Announcement

Collapse

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.
See more
See less

COVID-19

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • One thing I never do is buy a head line or a conclusion drawn by the media. It's almost always a lie. I remember years ago when you could rely in the news being at least truthful. There was always a hair of bias but the reporting was legitimate.

    The news today...and I mean that about all the major networks...is just source of topical information for me. Even then some networks bury stories the don't want people to investigate (e.g. Joe Biden's corrupt Ukraine deals).

    But I have come to the point that I will read actual quotes from the larger outfits that can be sued...and draw my own conclusions. They will spin everything but most of the time they will put the actual truth near the bottom of the article and with a little work you can pick it apart and determine the real facts.

    Comment


    • Mortality rate in the USA continues to drop. Now at 1.19%. New York, where more tests have been administered is at 0.6% death rate.

      But don't tell anyone. I'm not done buying the dip. Also, it might require we find a safe room for V and they are running as short as the toilet paper right now.

      Edit: Still taking this thing very seriously but the last 3 days the mortality rate has dropped from 1.49% to 1.36% to 1.19%...obviously because of more testing. Take this however you want but I consider it good news. Also, treatments are coming. The curve will get flattened IMO and we will overcome it well before the election starts up. Trump is going to come out of this looking like a war-president hero who not only had to fight the virus but the fake news and haters surrounding it. He is going to destroy Biden.
      Last edited by BlueNGold; 03-21-2020, 03:58 PM.

      Comment


      • My God, the numbers out of Italy are horrific:
        • 53,578 Infections
        • 4,825 Deaths
        • 9% Fatality Rate
        There are thousands more in critical condition, so it will likely rise to over 10%. That's SARS territory; horrific. What's scary is the way it continues to grow even with a countrywide lock down in place.

        Italy reports almost 800 new COVID-19 deaths, setting daily record - Channel News Asia

        Comment


        • Some people are going to get a nice bonus this year:

          https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/21/polit...est/index.html

          The US Food and Drug Administration announced it has authorized the use of the first rapid diagnostic test that could detect the novel coronavirus in approximately 45 minutes.

          The authorization was made Friday and tests will begin shipping next week, according to a statement from California-based Cepheid, the company manufacturing the tests.

          Comment


          • A lot of people are hoping they have corona instead of something else or they are going to get a big medical bill.

            Imagine feeling sick and going to the emergency room hoping this is the case, great system we got
            @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Mr. Mass View Post
              My God, the numbers out of Italy are horrific:
              • 53,578 Infections
              • 4,825 Deaths
              • 9% Fatality Rate
              There are thousands more in critical condition, so it will likely rise to over 10%. That's SARS territory; horrific. What's scary is the way it continues to grow even with a countrywide lock down in place.

              Italy reports almost 800 new COVID-19 deaths, setting daily record - Channel News Asia
              That's terrifying. Translated to their population, assuming a 50% infection rate, that's somewhere around 3 million deaths. They could start seeing thousands of people die daily from this. Just a nightmare.

              Comment


              • https://www.romania-insider.com/coro...s-malls-closed

                Coronavirus in Romania: Country closes borders for foreign citizens, malls close, people’s movement and religious service restricted

                Romania will close its borders for foreign citizens (with several exceptions) to limit the spreading of the new coronavirus (Covid-19). The authorities have also decided to close the malls and shopping centers in the country, starting Sunday evening, March 22, at 22:00. Supermarkets, hypermarkets, small shops, and drug stores will remain open.

                People’s movement outside their homes will be restricted between 22:00 and 6:00, with only a few exceptions. The authorities also recommend people to also limit their movement outside their homes during the day. Moreover, those who leave their homes should respect the safety measures and recommendations from the authorities for limiting the spreading of the coronavirus and should not travel in groups larger than three people that do not belong to the same household.
                ....
                Art. 4 - Between 06.00 and 22.00, it is recommended that the movement of persons outside the home/household should be carried out only for the following reasons:
                a) travel in professional interest, including moving between home/household and the workplace, when the professional activity is essential and cannot be postponed or performed remotely;
                b) travel for the provision of goods that cover the basic needs of the persons and their pets, as well as goods necessary for the professional activity;
                c) travel for healthcare that cannot be postponed or performed remotely;
                d) displacement for justified reasons, such as caring/accompanying the child, the assistance of elderly, sick or disabled persons or death of a family member;
                e) short trips, near the home/household, related to the individual physical activity of the people and the needs of their pets.

                Comment


                • One of the problems right now with the testing is not the kit or even it's availability. Believe it or not it is the swab that is used to collect the samples that are the problem in Central Indiana. The typical swab that is used does not accurately collect the virus and has show false negatives. So in other words there have been people that have shown negative on tests that still had the virus.

                  There is a massive shipment coming from FEMA to correct this, however it is not known how long it will take.

                  BTW, I know that I am going to sound like I'm championing the State of Indiana here, but the massive buy in from all state offices and departments on this is unbelievable. The State Department of Transportation has amended their rules to allow over sized loads for food and medical supplies and they have waived the rules regarding hours of work for truckers (to the extent they can and still have safe drivers).



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

                  Comment


                  • So some recent information has come out that might be the source of Italy's, and also the rest of Western Europe, problems. That would be Spain. Apparently, Februrary in Spain is big tourist time, especially for tourists from North Italy. They have some festivals that time of year. According to a report Spain had known infections of CCP coronavirus and even a death back in early February, but covered it up and lied in order to not have to cancel these festivals. A couple weeks later suddenly the CCP coronavirus is widespread throughout Western Europe, and Italy and Spain are the two biggest hot spots. So now Spain is right up there with the CCP on my **** list.

                    Spain is also a perfect example why a complete lockdown is pointless. Because of stupid decisions made in other countries there is no way to contain and eliminate this virus through isolation. The only option left is either a vaccine or by letting it burn through society until herd immunity can develop and slow the spread to a more reasonable rate. Once it burns through society you will see the mortality rate drop to around flu levels, maybe slightly higher (such as the 0.6% rate you see in S. Korea). The problem with a complete lockdown is that it will slow the spread so dramatically that as soon as you open things up again the moment it gets reintroduced you will see another huge spike in cases (China is about to go through this, if they are not already, although I guarantee China will not admit to it). So instead of doing a complete lockdown, how we are approaching it in Indiana is the better option. You close down bars, sheathes, dining rooms, etc. where these kinds of disease can spread rapidly, but otherwise keep your economy going while practicing social distancing. This will allow the virus to continue to burn, but at a controllable rate to reduce the number of active cases so as few people as possible have to die from the disease.

                    If anyone you know dies from the virus you can thank the CCP for this. They had an opportunity to stop the virus in its tracks, but instead waited until they already lost containment before they tried to contain it.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Eleazar View Post
                      So some recent information has come out that might be the source of Italy's, and also the rest of Western Europe, problems. That would be Spain. Apparently, Februrary in Spain is big tourist time, especially for tourists from North Italy. They have some festivals that time of year. According to a report Spain had known infections of CCP coronavirus and even a death back in early February, but covered it up and lied in order to not have to cancel these festivals. A couple weeks later suddenly the CCP coronavirus is widespread throughout Western Europe, and Italy and Spain are the two biggest hot spots. So now Spain is right up there with the CCP on my **** list.

                      Spain is also a perfect example why a complete lockdown is pointless. Because of stupid decisions made in other countries there is no way to contain and eliminate this virus through isolation. The only option left is either a vaccine or by letting it burn through society until herd immunity can develop and slow the spread to a more reasonable rate. Once it burns through society you will see the mortality rate drop to around flu levels, maybe slightly higher (such as the 0.6% rate you see in S. Korea). The problem with a complete lockdown is that it will slow the spread so dramatically that as soon as you open things up again the moment it gets reintroduced you will see another huge spike in cases (China is about to go through this, if they are not already, although I guarantee China will not admit to it). So instead of doing a complete lockdown, how we are approaching it in Indiana is the better option. You close down bars, sheathes, dining rooms, etc. where these kinds of disease can spread rapidly, but otherwise keep your economy going while practicing social distancing. This will allow the virus to continue to burn, but at a controllable rate to reduce the number of active cases so as few people as possible have to die from the disease.

                      If anyone you know dies from the virus you can thank the CCP for this. They had an opportunity to stop the virus in its tracks, but instead waited until they already lost containment before they tried to contain it.
                      I blame China, their culture and their form of government. That is why many of their people live in poverty and eat bats and rodents which is why they keep generating these viruses.

                      I mean, we have our problems here in America with people who refuse to play by the rules...rules that are fair and reasonable and make sense. We have way too much crime and don't punish it severely enough so we continue to have a high level of crime when it's entirely unnecessary.

                      Sometimes I wonder why people don't want to live well.

                      Comment


                      • Essential information:

                        https://howmuchtoiletpaper.com/

                        Comment


                        • American liberal media is supporting China's denials of responsibility for the virus. The rest of the world though isn't going to go along. Sorry libs, another loss for you.

                          This is a big deal. China owes the world trillions of dollars. That is a fact.

                          Comment


                          • Simons properties and management were forced to close by the Police, as soon as they closed they sent a letter asking for millions of dollars from the city.




                            Nine days ago, the mayor of Elizabeth, NJ called the largest mall operator in the US to ask "what's the plan" for shutting down the local mall




                            Mike Romstad, executive vice president at Simon Property Group, replied: "What’s your plan to cut my taxes?"


                            https://www.nj.com/news/2020/03/wher...mpression=true


                            This people are the worse


                            Last edited by vnzla81; 03-21-2020, 08:39 PM.
                            @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post
                              American liberal media is supporting China's denials of responsibility for the virus. The rest of the world though isn't going to go along. Sorry libs, another loss for you.

                              This is a big deal. China owes the world trillions of dollars. That is a fact.
                              Hear me out I got a plan to get that money from China (checks notes) ...... call Jason Bourne and have him kill everybody
                              @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post

                                Hear me out I got a plan to get that money from China (checks notes) ...... call Jason Bourne and have him kill everybody
                                What is that? The 5th time you've used that. You got any more?

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X