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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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Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

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  • #1

    Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

    So I'm coming here to officially eat crow on Lance.

    I didn't think he could mature, I didn't think he could grow, and I didn't think he would learn. I was wrong. Look the thing about Lance and I is that I have watched him since he was in High School when he was a strong IU lean before the whole Sampson mess went down. I saw a kid with tremendous wing talent to make individually amazing plays, but his biggest issue was that he forced too much. Every amazing play was followed by two amazingly bone headed plays that weren't just bad decisions but also showed a lack of skill. Lance is exciting always has been, and now that he is being used as this wing offensive initiator he is playing the role that I thought would give him the best shot to play. Lance I still believe is not a "PG" he is not the guy you want getting your offense set up, but he is the guy you want slicing up the defense a lot of the time once you have your offense set up. Hill and Lance blend very well because of this and I think Lance and DJ can blend very well because of this as well.

    Lance had his high school days, and then the IU event happened and Lance was back on the market for a lot of college teams, he ended up landing at Cincinatti where he was good, but never really dominant yet again. And what dinged me off a little more about him was here was a guy who's two schools were either a Kelvin Sampson led IU program (uh, oh) and Cincinatti.

    Then we had some of the character events his first year, and well it was downhill from there with me and him. In the end, the NBA is a business and I viewed Lance as a huge unknown in the Pacers quest to shed their "thug" label among the casual Indianapolis fan, but then a few things happened and Lance began to change both on the court and IMO probably off of it (I now see Lance at Mo's after a lot of game and he seems to be very approachable and if anything he seems shy, just wants to eat his dinner and go). We signed David West of course, and then we also had the event where Lance visited Area55 and this made it onto PD and I began to wonder, maybe this kid will get it.

    Well he has, and now he is an absolute joy to watch. He is a prototype NBA microwave style shooting guard and he plays damn good defense to boot. I love his trash talking. I'm glad we were blessed with a coach in Vogel who IMO always knew that Lance's future would be on the wing.

    Seth and I talked last night at half time, the contract decision for the Pacers is probably not Danny vs. West, it is probably Lance vs. Danny where do these two end up coming in and where does OJ end up growing to. I don't know what kind of deal Lance and Danny may get next, but I do know that if we have to part ways with one of them it will be a sad day in Pacer nation.

    We are so blessed as a fan of a franchise that has allowed us to watch so many young players grow up, it is an amazingly fun bonding event between a franchise and a player, we know the historical guys, Reggie, Dale Davis, Rik Smits, Antonio, etc. we got to watch those guys go from fresh faced NBA first round fodder to eventually damn near NBA champions and maybe the best core of players to never win a title.

    Now we have Danny, Paul, Lance, Roy, heck I'll even toss Tyler in here because I believe even he has stunned me and has managed to become a better defender this year. The Pacers have a little bit of a college feel to them, they take a core and they grow it and we the fans get to reap the rewards and suffering through the losses and the growing pains, and the "Will Paul ever learn how to dribble?" "Will Lance ever get it?" and then at the end, we get this great payoff, not just a team that is good and wins games, the Knicks have that, the Heat have that, but we have something different, something special, we have those memories where Paul could barely take Kyle Korver off the bounce let alone Lebron James, we have the memories where Lance could barely play 30 seconds against Rodney Stuckey before making a bone headed mistake, let alone 39 minutes of inspired exciting basketball against one of the best shooting guards of the past 20 years.

    Yes, Pacers fans, we are blessed with another team we have gotten to watch grow up. Now we just get to sit back, watch, and enjoy. And for me Lance's journey may be the most satisfying one of all.


    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

    So are you going to tell 90's that he was right all this time?
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

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    • #3
      Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

      Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
      So are you going to tell 90's that he was right all this time?
      90s was definitely right that Lance could learn and grow. However, until the day I die (Or the day Lance proves me wrong I guess ) that Lance is not a point guard


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      • #4
        Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

        I feel like the majority of this board, including myself could have made this topic

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

          Originally posted by Mad-Mad-Mario View Post
          I feel like the majority of this board, including myself could have made this topic
          I just got labeled as a "Lance hater" a lot early in his career. Never really hated him, just didn't think he would ever be more than a 9 or 10 guy and also a PR risk, I was wrong.


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          • #6
            Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

            Originally posted by Trader Joe View Post

            and also a PR risk,

            This was my fear, and why I wanted him gone ASAP. How things change!

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

              A lot of credit probably needs to go to Clark Kellogg for being a mentor to him.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                I never thought he could defend NBA players. I never thought he could shoot like this. He's doing pretty well defensively and he's shooting great. I was definitely wrong about him. I also thought he's most definitely have off court issues that embarrassed the franchise. Wrong again.

                Where's my plate?

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                • #9
                  Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                  The Pacers management, staff and Kellogg all deserve major kudos.

                  I have always been a believer in Lance, but even I didn't know if he'd ever figure it out. PG and Lance are aren't even at their full potential, and I still feel Lance will break out next year much like PG did this year.

                  I hope both are resigned long term. Hill, Lance, PG, West and Hibbert...that's one of the best starting 5 in the league. I don't really want to see Granger go, but if he can bring back some pieces to improve that bench, then I'm all for it.

                  Just have to wait to see how it all plays out, but this Pacer team is exciting.

                  And just think if Vogel ever implements a decent offensive system!
                  First time in a long time, I've been happy with the team that was constructed, and now they struggle. I blame the coach.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                    Originally posted by MAStamper View Post
                    A lot of credit probably needs to go to Clark Kellogg and Larry Bird for being mentors to him.
                    Fixed. I honestly think that there are only a few spots Lance could have gone where the support structure was in place for him to become a successful NBA player (San Antonio being the other that comes to mind). I'd also give Jeff Foster a ton of credit for working with Lance during the lockout when Larry and Clark couldn't have contact with him. And now the fruits of their labors are paying off. It's truly a blast to watch, especially seeing as hard Lance has worked to improve his game (remember when he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from 3 just a year ago?).
                    "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. "

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                    • #11
                      Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                      Could definitely use some pepper on my crow. Tastes better than I thought.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                        I'll have some of that crow too....tastes good.
                        "It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

                        ----------------- Reggie Miller

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                        • #13
                          Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                          I agree.

                          I think for me too, I didn't expect the Pacers organization to act, in a way, like a college program..where they would concern themselves with mentoring Lance.

                          He also, despite being "exciting" clearly didn't understand a team concept or fundamental basketball, and his skills weren't even skills that would really aid a team. Those players usually don't grow into players who understand a team game or grow into anything useful. But credit to Lance, he certainly did work hard to apply his skills to the team game, understand how to play within the flow of an offense etc..

                          Although I think he can be overrated here because of his "exciting" play, but honestly he is significantly better than I ever imagined him being. Like Trader, I was wrong..and seriously, good for Lance.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                            I got fairly well flamed for this thread I started after Lance's first couple of summer league games three years ago:

                            "Lance Stephenson will revolutionize the Pacers"

                            http://www.pacersdigest.com/showthre...ize-the-Pacers
                            "Look, it's up to me to put a team around ... Lance right now." —Kevin Pritchard press conference

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                            • #15
                              Re: Mmm mmm this is a tasty dish

                              On the subject of Lance: where do you all think he still has the most room for growth? What does he have to do to take his game to the next level?

                              My quick, though dumb compared to the rest of you whole know this team better than I do , answer is that he just needs minutes, needs to go through different in-game scenarios, needs to build situational awareness. Things you can't necessarily teach in practice. I see the skillset, and I'm sure there are still a thousand things to work on there, but I mostly notice a general lack of awareness at times. Can't help but think it's youth.

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