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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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COVID-19

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  • Originally posted by vapacersfan View Post

    Yes, surely if folks don't agree with your political feelings they are against the government and they are disgusting. It’s comical the talking points coming out from both sides.

    The ultimate irony is how many of these folks (read few..if any) had the same arguments when President Obama was POTUS in 2008.
    So you truly believe that Trump is playing politics with people's lives? He sent the USS Mercy to California and the USS Comfort to New York. He's probably given New York more than any state in the nation. I just think the idea is irrational. Gavin Newsom, as liberal as they come, is quite happy.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
      I think you just don't like Trump.
      As I have said numerous times I don’t have a political party. I like and dislike many things about politicians. I strongly dislike how this administration has handled this crisis

      and the GOP.
      This is ironic for many reasons. I can remember when we had a political forum here and some said I was a extreme republican.

      I even point out a GOP Senator I would like to have in prison, Richard Burr. Imagine losing the Senate to the Democrats. Why in the world would I say that? Because I'm not playing politics here. I deal with facts. I'm calling it as I see it. I think the left wing media is trying to make a mountain out of every mole hill they find and people hate Trump so much they can't even think objectively.
      You think you deal with facts. That much is evident. It is also evident you think everyone is out to get this administration. A little advise: its possible to disagree with a politician (or his/her administration) and not hate them.

      Comment




      • In Joe's defense, he can use his advanced dementia as an excuse. He's not lying, he just has no idea what year it is, where he is, or what's going on around him at any given time.

        Comment


        • Another thing. Trump loves New York. I totally disagree that he would ever try to screw that state.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
            Another thing. Trump loves New York. I totally disagree that he would ever try to screw that state.
            It is possible to mis-manage a situation and not try to screw a state, no? I would hope no politician, in the history of our nation, has intentionally screwed over a state.

            Comment


            • Originally posted by vapacersfan View Post

              As I have said numerous times I don’t have a political party. I like and dislike many things about politicians. I strongly dislike how this administration has handled this crisis



              This is ironic for many reasons. I can remember when we had a political forum here and some said I was a extreme republican.



              You think you deal with facts. That much is evident. It is also evident you think everyone is out to get this administration. A little advise: its possible to disagree with a politician (or his/her administration) and not hate them.
              How about come together as a nation? Trump is trying to help. The only people keeping this nation divided on this crisis are liberals. There is only one argument that I agree with and that Trump was about a week late taking this thing as seriously as needed. He said stuff trying to be optimistic, like getting people back to work, and the media ran with that. I don't even like him myself but the way he's been attacked since the inauguration and had to go through a partisan...and it was completely partisan....impeachment is unprecidented. The level of hate coming from the media outlets makes it look like they loved George W. Bush....smh.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by vapacersfan View Post

                It is possible to mis-manage a situation and not try to screw a state, no? I would hope no politician, in the history of our nation, has intentionally screwed over a state.
                Mismanage or play politics? You suggested he was playing politics. Now it's mismanagement? What's next?

                Comment


                • I think TSD has hit a higher percentage of the population than Covid-19. I'm signing off until something rational is posted.

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                    I think TSD has hit a higher percentage of the population than Covid-19. I'm signing off until something rational is posted.
                    Now's a good time to post this:



                    That's Dr. Karlyn Borysenko, a trained psychologist and a former victim of Trump Derangement Syndrome. She has an excellent breakdown of why she suffered from TDS and how she was cured. It's a great watch.

                    My advice is to not get suckered into "debates" with leftists. There are legitimate cognitive issues blocking them from being rational when it comes to anything Trump. Nothing you can say or do, no matter how reasonable or factual, will be able to overcome those issues.

                    Simply respond with something like:

                    "I believe your Trump derangement syndrome prevents you from being reasonable or truthful, and so a lengthy discussion with you would not be a productive use of my time. If you're able to get help over the next several months, we may be able to resume the discussion then."

                    Then move on.
                    Last edited by Mr. Mass; 04-04-2020, 05:28 PM.

                    Comment


                    • This thread was started to hopefully pass useful information about COVID-19. I think its ironic (and sad at the same time) the two most right wing folks are complaining and refusing to engage with the rest of society because they are being challenged. You can claim not to like a politician but if you spend every second attacking anyone who dare disagree with them then you are doing nothing more than engaging in the same behavior you claim to hate that the other side does. Pot - meet kettle.

                      Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post

                      Mismanage or play politics? You suggested he was playing politics. Now it's mismanagement? What's next?

                      You cant be serious. Tell me this is a joke (you do realize the very way he is mis-managing the situation is by playing politics)

                      Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                      I think TSD has hit a higher percentage of the population than Covid-19. I'm signing off until something rational is posted.
                      If you are going to make baseless asinine accusations at least get the acronym right: its TDS
                      Last edited by vapacersfan; 04-04-2020, 05:39 PM.

                      Comment


                      • Looks like the ESPN article has been updated:

                        https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...says-nfl-start

                        California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed whether he believed that the NFL season would open in August or September with 80,000 fans, telling reporters Saturday "I'm not anticipating that happening in this state."

                        "It's interesting, I have a lot of friends that work in Major League Baseball and in the NFL, they've been asking me -- in fact, a well-known athlete just asked me -- a football player -- if he expects to come back, I said, 'I would move very cautiously in that expectation,'" Newsom said.

                        "So look I'm not here to second guess anybody, but I am here to say this, our decision on that basis, at least here in the state of California, will be determined by the facts, will be determined by the health experts, will be determined by our capacity to meet this moment, bend the curve and have the appropriate community surveillance and testing to confidently determine whether that's appropriate and right now I'm just focused on the immediate, but that's not something I anticipate happening in the next few months."

                        NBA commissioner Adam Silver tol
                        Trump also said he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September, sources said, although it is currently unclear if medical experts find that to be a realistic timeline amid the current coronavirus pandemic.

                        "They want to get back. They've got to get back.... We want to get back soon, very soon," Trump said of his conversation with pro sports commissioners at his new briefing Saturday. "We have to open our country again."

                        Comment


                        • It's time to choose sides. You're either with the doctors who say hydroxychloroquine has proven effective, or you're with the media who deny the facts. Choose wisely.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Mr. Mass View Post
                            Simply respond with something like:

                            "I believe your Trump derangement syndrome prevents you from being reasonable or truthful, and so a lengthy discussion with you would not be a productive use of my time. If you're able to get help over the next several months, we may be able to resume the discussion then."

                            Then move on.
                            https://i.ibb.co/G9xBGy9/770-D0-A81-...32731303-F.jpg

                            Comment


                            • TIMELINE: THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DECISIVE ACTIONS TO COMBAT THE CORONAVIRUS

                              Comment



                              • Mike Walker@New_Narrative
                                South Dakota state representative Bob Glanzer died from coronavirus, the first sitting U.S. lawmaker to die from COVID-19.

                                https://trib.al/UWAnute
                                South Dakota state representative dies from coronavirus, first sitting U.S. lawmaker to die from...

                                Bob Glanzer, 74, is the second member of his family to die from COVID-19.
                                nydailynews.com
                                48
                                12:30 AM - Apr 5, 2020

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