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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.

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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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Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

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  • #76
    Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

    Originally posted by Jay@Section204
    Yeah, I'm not sure he threw it "at Floyd", I was exaggerating.
    There we go.

    Comment


    • #77
      Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

      Originally posted by btownpacer
      Sorry, I consider a physical altercation with another team's bench worthy of being on this supposed "list". Anyone else remember what that led to? Much like what his galavanting into the stands led to?
      I may need to watch the video again to be absolutely sure, but IIRC there was no physical altercation. He flexed his muscles in front of the bench like a jackass, and that's when that moron assistant coach jumped up out of his seat and slammed his clipboard on the ground and started jawing at Ron, who walked up to him but didn't touch him. That's when Riley's hand was brushed off, and then people grabbed Ron to pull him away. That's it. Nothing that I would honestly consider "physical" except for a hand on an arm and it being brushed off. The horror.

      But I guess our standards for Ron have gotten so exaggerated that Murder might be the only thing people are going to consider "bad" from this point on.
      And I'm certainly one of those people who thinks that way. Scientifically proven. Right.

      Comment


      • #78
        Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

        Originally posted by btownpacer
        That's brilliant! Can we steal the whistle idea for Ron too? So it now applies to two players? That would make things so much easier...
        Soon I'm gonna have to start using it for new "Reggie should come back!" threads. We'll be up to three in no time. Can the Tinsley injuries be far behind? Tune in next time.

        Comment


        • #79
          Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

          But I guess our standards for Ron have gotten so exaggerated that Murder might be the only thing people are going to consider "bad" from this point on.
          Don't be silly, Btown, if Ron killed someone, you know that person most certainly deserved it, even if it was the wrong person. "He didn't actually fire at the victim, he was just waving the gun around and it accidently went off. It's not Ron's fault that the victim was in the way of the bullet. And besides, the person the bullet was intended for is a jerk. He disrespected Ron by blowing him a kiss. I can't believe some idiot judge is going to ruin the Pacers' chances of ever winning a championship by sending Ron to prison for life. FREE RON!"

          Comment


          • #80
            Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

            I have to admit, I never really was thinking Ron would come back. Stern just wasn't going to do it; so I am not surprised. But, right after the Pacers donated all that charity money and before that, I thought we may see Ron back. Then the weeks went by and nothing was mentioned. I lost hope, then we all started hearing about a potential playoff return. I was fine with that. And now, we have this article.

            I still don't agree with Stern, I think Ron has learned his lesson, I mean the guy hasn't played since Novemeber. But, apparently Stern doesn't think so, so he has to make him sit out the playoffs.

            Stern said he considered letting him back, and I believe he did. But, he just decided to say no. Maybe if JO and Tins were healthy he would allow him back, I don't know. All I know is we are without our 3 best players for the rest of the year.....
            Super Bowl XLI Champions
            2000 Eastern Conference Champions




            Comment


            • #81
              Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

              Good. I'm glad this is settled, one way or the other.
              You're caught up in the Internet / you think it's such a great asset / but you're wrong, wrong, wrong
              All that fiber optic gear / still cannot take away the fear / like an island song

              - Jimmy Buffett

              Comment


              • #82
                Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                Originally posted by Alabama-Redneck
                You have your "agenda" with Ron and nothing he does is going to change that.

                I've got an agenda all right. Its not like I've even pretended to hide that agenda for almost a year now. I don't know that "nothing" will change it. But the more he proves my pre-trade fears and comments right, the higher I raise the bar. As I said, last season, all he had to do was make it through one season disruption-free. And, at least based on what The Star and Pacers.com told us, he almost got there.

                Ironic, isn't it. As he destroys the team, I (his critic) keep raising the bar while certain of his fans keep lowering the bar, saying "just give him one more chance."

                Since I'm not in charge, I have to keep watching him get "one more chance" while persistently proving I was right. So yes, I'm tired of it and I've got an agenda...

                Its all good. We all want the Pacers to win. We just see different ways to eventually get there.
                Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                And life itself, rushing over me
                Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                  Originally posted by Hicks
                  Crap, now I am turning into his apologist: I have never read that he threw it at the coach, or anyone for that matter. I've always read that story to be he got mad at Floyd/ Krause and just threw it period, not at anyone.
                  Fixed it. My exaggeration above aside, that was a pretty serious incident that should at least qualify as an "altercation/ confrontation" between Ron and a coach.

                  My point in my hypothetical example was that it doesn't matter who he aims it at, or if he aims it at nobody in particular or aims it away from everyone... if the thing crushes somebody's foot because they happend to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's potentially catastrophic. And with our recent luck, it would be JO's foot.
                  Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                  Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                  Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                  Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                  And life itself, rushing over me
                  Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                  Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                    Originally posted by btownpacer
                    Hater.
                    Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                    Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                    Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                    Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                    And life itself, rushing over me
                    Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                    Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                      If only Ronnie had spit on some little girl we wouldn't have to be discussing all this garbage.
                      You know how hippos are made out to be sweet and silly, like big cows, but are actually extremely dangerous and can kill you with stunning brutality? The Pacers are the NBA's hippos....Matt Moore CBS Sports....

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                        Originally posted by RWB
                        If only Ronnie had spit on some little girl we wouldn't have to be discussing all this garbage.

                        I agree, or better yet, if only he had kicked a photographer.

                        Or hit the right guy in his face, I mean, that's only 10 games.
                        So Long And Thanks For All The Fish.

                        If you've done 6 impossible things today?
                        Then why not have Breakfast at Milliways!

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                          Originally posted by RWB
                          If only Ronnie had spit on some little girl we wouldn't have to be discussing all this garbage.
                          You mean like KOBE?

                          “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

                          “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” - Catherine Aird

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                            They're going to bring Ron back a little at a time. It's a plan. He's not going to be thrown into the deep end, but slowly lowered until he can tread water all by himself. Then next season, they'll let go and see if he can swim or if his stripes have changed.

                            Walsh said Artest will travel with the team on selected trips the rest of the season.
                            So as to let Ron get heckled, but not by detroit, ny, or philly fans and to let Ron test his skin against what he will have to face every night next year. Don't think he'll be heckled at home games? Think again.
                            And he gets to talk to the media before he is reinstated next year, but not until about playoff time. That way he gets to practice his cliches without being distracted next season and his media attention will be cut short by more important events -- the playoffs. Yes, this is all carefully coreographed to enhance Ron's chances of success.

                            When you consider that only recently there has become a very real chance of an Indiana Vs Detroit playoff matchup, which would make for anything but a "smooth return" (Stern's apparent wishes) for Ron, having to play his first game back in the Palace... Perhaps the fear of this scenario scared off Stern for good?
                            I'd say that's one of the smartest things said in this thread. Can you imagine games 1 and 2 at detroit? Stern: "hmmm, let's minimize the chances of a meltdown of the nba."

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                              Originally posted by Harmonica
                              It's not a theory. It's a saying based on a universal truth. I don't know if Ron's problems are due to immaturity or more serious underlying emotional issues. If it's the latter, as I suspect it is, then I don't hold out much hope for Ron changing anytime soon. If it's the former, which I doubt, then the best we all could hope for is that Ron has grown up and matured because of this.




                              Yeah, afterall he only destroyed one season.

                              It ISN'T a universal truth. Nothing ever is. And he did not destroy this season. The entire events of that night destroyed it....

                              ...oh man i need to stop. This is just going to go back to taht night...
                              Don't ask Marvin Harrison what he did during the bye week. "Batman never told where the Bat Cave is," he explained.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Re: Stern slams door on Artest return; USA Today

                                Originally posted by _PD_
                                So as to let Ron get heckled, but not by detroit, ny, or philly fans and to let Ron test his skin against what he will have to face every night next year. Don't think he'll be heckled at home games? Think again.
                                And he gets to talk to the media before he is reinstated next year, but not until about playoff time. That way he gets to practice his cliches without being distracted next season and his media attention will be cut short by more important events -- the playoffs. Yes, this is all carefully coreographed to enhance Ron's chances of success.
                                Just to clarify something here, just because Artest is traveling with the team doesn't mean he actually gets to go to the games and sit on the bench. Suspended players are not allowed in the arena a certain amount of time before (and I think after) each game. Hope I didn't misunderstand your post.

                                Comment

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