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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 ___________"

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"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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Artest begins long road back to the NBA

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  • #1

    Artest begins long road back to the NBA

    Artest begins long road back to the NBA

    http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3777064

    Associated Press


    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Ron Artest's season of exile finally is over.

    His long road back to the brink of NBA stardom, however, is only beginning.

    That road began here, at the Minnesota summer league, where he played with rookies, unproven veterans and desperate journeymen, trying to get comfortable in a uniform in front of referees again.

    It didn't take long.

    Less than a minute into his first game, the Indiana Pacers forward took a pass at the left elbow of the 3-point line, elevated and drilled the shot. It was as though he never left.

    "Stopping on a dime and throwing it up and making it swish, that was cool," he said, his eyes bright and his smile beaming.

    The pure love of the game always has been there. Unfortunately for him, that love has been accompanied by a volatile temper that snaps in the blink of an eye and overshadows his considerable skills.

    Despite being one of the best all-around players in the game - able to shut down an opponent's top scorer on defense and drop 30 points with a near limitless repertoire on offense - Artest is known more for his boorish behavior.

    Smashing high-definition television monitors, leading the league in flagrant fouls and asking for time off to rest from promoting an album on his record label will have that effect.

    But it all came to a head on Nov. 19, when Artest charged into the stands in Detroit after a fan he thought hit him in the face with a cup. He exchanged punches with some fans, who relentlessly pelted Artest and his Pacers teammates with debris.

    He lost 73 regular-season games, nearly $5 million in salary and the chance to pay back those Pistons fans in the playoffs.

    Instead of sulking and pouting about his suspension, Artest went to work. He retained his linebacker's physique and soft jumper despite not playing in a pro game for eight months, much to the amazement of center David Harrison.

    "Every day he was in there working out like he was playing," Harrison said. "That taught me a lot, just seeing him out there still working after everything. If they told me, 'You're out for the year,' I don't think you'd see me for a long time."

    Now he's back. That much was evident by the dozens of media members who waited for Artest outside the locker room after a meaningless summer league game in the middle of July.

    He knows he might never change the negative perceptions that surround him.

    "I'm not trying to redo my image and I'm not trying to please anybody," Artest said. "I'm going to continue to do what I have to do and be myself."

    Comments like that, and his irresponsible actions, have kept Artest out of the mainstream, and that's just the way he likes it.

    "I'm not looking to do any Cheerios commercials or Coca-Cola commercials," Artest said. "I want to do a commercial in the 'hood."

    What he wants to do more than anything is move forward and play with his teammates.

    "When you have to sit out 73 games and not get paid, you're going to look forward to being back," coach Rick Carlisle said. "And you're probably going to have a little different perspective on things than you did before. I just know Ronnie's ready to come back and really looking forward to being part of the team."

    Carlisle's not the only one to notice a change.

    "I admire the kid," team president Larry Bird said. "Not for what he did, but how he's come back and he's worked and he's done things to improve himself. I look for a great year out of him."

    So has Artest induced his last headache? When talking about a player so unpredictable on and off the court, Bird knows not to make any promises.

    "You never know," Bird said. "I just know Ronnie missed the game so much. It's the one thing in his life that he truly loves other than his family. Any time you have something taken away from you, you're going to miss it. We'll see how he reacts."

    And how opposing fans react to him.

    "Even before everything happened, fans were always trying to get on me," Artest said. "They know my history, they know my personality and they know my character, so they try to find ways to get under my skin, but we just have to go out there and play."

    He was greeted warmly last week. In a near-empty arena where even casual conversation was clearly audible, nary a smart-aleck remark was uttered.

    "Fortunately, there was a bunch of people in the stands that respect the game," he said in a not-so-subtle shot at the unruly Detroit fans. "That was the only thing. There was nothing I did different, just the people that were in the stands had respect for the game. That's good."

    He expects that to be the case in most cities.

    "I think you'll only see problems in Detroit, Boston and Philly," Artest said of the notoriously hostile cities. "Even when I went to L.A. for a Sparks game, half the crowd was like, 'AR-TEST! AR-TEST!' Everywhere I go, it's cool. It's not as bad as everybody thinks it is. It's cool."

    For now, Artest isn't worried about the fans. He's not worried about commissioner David Stern watching his every move and he's not even worried about facing endless questions about his behavior.

    The only thing he's worried about is fine-tuning his game. He said he actually is thankful for that long road that lies ahead.

    One would think that after sitting out 90 percent of the season, no one would be more eager for next season to start than Artest.

    "Nah, not really," he said. "I still need to get better. I still have to get to the point where I want to be when the opener comes, so I'm not too eager for the season to start right now.

    "I want to get to where everything's automatic. That's a long ways away."

    He's certainly off to a good start. In five games at the summer league, he averaged 19.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, albeit against vastly inferior competition.

    "I'm proud of him," said Pacers assistant Dan Burke, who coached the summer league team. "I think he was chomping at the bit to get out there, but he kept his patience. Overall, he looked tremendous."

    And he exhibited some maturity and intellectual growth while being bombarded by questions from reporters, a gigantic leap from the confused youngster who was prone to incoherent rants in the past.

    He bordered on the philosophical at times, particularly when asked how hard it was to have the game taken away from him last year.

    "It wasn't taken away. I just wasn't able to play in the NBA," he said. "The game is too big and too strong to be taken away from you. The game loves me and I love the game. No matter what happens, the game will always be with me."
    So Long And Thanks For All The Fish.

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

    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

    First preseason game is only 2.5 months away

    I want to predict two things.

    1) He'll get a very loud ovation during pre-game intros for the first few games of the season, some of you won't like it.

    2) Pacers will be on national TV more than the past several years because of Artest. Like it or not, right or wrong, he is now a national draw.

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

      i find harrisons comments interesting....

      his remark about what he would do, is probably not unlike what most players would say and feel about the subject...

      and probably one of the reasons i like ron...and why i wonder about some that dont-considering that quality seems to be similar to the very reason the same on here dont like bender...almost hypocritical....

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

        Originally posted by Unclebuck
        First preseason game is only 2.5 months away

        I want to predict two things.

        1) He'll get a very loud ovation during pre-game intros for the first few games of the season, some of you won't like it.

        2) Pacers will be on national TV more than the past several years because of Artest. Like it or not, right or wrong, he is now a national draw.
        You're right about the cheering. You don't have to like artest to welcome him back on the floor.

        UB - you've once again shown an ability to "forward think" past me. I can definitely see how #2 will be true. Add a winning or even top record, and I can see the number of nationally televised games increasing even further as the season progresses.

        Stern made the NBA a national phenomenon by focusing the marketing more on the personalities than on the teams. As such, the media/marketing strategy is built for the future you predict.
        “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

        • #5
          Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

          Originally posted by Unclebuck
          First preseason game is only 2.5 months away

          I want to predict two things.

          1) He'll get a very loud ovation during pre-game intros for the first few games of the season, some of you won't like it.

          2) Pacers will be on national TV more than the past several years because of Artest. Like it or not, right or wrong, he is now a national draw.
          1) Well I probably won't cheer him, but I won't be unhappy that others do.

          2) National TV is a tough call. I think you're right, but I don't know if I like it. National TV has better production value, but they don't know crap about the players.
          House Name: Pacers

          House Sigil:


          House Words: "We Kneel To No King"

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

            Is Artest a national draw, or is Artest vs Detroit a national draw? I think we are guaranteed to see the Detroit games on national televison, but other than that, I don't think much else will change. His first game back might get some special attention, I could see ESPN playing that up.
            You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

              ive said all along i would be a bit shocked if the pacers return to the palace isnt the thanksgiving game....or christmas....

              and i do think, given the medias hunger for sensationlism we will see all of the pistons/pacers on national tv....

              i really dont care why they put the pacers on national tv as long as they do....even if the fact they would appear to be a title favorite is a nonissue...the more exposure the better...though it does seem to be we have slipped from the nations attention a bit when it comes to the title next year...

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                No way, we always host the Thanksgiving night game. Usually against a WC team. They get to host a football game that day.

                Christmas Day seems like fair game, but I'm guessing it'll be Miami vs. Detroit or Miami vs. LeBron.
                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

                • #9
                  Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                  Originally posted by Jay@Section204
                  No way, we always host the Thanksgiving night game. Usually against a WC team. They get to host a football game that day.

                  Christmas Day seems like fair game, but I'm guessing it'll be Miami vs. Detroit or Miami vs. LeBron.
                  u know ive thought about that... a number of times...and u very well could be right.....they might choose to keep the palace out of it and just have the pistons visit the pacers thanksgiving.....figuring it might be a safer venue for that spotlight anyway, all things considered..

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                    "very well could"?

                    We've hosted the Thanksgiving Night game for at least fifteen years, its a long-established part of our family's Thanksgiving tradition. We won't be playing in Detroit that night, period.
                    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

                    • #11
                      Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                      So the Pacers always play on Turkey day? Why haven't I noticed that...
                      You, Never? Did the Kenosha Kid?

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                        Originally posted by SoupIsGood
                        So the Pacers always play on Turkey day? Why haven't I noticed that...
                        Believe me, my in-laws have noticed it. But unless we're out-of-state, I'll leave early and go to the game anyway.

                        And if we're out of state, its usually a national broadcast on TNT, and if its a good game I just might whine about missing it.

                        We also always host the game the night after Thanksgiving, but it has a goofy start time to allow folks to walk over from the lighting of 'the world's tallest Christmas tree.'
                        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

                        • #13
                          Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                          Jay's right here.

                          There is absolutely no way the Pacers are going on the road for Thanksgiving. It's a tradition here.

                          We have played an eastern team a couple of times on Thanksgiving. I believe that Toronto came to town Thanksgiving 2000. I know we played MJ and the Wiz Thanksgiving 2001. We hosted the Knicks Thanksgiving 2003.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                            Somehow I doubt it was MJ and the Bulls.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Artest begins long road back to the NBA

                              Originally posted by Hicks007
                              Somehow I doubt it was MJ and the Bulls.
                              Yeah, it was MJ and the Wizards. Tinsley had 23 assists in that game. We blew them out.
                              This space for rent.

                              Comment

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