I am gathering other bearded men to discuss the status of Kevin Love's beard. I am motioning that it must be shaved."

                                - ilive4sports

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