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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 Sollozzo View Post

    The difference between this and past occurrences is that this current situation has basically shut their business down externally. The coronavirus certainly isn’t their fault - but their business is practically shut down because of it. I’m not saying they were perfect or anything in the past. I certainly don’t have some deep allegiance to any particular airline and could really care less about any of these companies- like anyone else I just look for the best price/time If I’m traveling.

    However, you make it sound like these are normal times and their business collapsed because of their own doing. Maybe they’ve made mistakes, but their business collapsing right now is 99% due to the fact that..............

    They can’t do business!!!!!
    Their business is collapsing because they invested every single dollar they made to buy their own stocks.

    Why CEO’s do this? because that way they can get millions in bonuses from shareholders as they also make a killing.

    Why they dont care to do this? because they know the corrupt government is going to bail them out once again and is not going to ask questions for nothing.
    @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

    Comment


    • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post

      I will vote for a bag of expired Cheetos over the buffoon.
      Aren’t they the same thing?
      Originally posted by Natston;n3510291
      I want the people to know that they still have 2 out of the 3 T.J.s working for them, and that ain't bad...

      Comment


      • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post

        Their business is collapsing because they invested every single dollar they made to buy their own stocks.

        Why CEO’s do this? because that way they can get millions in bonuses from shareholders as they also make a killing.

        Why they dont care to do this? because they know the corrupt government is going to bail them out once again and is not going to ask questions for nothing.
        No they do that because that is what you are supposed to do. You sell stock to get an influx of money when you need it, then when you no longer need it you buy it back from the investors to reward them for investing. Then when you need money again you sell your stock again. That is the whole purpose of stocks.

        Comment


        • Think about it, all this millionaires and billionaires CEO’s and shareholders for this companies haven’t lost one night of sleep since this whole mess started, they are probably quarantining in a private island with servers, cooks and a bunch of people taking care of them right now.

          This same people are waking up tomorrow richer than they were yesterday and they didn’t have to move one finger or do anything but suck at their jobs so their companies needed a bailout.

          Meanwhile regular Joes can’t afford rent, health care, all the bills they got and the goverment is bailing them out for the huge amount of $1200 once
          @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

          Comment


          • Originally posted by Eleazar View Post

            No they do that because that is what you are supposed to do. You sell stock to get an influx of money when you need it, then when you no longer need it you buy it back from the investors to reward them for investing. Then when you need money again you sell your stock again. That is the whole purpose of stocks.
            All that stuff used to be ilegal for a reason.

            According to this new bill it looks like companies are not allowed to buy their own stocks for 2 years unless Munish (who is very corrupt)
            gives them an special permit or something.
            @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

            Comment


            • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post

              I'm sorry. This is why we all have to take the isolation seriously.
              Yea I’m taking it serious. I really don’t want anyone who’s been around me to get it. My immune system will handle it but it could kill my mom

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Peck View Post
                Just FYI guys FEMA has now activated the national deployment of EMS resources. In other words if you have every seen a 10 mile long caravan of Ambulances headed down south or south east for a Hurricane that is what this is. Right now Indiana EMS Units are being deployed to NYC & Chicago. The call for deployment say's a minimum of 30 days.

                I believe this is the first time in my time in EMS for this to be activated for something not a hurricane or a flood. Tornado's, even large one's, don't get this type of deployment. Also I'm sure you all saw that Seymour hospital has 60+ staff members in quarantine for 14 days. That is a disaster for that, or any for that matter, hospital system. You can't lose that many health care workers for that long. Not sure what is going to happen there yet.
                Mr.Mass, Does this happen every flu season?

                Last edited by Hoop; 03-27-2020, 10:22 PM.
                "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

                Comment


                • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                  Think about it, all this millionaires and billionaires CEO’s and shareholders for this companies haven’t lost one night of sleep since this whole mess started, they are probably quarantining in a private island with servers, cooks and a bunch of people taking care of them right now.

                  This same people are waking up tomorrow richer than they were yesterday and they didn’t have to move one finger or do anything but suck at their jobs so their companies needed a bailout.

                  Meanwhile regular Joes can’t afford rent, health care, all the bills they got and the goverment is bailing them out for the huge amount of $1200 once
                  About 60% of citizens in the US own shares of stocks.
                  {o,o}
                  |)__)
                  -"-"-

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post

                    The initial problems we faced on test kits are the CDC’s fault but the rest is the reason Trump ran in the first place and that was to cut reliance on other nations that do not have our best interests in mind.

                    Where do you think we get our PPE? Well, 3M is one of them and most of their manufacturing is in Asia. If we had a nationalist in charge (Trump is one, btw) the last 30 years, we wouldn't have a problem with manufacturing what we need. It's not his fault this nation sold its soul for the dollar 50 years ago. I witnessed that in the 1970's as GM shut down my dad's plant in Anderson, Indiana. This problem is one that people like Trump have been warning about for DECADES.

                    So to answer your question directly, ask 3M. If there are delays for anything it's because of companies that offshored their manufacturing and sold the goods overseas instead of to the US. And of course, Trump is trying to change that and he's the first president in my lifetime who has tried to do it.

                    Beyond that, Trump isn't going to withhold things that are available. The issue is one of supply and demand. Read all about the fact that 3M cannot keep up, because it is all over the internet. Trump cannot order anything from a company that does not have it. Got it? So, rather than blame the guy that was in the process of fixing what has been going on in this country since about 1970, how about getting behind him?

                    Also, take a gander at Eleazar’s post. This is a disaster regardless and it is about time that this nation come together. But the Trump haters will prevent that. I am not surprised though. They are not rational because they have Trump Derangement Syndrome, something worse than Covid-19 apparently.
                    You do know just about everything Trump sells is made in China. Those nice little red Nazi hats are made their too.

                    Last edited by Hoop; 03-27-2020, 10:21 PM.
                    "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

                    Comment


                    • Great news the buffoon is asking Alex Rodriguez for advice about how to handle corona ....


                      https://twitter.com/cefaankim/status...204856832?s=21
                      @WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by vnzla81 View Post
                        Great news the buffoon is asking Alex Rodriguez for advice about how to handle corona ....


                        https://twitter.com/cefaankim/status...204856832?s=21
                        The obvious answer is PED advice.
                        Last edited by Gamble1; 03-27-2020, 11:09 PM.

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Hoop View Post

                          You do know just about everything Trump sells is made in China. Those nice little red Nazi hats are made their too.
                          I never said the dude was nobel. If he can make money, he probably just considers that business. He's a pride filled narcissist without a moral compass. Is that harsh enough?

                          But he's right about a lot of things. You might say that if that's true it's because he's constantly talking. I'm not arguing that point. But I will say I like who he's put on the US Supreme Court and I'm quite pleased with his pro-America agenda and part of that does include moving manufacturing back to our soil.

                          So, really, I'm a little entertained by Trump but he's rather disgusting some of the time. Yet he's the best option still running for President.

                          Edit: Also, can we be objective? Can you imagine Joe Biden at these pressers and how lost the dude would be trying to lead the nation through this disaster? He would not bring confidence to anyone at all. At least Trump appeals to half the country and he's a lot smarter than anyone on this board. How many billions have you made?
                          Last edited by BlueNGold; 03-27-2020, 11:16 PM.

                          Comment


                          • I could inherit millions and defraud banks through shell companies. You act like he is a self made man. He is an entertainer and he keeps a good portion of people entertained and that helps them deal with reality.

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by BlueNGold View Post

                              I never said the dude was nobel. If he can make money, he probably just considers that business. He's a pride filled narcissist without a moral compass. Is that harsh enough?

                              But he's right about a lot of things. You might say that if that's true it's because he's constantly talking. I'm not arguing that point. But I will say I like who he's put on the US Supreme Court and I'm quite pleased with his pro-America agenda and part of that does include moving manufacturing back to our soil.

                              So, really, I'm a little entertained by Trump but he's rather disgusting some of the time. Yet he's the best option still running for President.
                              I'm actually a former Republican. I'm now and have been since before Bush 2 a Anti-Republican. I vote against, not for.

                              I liked Warren, then Bernie. But, I'd vote for the corpse of Biden before the orange idiot **** stain.

                              Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk

                              "Just look at the flowers ........ BANG" - Carol "The Walking Dead"

                              Comment


                              • Re Trump supposedly not lying, as posited earlier in the thread:


                                https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/u...gtype=Homepage
                                For months, the president has downplayed the severity of the pandemic, overstated the impact of his policies and potential treatments, blamed others and tried to rewrite the history of his response.coronavirus pandemic.Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times
                                • March 27, 2020Updated 9:53 p.m. ET
                                Hours after the United States became the nation with the largest number of reported coronavirus cases on Thursday, President Trump appeared on Fox News and expressed doubt about shortages of medical supplies, boasted about the country’s testing capacity, and criticized his predecessor’s response to an earlier outbreak of a different disease.
                                “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators,” he said, alluding to a request by Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. The president made the statement in spite of government reports predicting shortages in a severe pandemic — and he reversed course on Friday morning, calling for urgent steps to produce more ventilators.
                                Speaking on Fox on Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested wrongly that because of his early travel restrictions on China, “a lot of the people decided to go to Italy instead” — though Italy had issued a more wide-ranging ban on travel from China and done so earlier than the United States. And at a White House briefing on Friday, he wrongly said he was the “first one” to impose restrictions on China. North Korea, for one, imposed restrictions 10 days before the United States.
                                He misleadingly claimed again on Friday that “we’ve tested now more than anybody.” In terms of raw numbers, the United States has tested more people for the coronavirus than Italy and South Korea but still lags behind in tests per capita.

                                And he continued to falsely claim that the Obama administration “acted very, very late” during the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 and 2010.
                                These falsehoods, like dozens of others from the president since January, demonstrate some core tenets of how Mr. Trump has tried to spin his response to the coronavirus epidemic to his advantage. Here’s an overview.
                                Playing down the severity of the pandemic

                                When the first case of the virus was reported in the United States in January, Mr. Trump dismissed it as “one person coming in from China.” He said the situation was “under control” and “it’s going to be just fine” — despite a top official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention telling the public to “expect more cases.”
                                No matter how much the count of cases has grown, Mr. Trump has characterized it as low.
                                “We have very little problem in this country” with five cases, he said in late January.
                                He maintained the same dismissive tone on March 5, as the number of cases had grown by a factor of 25. “Only 129 cases,” he wrote on Twitter.

                                A day later, he falsely claimed that this was “lower than just about” any other country. (A number of developed countries like Australia, Britain and Canada as well as populous India had fewer reported cases at that point.)
                                By March 12, when the tally had again increased tenfold to over 1,200, the president argued that too was “very few cases” compared to other countries.
                                He has also misleadingly suggested numerous times that the coronavirus is no worse than the flu, saying on Friday, “You call it germ, you can call it a flu. You can call it a virus. You can call it many different names. I’m not sure anybody knows what it is.”
                                The mortality rate for coronavirus, however, is 10 times that of the flu and no vaccine or cure exists yet for the coronavirus.
                                In conflating the flu and the coronavirus, Mr. Trump repeatedly emphasized the annual number of deaths from the flu, and occasionally inflated his estimates. When he first made the comparison in February, he talked of flu deaths from “25,000 to 69,000.” In March, he cited a figure “as high as 100,000” in 1990.
                                The actual figure for the 1990 flu season was 33,000, and in the past decade, the flu has killed an estimated 12,000 to 61,000 thousand people each flu season in the United States. That’s so far higher than the death count for the virus in the United States, but below projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimated that deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, could range from 200,000 to 1.7 million. As of Friday evening, more than 1,200 deaths in the United States have been linked to the coronavirus.


                                On the flip side, Mr. Trump inflated the mortality and infection rates of other deadly diseases as if to emphasize that the coronavirus pales in comparison. “The level of death with Ebola,” according to Mr. Trump, “was a virtual 100 percent.” (The average fatality rate is around 50 percent.) During the 1918 flu pandemic, “you had a 50/50 chance or very close of dying,” he said on Tuesday. (Estimates for the fatality rate for the 1918 flu are far below that.)

                                This week, as cities and states began locking down, stock markets tumbled and jobless claims hit record levels, Mr. Trump again played down the impact of the pandemic and said, with no evidence and contrary to available research, that a recession would be deadlier than the coronavirus.

                                Overstating potential treatments and policies

                                The president has also dispensed a steady stream of optimism when discussing countermeasures against the virus.
                                From later February to early March, Mr. Trump repeatedly promised that a vaccine would be available “relatively soon” despite being told by public health officials and pharmaceutical executives that the process would take 12 to 18 months. Later, he promoted treatments that were still unproven against the virus, and suggested that they were “approved” and available though they were not.
                                Outside of medical interventions, Mr. Trump has exaggerated his own policies and the contributions of the private sector in fighting the outbreak. For example, he imprecisely described a website developed by a company affiliated with Google, wrongly said that insurers were covering the cost of treatment for Covid-19 when they only agreed to waive co-payments for testing, and prematurely declared that automakers were making ventilators “right now.”
                                Often, he has touted his complete “shut down” or “closing” of the United States to visitors from affected countries (in some cases leading to confusion and chaos). But the restrictions he has imposed on travel from China, Iran and 26 countries in Europe do not amount to a ban or closure of the borders. Those restrictions do not apply to American citizens, permanent residents, their immediate families, or flight crews.
                                Not only were these restrictions total and absolute in Mr. Trump’s telling, they were also imposed on China “against the advice of a lot of professionals, and we turned out to be right.” His health and human services secretary, however, has previously said that the restrictions were imposed on the recommendations of career health officials. The Times has also reported that Mr. Trump was skeptical before deciding to back the restrictions at the urging of some aides.

                                Blaming others

                                The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent test kits to states in February, some of which were flawed and produced inconclusive readings. Problems continued to grow as scientists and state officials warned about restrictions on who could be tested and the availability of tests overall. Facing criticism over testing and medical supplies, Mr. Trump instead shifted responsibility to a variety of others.

                                It was the Obama administration that “made a decision on testing that turned out to be very detrimental to what we’re doing,” he said on March 4. This was a misleading reference to draft guidance issued in 2014 on regulating laboratory-developed tests, one that was never finalized or enforceable. A law enacted in 2004 created the process and requirements for receiving authorization to use unapproved testing products in health emergencies.
                                The test distributed by the World Health Organization was never offered to the United States and was “a bad test,” according to Mr. Trump. It’s true that the United States typically designs and manufactures its own diagnostics, but there is no evidence that the W.H.O. test was unreliable.
                                As for the shortage of ventilators cited by Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Trump has misleadingly said that the governor declined to address the issue in 2015 when he “had the chance to buy, in 2015, 16,000 ventilators at a very low price and he turned it down.”
                                A 2015 report establishing New York’s guidelines on ventilator allocation estimated that, in the event of a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 flu, the state would “likely have a shortfall of 15,783 ventilators during peak demand.” But the report did not actually recommend increasing the stockpile and noted that purchasing more was not a cure-all solution as there would not be enough trained health care workers to operate them.

                                Rewriting history

                                Since the severity of the pandemic became apparent, the president has defended his earlier claims through false statements and revisionism.
                                He has denied saying things he said. Pressed on Tuesday about his pronouncements in March that testing was “perfect,” Mr. Trump said he had been simply referring to the conversation he had in July with the president of Ukraine that ultimately led to the House impeaching him. In fact, he had said “the tests are all perfect” like the phone call.
                                He has compared his government’s response to the current coronavirus pandemic (“one of the best”) favorably to the Obama administration’s response to the H1N1 epidemic of 2009 to 2010 (“a full scale disaster”). In doing so, Mr. Trump has falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama did not declare the epidemic an emergency until thousands had died (a public health emergency was declared days before the first reported death in the United States) and falsely said the previous administration “didn’t do testing” (they did).

                                At times, Mr. Trump has marveled at the scale of the pandemic, arguing that “nobody would ever believe a thing like that’s possible” and that it “snuck up on us.
                                There have been a number of warnings about both a generic worldwide pandemic and the coronavirus specifically. A 2019 government report said that “the United States and the world will remain vulnerable to the next flu pandemic or large scale outbreak of a contagious disease.” A simulation conducted last year by the Department of Health and Human Services modeled an outbreak of a rapidly spreading virus. And top government officials began sounding the alarms about the coronavirus in early January.
                                Despite his history of false and misleading remarks, Mr. Trump has also asserted, “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

                                Linda Qiu is a fact-check reporter, based in Washington. She came to The Times in 2017 from the fact-checking service PolitiFact. @ylindaqiu

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