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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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OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

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  • #91
    Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

    You will never stop most kids from having sex.

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

      Originally posted by Mal View Post
      You will never stop most kids from having sex.
      Especially if you don't even try but rather give them a license to go ahead.
      Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

        Originally posted by Mal View Post
        You will never stop most kids from having sex.
        I don't believe that, I simply don't. But it really isn't about me or someone stopping kids from having sex, it is about giving them the tools so they can stop themselves. I believe a large % of kids have sex and regret it deeply and often times they really didn't want to in the first place, but they felt pressured into it or they got to close to it and couldn't help themselves. We teach kids to stay away from fire, we teach them to run from danger - I don't understand why we can't teach them to do that with sex

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

          Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
          Especially if you don't even try but rather give them a license to go ahead.

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

            Originally posted by Mal View Post







            there is a little thing called "selective hearing" kids will select what they want to see/hear. therefore (if they are of a mind to) they will pick and choose which side of the coin they are on. I prefer to keep it a one-sided coin.
            Last edited by indygeezer; 07-12-2007, 07:34 PM.
            Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

              Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
              That is what I was saying earlier. OK, so by your standards it is wrong to rob and kill people. I say that since you have something I want it is my right to take it and I don't feel guilty about doing so. Now, who's standards are to be used here? And what gives anybody the right to make that determination?

              As long as people determine that moral standards are not what THEY want them to be, the standards will continue to devolve and it will never stop..nobody has the power to stop the runaway engine. You may want them to go so far as YOU want them and then to become the norm (at which point you will assume the title "geezer"), but there will always be someone "pushing the envelope". Someone will always want just a little more freedom and a little less interference in their life. THAT is human nature. So, how far does this go until we reach your endpoint?

              War, pestulence, or famine have always been the driving factors back to a more "restrictive" society and will probably be so again.
              I disagree completely. Laws are not going to continue to devolve until we've reached a complete state of anarchy where you can rob, rape, and kill at will. The law is fundamentally used to keep people from harming those around them. That's not going to change. It's the heart of the social contract. It's like the old saying: "Your right to swing your fist ends at the end of my nose." What evidence do you have that the law is behaving (or will behave) to the contrary?
              Dean Winchester: It takes two to... you know, have hardcore sex.

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                handing condoms out at schol sends a very mixed message, wel, I actually think it encourages kids to have sex, like when parents buy kids alcohol and allows them to drink as long as they stay in their basement - or it is like giving a new car to a 15 year old and telling him he can't drive. Why would you do that
                Those analogies just don't work for me. If you don't give kids the alcohol, it's relatively difficult for them to get it on their own. If you don't give kids the keys to a car, it's very difficult for them to drive. But if you don't give kids condoms... they can still have sex. All you've done is make it more difficult for them to have sex SAFELY.

                A much closer analogy is what Mark mentioned. It's like a kid who already has a car, but because you think they shouldn't drive you refuse to give them seatbelts or airbags. No matter what you think, a certain percentage are going to go ahead and do it and, because you've increased the difficulty of obtaining proper safety equipment, a certain percentage are going to get hurt and potentially lose their lives.
                Dean Winchester: It takes two to... you know, have hardcore sex.

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                  Originally posted by Kat View Post
                  I disagree completely. Laws are not going to continue to devolve until we've reached a complete state of anarchy where you can rob, rape, and kill at will. The law is fundamentally used to keep people from harming those around them. That's not going to change. It's the heart of the social contract. It's like the old saying: "Your right to swing your fist ends at the end of my nose." What evidence do you have that the law is behaving (or will behave) to the contrary?
                  I'm talking societal acceptance of moral degeneration which usually precedes law by untold numbers of years. We won't accept killing at will yet some places in the world already do justify certain forms of "murder".
                  Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                    Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
                    And what business of the schools is it to hand out condoms? Public schools are just that, public....the government runs them and so the government is sanctioning teenage sex?
                    Actually I believe that would be the government sanctioning sensible public health practices. Or do you think that the government shouldn't be in the business of trying to protect public health? Or do you think that STDs are somehow different from other potentially lethal and easily transmissable diseases?
                    Dean Winchester: It takes two to... you know, have hardcore sex.

                    Comment


                    • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                      Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
                      I'm talking societal acceptance of moral degeneration which usually precedes law by untold numbers of years. We won't accept killing at will yet some places in the world already do justify certain forms of "murder".
                      Yes, but did those cultures that currently accept murder ever NOT accept those murders (the culture, not the nation, since national policy could change if, for example, the nation violently changes hands from one religious sect to another)? The cultures that come to my mind that condone murder always base those beliefs upon traditional, orthodox beliefs. I can't think of a single culture that has "evolved" into accepting murder.
                      Dean Winchester: It takes two to... you know, have hardcore sex.

                      Comment


                      • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                        I think we have exhausted this topic. I understand fully the points being made in opposition to what I believe, and I hope I've made my points clear.

                        Really not much else to say

                        Comment


                        • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                          Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                          I think my motivation is very strong to keep kids from having sex. That is my primary goal and I want everything done to try and encourage that goal. Certainly STD's and pregnancy are reasons for my beliefs in this area, but more than that having sex at too young an age has very detrimental effects on those kids engaging in it very long term effects. Kids aren't mature enough to handle it emotionally. I don't care if there was 0% chance of getting preganant and 0% chance of getting any type of STD - the emotional impact is much greater at younger ages - it can ruin their future relationships - and that is something that is never talked about and something that is much more important than STD's or pregnancy.
                          You know what? I actually agree with everything you said here. I think tons of teenagers have sex too early, in the wrong circumstances, and get hurt emotionally. I don't think 15 year olds should be having sex. But I think most teenagers that regret their early sexual experiences come to understand and accept those experiences as part of growing up, just like many other mistakes we make as teenagers. However, that process of maturing and healing is made difficult, if not impossible, if pregnancy and/or STDs result. I would much rather deal with my daughter's heartbreak and loss of innocence than all of that plus a diagnosis of HIV.

                          As a parent, you want to protect your children from all injuries, but sometimes you just can't. And if you can't, then you do your best to protect them from the worst injuries and provide them love and support if/when they do get hurt.
                          Dean Winchester: It takes two to... you know, have hardcore sex.

                          Comment


                          • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                            Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
                            yet some places in the world already do justify certain forms of "murder".
                            Like Florida!
                            You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

                            Comment


                            • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                              I've just now read this thread. And quite frankly, I don't know if I like the new law at all. It opens up a very large "gray area".

                              It has been a long time custom in many communities, or at least in many families, that girls do not receive parental permission to date until they are 16 years old. [And I suspect that's how the age limit was established for the previous version of this law.]

                              However, you and I both know that many girls leave home to go to the mall, or to movies or ball games with other girls, where they meet up with the current boy of the month and proceed on their "date". Now I suppose that would constitute a "dating relationship", but both the girl and the boy know that what they are doing is outside of parental permission.

                              If something were to happen to my daughter under such circumstances, I would probably ground my daughter forever, and I would want my pound of flesh from the boy.

                              From a maturity standpoint, 4 years of age difference among teenagers is very significant.

                              As a parent of a 32-year-old male and a 28-year-old female, I know that raising teenagers is a hell of a tough job. All you care about is that they are happy, that they are on their paths to becoming well-adjusted, self-supporting contributors to society upon adulthood.... and that they remain safe.

                              Kids will be kids. They will stretch the envelope. Most have a sneaky side that they will use if they think they can get away with it. And teenage boys are basically snake charmers... they will say anything to charm parents but basically cannot be intimidated in any way, shape or form. They will essentially do or pursue what they want to do without a great deal of consideration for the consequences.

                              You do everything you can to communicate with your kids and to instill the values you have within them. But at the end of the day, that may not be enough.

                              That's why a strong statute or two may actually be what ends up protecting your daughter.

                              All I think the new law does is to lighten the load for prosecutors and police. It does nothing at all to help families, it can only enable additional harm to them.

                              Comment


                              • Re: OK kiddies, you may now have sex in Indiana

                                The worst thing to happen to the American educational system is its transformation into a custodial body.
                                "They could turn out to be only innocent mathematicians, I suppose," muttered Woevre's section officer, de Decker.

                                "'Only.'" Woevre was amused. "Someday you'll explain to me how that's possible. Seeing that, on the face of it, all mathematics leads, doesn't it, sooner or later, to some kind of human suffering."

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