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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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Lockout News and Discussions thread

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  • #1801
    Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

    The one and only "Sign Man" has a message for the NBA:
    http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/knicks...WlPQR9f5Ac7a2N

    Dear NBA Players:

    You ought to be ashamed. I have been an NBA fan since before all of you were born, and I will be an NBA fan long after you have all retired.

    I started as a Knicks fan, attending games at the OLD Madison Square Garden on 49th St. at a cost of 50¢ (with the help of my school "G.O. card). I suffered through the bricks of Jumpin’ Johnny Green and the chucks of "Butch Komives".

    On the other hand, watching the gracefulness of a Bob Petit hook shot when the St. Louis Hawks came to town, or the flick of the wrist of Oscar Robertson’s fadeaway baseline jumper which touched nothing but net when the Cincinnati Royals were playing brought me back for more.

    I had the opportunity to meet Walt Bellamy in the bowels of the Garden when the Chicago Packers made their New York appearance and was told of the heroics of NYU’s own Dolph Schayes by my father, an NYU grad, when the Syracuse Nationals were the Knicks' opponent.

    I even had the privilege of playing at halftime of a Knicks-Sixers game in 1966, heaving a shot from the top of the key that swished through the cords and brought cheers from the crowd of over 19,000 (I was 13 at the time).That 1966 Philadelphia 76er team with Wilt Chamberlain and Chet Walker was probably one of the best teams ever!

    But I digress. My great memories of the NBA are not of slam dunks and 5-carat diamond earrings and "look at me" as I pull my jersey after jamming the ball on a fast break. They are of Bob Cousy making behind-the-back passes to open teammates for a layup, of Bill Russell blocking a shot, not into the stands, but to a fellow Celtic who would start a fastbreak for an easy basket at the other end of the court. It is "Havlicek stealing the ball", Willis Reed hobbling out of the tunnel to inspire the Knicks to their championship. (I hear the tunnel no longer exists after the transformation). It is Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins matching shots in the fourth quarter, one outdoing the other. It is Bill Walton leading the Trail Blazers, Michael Jordan hitting the jump shot over Craig Ehlo to beat the Cavaliers. Everyone remembers Reggie Miller’s three point barrage in the final 12 seconds against the Knicks and his go ahead three-pointer against Michael Jordan’s Bulls in Game 4 of the 96’ playoffs, but I remember Jordan’s last second shot in that same game that banked off the glass and rolled around the rim before falling harmlessly off, allowing the Pacers to go back to Chicago tied 2-2.

    I started watching NBA games in the 60’s on tape delays on WOR in New York. My dad would come in at 11 P.M. to turn off the TV and tell me what I already had guessed: "The Knicks lost!" I stayed up in the late 70’s to watch the NBA FINALS on tape delay at 11:30 PM. (yes the NBA Finals were not yet suited for prime-time TV).

    I have watched the league grow in leaps and bounds, under the guidance of the commissioner and its owners. The days of the Red Auerbach who not only coached but was GM, traveling secretary, part-time laundry man and PR director are long gone. The league has employed thousands of people and enabled thousands more to work in arenas and the satellite businesses (garages, bars, restaurants) that thrive off the events that take place in these venues.

    The average American worker is trying to make ends meet and you have the audacity to complain that your already overblown wages are being reduced by 10% is absurd. Instead of making 5 million you’re only going to get 4.5! Are you serious? Your greed is selfish and unconscionable. The NBA and its fans were here long before you were born and will be here long after you retire. I may miss the excitement of attending a game, of hearing the squeak of sneakers against the parquet floor or the shrill of the referee’s whistle, but I will get by. Unlike the thousands of American workers that you have essentially laid off, I have a job that doesn’t depend on you or the league. You ought to be ashamed.

    Sincerely,

    Matt Asen a.k.a. The Pacer Guy, The Sign Man.
    "Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

    "And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "

    Comment

    • #1802
      Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

      Some people just don't get it.

      Comment

      • #1803
        Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

        ^^ for someone who goes by "The Pacer Guy," he sure talks a lot about other teams...

        ...also its funny that the owners locked out the players, the owners laid off team personnel, (with at least a few players donating money to the laid off employees), but according to this guy it is the players "who have essentially laid off thousands of American workers"

        Comment

        • #1804
          Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

          Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
          Some people just don't get it.

          I know what you mean, some people just blindly support the players no matter what.

          They guys an NBA fan not just a Pacer fan. There is nothing the sign guy is saying that isn't true.
          Why do teams tank? Ask a Spurs fan.

          Comment

          • #1805
            Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

            Originally posted by Pacerized View Post
            I know what you mean, some people just blindly support the players no matter what.

            They guys an NBA fan not just a Pacer fan. There is nothing the sign guy is saying that isn't true.
            He's not actually saying anything, true or false. It's a statement of pure self-love. "I did this...I felt that." It's not about you, as much as you want it to be. It's a labor negotiation between the two parties with an economic interest.

            Comment

            • #1806
              Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

              Originally posted by owl View Post
              Who would watch, really? I doubt enough to pay hard costs.
              True .
              I know I wouldn't watch..
              While yes I watch to support my team, I simply would NOT watch an NBA full of players I have no clue who they are...

              I watch to see my team AND my favorite players ON that team...
              As long as I have watched this league and seen careers begin and end.... without those players whom I want to see play, there is no interest for me ..

              That's why after the whole baseball MLB thing, I had not watched in about 3 years, when I tried coming back, I just had no more interest mainly because I had no idea who it was I was watching... So I just gave up on baseball..


              As much as I love my Pacers, if the NBA started up with a bunch of scrubs on the team, I just wouldn't have the interest...
              Last edited by Kemo; 10-23-2011, 11:30 PM.
              "Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

              Comment

              • #1807
                Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
                It's not about you, as much as you want it to be. It's a labor negotiation between the two parties with an economic interest.
                When people like us (the fans) are the reason they have a business to negotiate for, then yes in an indirect way it is about fans. I understand what you mean, but it's a very narrow view of the situation.

                Ask MLB if the fans don't matter in these issues. I'm sure they'll have quite a different story to tell after 1994-95.

                Comment

                • #1808
                  Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                  Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
                  He's not actually saying anything, true or false. It's a statement of pure self-love. "I did this...I felt that." It's not about you, as much as you want it to be.
                  You are a Pacers fan and have attended games, I presume. But you really have no frickin clue who this guy is, do you?

                  With his many years of holding season tickets and flying back and forth from Florida to see the games, I think he's earned the right to pretty much say anything he wants.

                  And, I happen to agree with the point he is making.

                  Comment

                  • #1809
                    Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                    Whether it is a lockout or a strike is completely irrelevant. It's going to be one or the other based on which side needs to challenge the status quo. I'm not going to blame a work stoppage and all the bad that comes of it on a strike if the employees are being treated unfairly any more than I feel inclined to blame the owners in this particular case. When it all boils down to it, we do not have basketball right now and all those arena employees do not have jobs right now because the players think they are worth more than they really are. As I've said before, if the players were worth 57% then the owners 43% would be more than enough to pay all bills and still make a profit. That is literally what defines their maximum value to the league.

                    Comment

                    • #1810
                      Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                      Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
                      He's not actually saying anything, true or false. It's a statement of pure self-love. "I did this...I felt that." It's not about you, as much as you want it to be. It's a labor negotiation between the two parties with an economic interest.
                      It is about us, that is what you don't get. It is our money they are fighting over. They are not entitled to it. And it can go away really fast.

                      He summed up exactly the way I feel about both sides, so it obviously is true for a lot of people.
                      "Don't get caught watchin' the paint dry"

                      Comment

                      • #1811
                        Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                        Originally posted by Taterhead View Post
                        It is about us, that is what you don't get. It is our money they are fighting over. They are not entitled to it. And it can go away really fast.
                        I don't understand this rationale. EVERY industry is supported by consumer dollars. Do you feel the need to make it about yourself when there's a monetary dispute in the potato industry? "I grew up eating potatoes and I love potatoes more than you can ever understand!"

                        No, but for whatever reason sports fans think they have some kind of seat at the bargaining table because they've bought tickets. You bought a ticket for THAT GAME. You didn't buy a lifetime pass to decide what is best for an industry of grown men.

                        Comment

                        • #1812
                          Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                          Originally posted by King Tuts Tomb View Post
                          I don't understand this rationale. EVERY industry is supported by consumer dollars. Do you feel the need to make it about yourself when there's a monetary dispute in the potato industry? "I grew up eating potatoes and I love potatoes more than you can ever understand!"

                          No, but for whatever reason sports fans think they have some kind of seat at the bargaining table because they've bought tickets. You bought a ticket for THAT GAME. You didn't buy a lifetime pass to decide what is best for an industry of grown men.
                          Potatoes? Seriously? You don't see the rationale behind my post, but you see similarities between potatoes and NBA players? Interesting.

                          The consumers are just as large a part of every business as the employees.
                          "Don't get caught watchin' the paint dry"

                          Comment

                          • #1813
                            Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                            Originally posted by Taterhead View Post
                            Potatoes? Seriously? You don't see the rationale behind my post, but you see similarities between potatoes and NBA players? Interesting.

                            The consumers are just as large a part of every business as the employees.
                            Like he said, "some people just don't get it".
                            Why do teams tank? Ask a Spurs fan.

                            Comment

                            • #1814
                              Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                              Sandman21 you said, "The average American worker is trying to make ends meet and you have the audacity to complain that your already overblown wages are being reduced by 10% is absurd. Instead of making 5 million you’re only going to get 4.5! Are you serious?" I say amen brother. This whole thing is ridiculous. If they were only making $300,000 or $400,000 a year would not the average man on the street jump at that opportunity to after all do nothing more than play a game he loves?

                              Comment

                              • #1815
                                Re: Lockout News and Discussions thread

                                Yeah, that's the only true thing he's said this whole time.

                                Look at the poll KTT. That is pretty much the way fans feel all over the country. This is a bad time to be *****ing about money, especially when you have more of it than the average person could ever make. You can think that some people don't get it if you want, but this is very serious and I think the NBA is pushing their luck. And they are on the verge of really pissing off a group of people who are struggling to keep lights and heat relevant for their families. And it's all over a 10% pay reduction on a 5.5 million average salary in the worst recession since the great depression.

                                A person in touch with reality would just feel blessed and continue on with their lives. A spoiled brat would whine and cry and make out of touch statements like "We need a fair deal". Especially with Etan Thomas standing right next to him.
                                "Don't get caught watchin' the paint dry"

                                Comment

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