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The Rules of 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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Our record vs playoff caliber teams is worse that I thought

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  • Our record vs playoff caliber teams is worse that I thought

    I've been saying that I was concerned that our record was somewhat skewed because I questioned how we were doing vs teams above .500%

    Well according to NBA radio today they stated we had the 22nd worst record in the league vs teams with winning records.

    Right our our seasonal record is

    19 - 3 vs sub .500 teams

    and a paltry

    4 - 9 vs teams above .500

    I haven't dug deeper yet but I also wonder in those 9 losses how many of them were by double digit losses.

    I mean at the end of the day you have to beat the bad teams to have a winning record but, wow, to be that bad vs. above.500 teams is more than a little concerning. It also bothers me that we have only played above .500 teams 13 times.



    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

  • #2
    If it makes you feel any better, the Warriors are 8-11 against .500 and above. The Pacers - 7-10.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by PacerDude View Post
      .......against .500 and above. The Pacers - 7-10.
      ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
      And from Pecks stats....
      4 - 9 vs teams above .500

      ?

      In either case not good. Two are against Toronto and at least another to Portland who the Pacers never beat


      {o,o}
      |)__)
      -"-"-

      Comment


      • #4
        This is exactly why I don't believe we are as good as our record indicates. Now I'm on not saying we shouldn't have the record we have right now. I'm saying the winning percentage as compared to other teams is not at all a good indication where we stand vis-a-vis other teams. The talent difference between teams in the NBA in general is immense.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by owl View Post
          And from Pecks stats....
          4 - 9 vs teams above .500
          So, that means against teams @ .500 - the Pacers are 3-1.

          And I take these with a grain of salt anyway. We beat Atlanta twice. Which might not sound like much.. But, Atlanta was on a 5-2 run at that point. The 2 losses - to the Pacers.
          Last edited by PacerDude; 01-08-2019, 07:31 PM.

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          • #6
            The question isn't if the Pacers are an above average team in the EC. The question is just how far from contending they are and apparently it is a long, long way.

            Comment


            • #7
              Well you have to realize the NBA officiating is very corrupt, political and biased. So against very good or elite teams, the calls are really made based on who has the most pull with ESPN. Or who the league covets more. We don't have a Giannis, Lebron or Anthony Davis. Er go, against good teams it'll be a parade to the free throw line, or our players will not get certain calls down the gut of a game. It is estimated that NBA referees cost most teams between 3 and 4 games per season. Some more than that. So stats about good teams vs. bad teams are always going to be skewed until the NBA does something about it's beyond atrocious officiating.

              Comment


              • #8
                I will venture a guess that most teams are worse against the top teams than they are against worse teams. #RocketScience
                There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Yep, after a couple of 7-game winning streaks over Atlantas and Washingtons of the League the overall record will adjust in coming month. Our third place is very shaky, 1st in defensive rating is laughable. We have no defensive cornerstone and Dipo has regressed offensively this year.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    There's GOT to be a negative about having the 4th best record in the NBA! But what can it be? Think... think... think...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by siomi View Post
                      Yep, after a couple of 7-game winning streaks over Atlantas and Washingtons of the League the overall record will adjust in coming month. Our third place is very shaky, 1st in defensive rating is laughable. We have no defensive cornerstone and Dipo has regressed offensively this year.
                      1st in defensive rating is laughable? According to you and you only
                      Lifelong pacers fan

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        It should be taken into account when looking at season win totals and races for seeds, but I'm not too worried about it. Here's why:

                        First, the number of games. After tonight, the Pacers will be at the halfway point having played 14 games against .500 or better teams (as of the standings this morning). In the second half, they play 17 of those games. That's not a massive swing.

                        Now, as I outlined in my schedule thread a week or so ago, the Pacers still have all 8 games against the current top 4 Western Conference seeds on their remaining schedule. That appears bad right now, although I'd rather play OKC or the Clippers rather than Houston again for example.

                        After tonight, the Pacers will have also played 19 home games to 22 road games. A small difference but a notable one.

                        Let's say they lose tonight. They will then be on pace for 54 wins. There's a reason the projection systems have them in the 51-52 win range because the schedule does get a little harder.

                        But as for looking towards the playoffs and playing against good teams, I wouldn't sweat that too much. Most of those games good and bad were very early in the season, I don't think we'll be able to take much out from them when looking forward to April.

                        As far as your question Peck, 3 of the 4 wins were by double digits (at SA, Mil, at Phi). 1 win was by single digits (Bos). 5 of the losses were by double digits (at Mil, Por, at Hou, SA, at Tor) and 4 of the losses were by single digits (Hou, Phi, at LAL, at Tor).

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                          The question isn't if the Pacers are an above average team in the EC. The question is just how far from contending they are and apparently it is a long, long way.
                          We don't "feel" like a contending team to me right now. That could change. Could just be a short funk. Hope it does. But my confidence is not that strong right now. I agree with your assessment - good EC team, but not an elite EC team with legit finals aspirations. Hoping that I feel differently about it in a week or two. Although tonight in Beantown isn't helping any.
                          I'd rather die standing up than live on my knees.

                          -Emiliano Zapata

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by D-BONE View Post

                            We don't "feel" like a contending team to me right now. That could change. Could just be a short funk. Hope it does. But my confidence is not that strong right now. I agree with your assessment - good EC team, but not an elite EC team with legit finals aspirations. Hoping that I feel differently about it in a week or two. Although tonight in Beantown isn't helping any.
                            This Pacer team is extremely likable. Their chemistry seems OK. We have a good to great player in Dipo. We have a couple promising young centers who are both effective and probably above average starters in the NBA. We have a versatile big wing in Thad Young who is starting quality. We have another starting quality player in Bojan. We have Aaron Holiday who might turn out to be very good. There's some decent talent. But teams like Toronto and Boston are man-for-man better players. Kyrie is better than any Pacer easily. Boston is sickeningly talented. Kawhi is even better than Kyrie...so that should tell you something. The Raptors are loaded with talent too. Where we might have 3 strong players, they have 6 or 7 of them and the general talent level is higher. It's really not even close. The Pacers will need another era to make real noise. Dipo is a nice player but he's too small to really dominate and his game is predicated on athleticism and he's got a knee issue. This thing just isn't going anywhere. We just need to keep adding pieces and someone smart needs to do that.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I am not overly concerned. 13 road victories is impressive. 13 - 9 is an impressive road record. Only the Raptors have more.

                              Lets see we are

                              0-2 against the Raptors
                              1-1 against the Celtics
                              1-1 against the Bucks
                              1-1 against the Sixers.

                              Of the ten losses to above .500 teams 5 have been by 10 or more and 5 by less than 10 pts.

                              I think we are right where I expected us. I predicted 54 wins and they are on pace and I am not expecting any huge dropoff coming up. Before last night the Pacers had the best record in the NBA since December 1.

                              Are we serious championship contenders? No. I am expecting the Celtics and Raptors to finish ahead of us in the east and probably the Bucks also, but a 4th place finish or 5th would be good for this team

                              Most objective NBA followers believe the Pacers are over achieving. The Pacers are extremely well coached, play together, play the right way and if they finish the season with 53-55 wins, and get into the second round of the playoffs, - I am not expecting more than that

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