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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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NBA Random Thoughts Thread #18, 2021-22 Season: Omaha!

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  • Vnzla about to defect to the Hornets full-time

    If they acquire Jeremi Grant he might actually up sticks for Carolina
    Last edited by SaintLouisan; 06-22-2022, 02:12 PM.

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    • Comment


      • I'd love to NOT hear a word about Kyrie and the Nets. Westbrook and the freaking Lakers for a few months.

        So tired of them.
        "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

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        • Lottery fodder

          Comment


          • EDIT--TRIGGER WARNING: IVEY IN DETROIT.

            https://twitter.com/LucasAG911/statu...21047127838722

            this is nice...might have to pull a Nuntius and root for DET a little (nah, i hate them too much...but i guess i'll go with hating them a little less)
            Last edited by dal9; 06-25-2022, 12:47 AM.

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            • Originally posted by dal9 View Post
              https://twitter.com/LucasAG911/statu...21047127838722

              this is nice...might have to pull a Nuntius and root for DET a little (nah, i hate them too much...but i guess i'll go with hating them a little less)
              Too soon, delete this
              @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

              Comment


              • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post

                Too soon, delete this
                my bad, i will add a trigger warning

                Comment


                • Originally posted by dal9 View Post
                  EDIT--TRIGGER WARNING: IVEY IN DETROIT.

                  https://twitter.com/LucasAG911/statu...21047127838722

                  this is nice...might have to pull a Nuntius and root for DET a little (nah, i hate them too much...but i guess i'll go with hating them a little less)
                  Yeah that's pretty good. Better than the embarrassing production the Pacers put on this afternoon.

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by CJ Jones View Post

                    Yeah that's pretty good. Better than the embarrassing production the Pacers put on this afternoon.
                    how was ours bad? i couldnt be motivated to watch it

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by dal9 View Post

                      how was ours bad? i couldnt be motivated to watch it
                      We drove them around in a pace car.


                      Comment


                      • Doyle seems confident guys are gonna be moved.

                        https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...er/7702883001/




                        Doyel: Why are Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner still here? Have patience, Pacers fans

                        Gregg Doyel
                        Indianapolis Star

                        INDIANAPOLIS – A small crowd is gathering outside the Indiana Pacers’ offices on Pennsylvania Street on Friday, mostly employees, but this thing becomes a curiosity, and now people are stopping to gawk. They’re pausing outside their cars in the Virginia Avenue Garage, leaning over the railing for a closer look. Across the way, where work is continuing on the $360 million renovation at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, workers in hard hats are walking outside to have a smoke and a peek.

                        What was happening Friday? An introduction, in every sense of the word. First and foremost, this was the Pacers’ way of introducing the three players they added Thursday night during the 2022 NBA Draft – 6-6 Arizona wing Bennedict Mathurin, 6-5 Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard, 6-8 Baylor forward Kendall Brown – to the corniest, kindest fan base in the NBA.

                        Written with love, those last few words. Be who you are, know what I mean? This is who the Pacers are, right down to the corny street signs specially made for their three rookies in time for Friday's introductory news conference:

                        Mathurin Lane. Nembhard Ave. Brown Blvd.

                        It's not just the Pacers. This is who we are, too. This is us, the kind of place where the Pacers’ “High Octane Drumline” gathers under the 90-degree sun to hammer out a rhythmic welcome as a crowd of about 75 people, mostly Pacers employees including President Rick Fuson, line the ramp leading into the Pacers’ private parking lot.

                        Heading up that ramp is a candy-apple red Chevy Camaro, a pace car for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard bringing in three visitors from the airport. The Camaro is a convertible and the top is down, with Mathurin and Nembhard sitting atop the back seat, waving and filming the crowd as the crowd waves and films them back. The car slowly pulls into the parking lot, with Brown crammed into the front seat, riding shotgun in this car loaded with the Pacers’ future.

                        Welcome to Indianapolis. That was the message the Pacers, their drumline, their employees and a handful of gawkers were saying with smiles and cheers. But that’s just one meaning of the word “introduction.”

                        For the rest of you in the Pacers fan base, those who weren’t smiling or cheering after the NBA Draft, think of this introduction in another way. What happened Thursday night, then Friday, was the first part of the Pacers’ novel NBA offseason. That book isn’t complete, or even close. That was just the introduction, the prologue.

                        The Pacers aren’t finished. Adding Bennedict Mathurin is nice, but there are more chapters to write. Veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon has to go. Myles Turner might want to start collecting cardboard boxes as well.

                        The Pacers are still in the process of remaking their franchise from top to bottom, a process that began in earnest last season with the additions of coach Rick Carlisle, face-of-the-franchise point guard Tyrese Haliburton and 2021 rookies Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson. The process continued Thursday night with this year’s rookie class, and will conclude soon enough – I’m giving it two weeks – with the trades of Brogdon and Turner.

                        That’s how this offseason will unfold, if the Pacers have it their way.

                        Having said that, we all saw what happened Thursday night during the NBA Draft. More to the point, we saw what didn’t happen. You think you’re unhappy that the Pacers didn’t make more moves? Let me tell you something: The Pacers’ front office is furious.

                        More:Doyel: Pacers add promising Bennedict Mathurin in NBA Draft, but big improvement will wait

                        More:Pacers GM Chad Buchanan on quiet draft night: 'Sometimes you have to walk away from deals'
                        Pacers made a run at Jaden Ivey


                        Lots of trades Thursday night, but very few involving current NBA players. That’s not the way the NBA Draft always unfolds, though it is trending in that direction as rising salaries complicate instantaneous trades during the draft. The Pacers tried to make a handful of deals Thursday night, but couldn’t.

                        The Pacers are thrilled with Mathurin, who has explosion and shooting range, not to mention the humility and work ethic they covet, but they made a run at Detroit’s fifth overall pick after Sacramento chose Iowa’s Keegan Murray fourth. Purdue guard Jaden Ivey was still available, and the Pacers wanted him. They called Detroit, but the asking price to swap picks was enormous – the Pistons wanted future draft compensation and a young player on the current roster – so the Pacers said no.

                        The Pacers also fielded calls about Brogdon and Turner, but none made sense.

                        Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan had some telling things to say after the draft: "We're always gonna be aggressive, but there's always certain price points. Sometimes you have to walk away from deals if it's not right for your team."

                        On this we’re just going to have to trust Buchanan, President Kevin Pritchard and the rest of the front office, who have shown: a willingness to trade anyone, but only on their terms. Remember how the Pacers held onto Paul George into the summer of 2017, which had lots of people freaking out? OK, it had me freaking out. The 2017 NBA Draft came and went with Paul George still on this roster, which had me asking at the end of that night, in large print:

                        WHY IS PAUL GEORGE STILL ON THE PACERS?

                        The Pacers missed their chance to trade him, I was writing, and for six days I was correct.

                        But on the seventh day, the Pacers stopped resting. They traded George to Oklahoma City for two future All-Stars, Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

                        The same thing will happen this offseason, is my prediction, and it won’t be long. NBA free agency starts Thursday, less than a week from now, and the pickings are slim. By July 4 there will be much panic and gnashing of teeth among teams that didn’t get their point guard or shooting guard or rim-protecting, floor-spacing big man. That’s when the Pacers will do business. Brogdon can play the point or shooting guard. Turner is a terrific rim protector, and a passable 3-point shooter.

                        So why, you might be asking, would the Pacers trade such players? Well, Brogdon will be 30, a fine addition for a team wanting to win now, but the Pacers are a year or two away.

                        As for Turner, he's in the final year of his contract, and you know what he is: Good player, but not a max-contract guy. Problem is, he doesn’t know what he is. Turner will expect to get paid when he becomes a free agent after next season, and while there will be teams willing to give him what he wants, none call Gainbridge Fieldhouse home. So he needs to go, too.
                        Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin: Pacers backcourt of future


                        Let’s back up a bit, though, to discuss what the Pacers did Thursday night: They finished off their backcourt of the future, and they did it with numerical style: Tyrese Haliburton wears zero. Bennedict Mathurin will wear double-zero.

                        Not sure that much cool is even legal.

                        As a tandem, Haliburton and Mathurin seem awfully exciting. Haliburton makes players around him better by getting them open looks, and Mathurin can make those looks. He shot 41.8% from 3-point range as an Arizona freshman, dropping to 36.9% as a sophomore as defenses shaded their coverage his way. That won’t happen in the NBA, not right away anyway, and here’s a tried-and-true fact:

                        Good shooters in college tend to get better in the NBA, even with the deeper 3-point arc. It’s a function of muscle memory as players trade schoolwork and other college commitments for additional time in the gym.

                        More:Doyel: Pacers add promising Bennedict Mathurin in NBA Draft

                        Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who coached Nembhard as a Gonzaga assistant in 2020-21 and Mathurin at Arizona in 2021-22, had encouraging things to say Friday about Mathurin. He said he first saw Mathurin four years ago, “and at the time I would describe him as an athletic, undersized, under-skilled four man. Somehow between then and when I got (to Arizona) he had picked up a knack for shooting.”

                        “This is a guy who has tons of room to grow,” Lloyd continued. “I think he’ll be able to reach that ceiling based on his character.”

                        Speaking of, listen to something else Lloyd was saying of Mathurin:

                        “He doesn’t come with many extras,” he said. “(Mathurin) kind of keeps to himself. Doesn’t keep a big group of people he runs with. He really has immersed himself in the process of becoming a great basketball player.”

                        That was Mathurin’s college coach Friday. Here’s what Mathurin said, two hours later:

                        “I’m a simple guy,” he said. “I like to compete. I like to win.”

                        Sounds great, doesn’t it? Nembhard and Brown sound promising as well, Nembhard as depth at point guard to replace the outgoing Brogdon, and Brown as an explosive young wing with so much upside. Brown turned 19 just last month. Whatever he is – and he averaged 9.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists as a freshman at Baylor – he’s far from what he will be.

                        Same goes for the 2022-23 Pacers roster: It’s far from what it will be. Have patience, Pacers fans. Shouldn’t be long.

                        More: Join the text conversation with Gregg Doyel for reader questions, first links to columns and exclusive peeks behind the sports curtain (and under Doyel's hood):

                        Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.


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                        • What are the Lakers trying to do ??

                          Signing both Shaq's and Pippen's kids ?? Lebron just has to be thrilled.

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