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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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2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

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  • #76
    Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

    I can't imagine being a Sonics fan watching this.

    Comment


    • #77
      Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

      Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
      I can't imagine being a Sonics fan watching this.
      They moved out of Seattle 8 years ago. If you're a sonics fan that somehow still feels a connection to the OKC thunder, you need to move on with your life. Sorry you lost your team bus get over it already.

      I do hope Seattle gets a team back but the statute of limitations has long since run up on them having any claim on the Thunder.

      It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

      Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
      Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
      NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

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      • #78
        Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

        Originally posted by IAmHoosier View Post
        If OKC wins the title, Durant and Westbrook will most likely spend their whole career in a Thunder's uniform. That probably goes against the best interest of the NBA. I love it.
        Except the best interest of the NBA is that the superstars play in the finals. It isn't the 1960's anymore. Where you play really doesn't matter. Everyone worth watching gets on TV.

        You think the NBA is hurting over the Spurs because they play in San Antonio?

        The NBA just wants their best players on competitive teams to make for compelling postseason matchups. They could be based out of Albuquerque for all Adam Silver cares. This is 2016. It's every bit as easy to watch games played in New Mexico as it is in New York.
        Last edited by Kstat; 05-24-2016, 01:45 PM.

        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

        Comment


        • #79
          Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

          Originally posted by Kstat View Post
          They moved out of Seattle 8 years ago. If you're a sonics fan that somehow still feels a connection to the OKC thunder, you need to move on with your life. Sorry you lost your team bus get over it already.

          I do hope Seattle gets a team back but the statute of limitations has long since run up on them having any claim on the Thunder.
          Lol, so overly dramatic with the "move on with your life" stuff. It's a sports forum and the context is in the parameters of sports fandom - nothing more. You're out of your mind if you don't think that a diehard Sonics fan isn't tormented by watching Durant and Westbrook. Durant played his rookie year in Seattle for Christ's sake and Westbrokk sported a Sonics lid on draft day. They will always feel a connection to Durant since they watched him play, and also Westbrook since he was drafted right as the organization was about to leave.

          I like the Thunder in Oklahoma City and they have great fans, but it will always be brutal for Seattle fans as long as Durant and Westbrook are with the organization.
          Last edited by Sollozzo; 05-24-2016, 02:07 PM.

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          • #80
            Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

            Originally posted by IAmHoosier View Post
            If OKC wins the title, Durant and Westbrook will most likely spend their whole career in a Thunder's uniform. That probably goes against the best interest of the NBA. I love it.
            I don't think it would necessarily go against the NBA's interests, but I suspect Durant or Westbrook may leave just for the increased exposure/opportunities a player would gain from a large market. For example, Carmelo Anthony attends the Met Gala, one of the most exclusive social gatherings in NYC/the United States, every year. Say you're an advertising executive for Gucci or a company like that, you see Melo photographed in a tuxedo and maybe think he'd be a good spokesman for your brand. Do you think Kobe would even have the same prospects for success with his production company if he spent his career anywhere else but LA?

            I think it just depends on whether a player sees value in that kind of thing. Many superstars are just happy with the millions upon millions you can rake in in regular endorsement deals you will get no matter what market you're in. But if you want to build a personal brand that transcends sports, being in a larger market helps.

            Comment


            • #81
              Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

              Live by the 3 die by the 3. But when you die it's gonna be a massacre.


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
              You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

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              • #82
                Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                Originally posted by Sollozzo View Post
                Lol, so overly dramatic with the "move on with your life" stuff. It's a sports forum and the context is in the parameters of sports fandom - nothing more. You're out of you're mind if you don't think that a diehard Sonics fan isn't tormented by watching Durant and Westbrook. Durant played his rookie year in Seattle for Christ's sake and Westbrokk sported a Sonics lid on draft day. They will always feel a connection to Durant since they watched him play, and also Westbrook since he was drafted right as the organization was about to leave.

                I like the Thunder in Oklahoma City and they have great fans, but it will always be brutal for Seattle fans as long as Durant and Westbrook are with the organization.
                I look at it this way. Say you're a lifetime Seattle resident born in 1970. As a young kid one of your best memories was Seattle winning the title in 1979. When you were in your 20's you got to see a bunch of strong Seattle teams lead by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton that made deep playoff runs. You're now in your mid 40's. Maybe you have kids and remember watching Durant play when they were very young, thinking "this is the guy that might give my kid these same memories." 8 years wouldn't seem like that long ago - I'm younger than that and 8 years ago seems like yesterday sometimes.
                Last edited by idioteque; 05-24-2016, 01:59 PM.

                Comment


                • #83
                  Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                  Originally posted by idioteque View Post
                  I look at it this way. Say you're a lifetime Seattle resident born in 1970. As a young kid one of your best memories was Seattle winning the title in 1979. When you were in your 20's you got to see a bunch of strong Seattle teams lead by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton that made deep playoff runs. You're now in your mid 40's. 8 years wouldn't seem like that long ago - I'm younger than that and 8 years ago seems like yesterday sometimes.
                  I agree, 2008 seems like it was just yesterday.

                  Comment


                  • #84
                    Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                    Originally posted by idioteque View Post
                    I look at it this way. Say you're a lifetime Seattle resident born in 1970. As a young kid one of your best memories was Seattle winning the title in 1979. When you were in your 20's you got to see a bunch of strong Seattle teams lead by Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton that made deep playoff runs. You're now in your mid 40's. Maybe you have kids and remember watching Durant play when they were very young, thinking "this is the guy that might give my kid these same memories." 8 years wouldn't seem like that long ago - I'm younger than that and 8 years ago seems like yesterday sometimes.
                    Except Durant played exactly one year in Seattle and it was a forgone conclusion that they were leaving at that point. So if your kid got too attached to Kevin Durant then you're one ****** parent for allowing it to happen.

                    It's not like they moved in the middle of the kemp/Payton era. They were a rock bottom team in 2008 that built back up once they moved to OKC.

                    My point stands. Your memories of the sonics did not move to Oklahoma. They aren't even the sonics anymore. There shouldn't be any sonics fans left that care about the thunder and if there are then they need lives of their own. I really don't care one bit what people in Seattle think about this series. They have no claim on it.
                    Last edited by Kstat; 05-24-2016, 02:20 PM.

                    It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                    Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                    Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                    NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                    Comment


                    • #85
                      Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                      Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                      Except Durant played exactly one year in Seattle and it was a forgone conclusion that they were leaving at that point. So if your kid got too attached to Kevin Durant then you're one ****** parent for allowing it to happen.
                      Seriously?
                      Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                      Comment


                      • #86
                        Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                        Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                        Seriously?
                        Sonics fans didn't even attend games in 2008. They already let go. It's not like they got the rug pulled out from under them. This notion that there are heartbroken kids in Seattle because they fell in love with Kevin Durant his rookie season is just stupid.

                        It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                        Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                        Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                        NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                        Comment


                        • #87
                          Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                          Obviously you've not been around many kids. You can't apply logic to children, not to mention label their parents as ****** based on whether or not their kids developed emotional attachment.

                          If we're keeping tabs on dumb arguments, that ranks right up there.
                          Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                          Comment


                          • #88
                            Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                            Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                            Obviously you've not been around many kids. You can't apply logic to children, not to mention label their parents as ****** based on whether or not their kids developed emotional attachment.

                            If we're keeping tabs on dumb arguments, that ranks right up there.
                            That's why there's a statute of limitations. A kid old enough to be a sonics fan in 2008 ain't a kid anymore.

                            Can't apply logic to kids, but that's not an excuse to be a stupid parent.

                            It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                            Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                            Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                            NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                            Comment


                            • #89
                              Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                              Originally posted by Kstat View Post
                              Can't apply logic to kids, but that's not an excuse to be a stupid parent.


                              "God, my parents are so f-ing stupid."
                              "What did they do?"
                              "Let me become a Kevin Durant fan."
                              Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                              Comment


                              • #90
                                Re: 2016 Western Conference Finals: (1) Golden State vs. (3) Oklahoma City

                                Originally posted by Since86 View Post


                                "God, my parents are so f-ing stupid."
                                "What did they do?"
                                "Let me become a Kevin Durant fan."
                                Hey you can be a kevin Durant fan, you just don't get to whine about him playing in OKC.

                                It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

                                Division Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
                                Conference Champions 1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
                                NBA Champions 1989, 1990, 2004

                                Comment

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