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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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PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

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  • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

    Originally posted by Bball View Post
    http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-john-...0,194954.story

    Seymour DARE officer accused of driving drunk
    A DARE officer was arrested Thursday for allegedly driving drunk.

    Comment


    • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

      Originally posted by Since86 View Post
      She'll get that money back when she sues. Any settlement, or judgement, is going to include her 10% bond fee and lawyer costs.

      And at the end of the day, she's still free. The system WORKED. It might have hit some snags along the way, and she might have to deal with a headache for a few years, but guess what......she's NOT serving time for crimes she didn't commit, and that's the end game when discussing whether or not the system handed out justice or not.
      So losing her job/business and house is only a headache. Not to mention her professional reputation is now in question, and you think the system worked for her? And its all okay because she can sue the state and maybe win? Heartless...
      You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

      Comment


      • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

        I have to vigorusly disagree with S86 on the last point in this thread.

        That lady was not simply dealt a "bad hand". She was screwed over, done dirty, and the PD and state were 100% wrong.

        You can say she can recoup the money from a lawsuit, but how about all the crap she went through up to that point. I cant just brush that off and say "oh well, such is life".

        Not to mention, as others have said, it is nearly impossible to win a suit against the state
        Last edited by vapacersfan; 07-30-2011, 10:09 PM.

        Comment


        • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

          Disagree with what exactly?

          I said she was screwed over. I said the difference is I'm not ready to label the ENTIRE system as screwing people over, which is where me and graphic are on two completely different levels.

          I can find article after article showing where a teacher had sex with a student. So all teachers have sex with students.

          I can find an article where a gay man molested a little boy. So all homosexuals are pedophils.


          That is what I'm arguing. I'm not saying the state was in the right, with regards to the last case, I'm saying **** HAPPENS.

          Find me one thing that is perfect. One. Not two. One.

          A few bad cops in NY, doesn't show that the entire legal system is wrong. We know our legal system has flaws. We try to limit those flaws by having things like having all three branches of government involved in the process, and by having these crazy ideas of juries made up of our peers.

          But instead, we're labeling all homosexuals pedophils, like dumbasses, instead of just acknowledging that mistakes are made and trying to prevent them in the future.

          But no...all cops are out to screw you over, and all prosectutors only care about winning.

          How stupid. How simplistic. How immature.

          But in the end, the system corrected itself. It prevented an innocent woman from going to jail for punishment on crimes she didn't commit. Did the system work perfectly? Hell no. But it WORKED!! It did exactly the job it was designed to do.

          It didn't work perfectly, it didn't even work on an accpetable level. But it worked.
          Last edited by Since86; 08-01-2011, 10:11 AM.
          Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

          Comment


          • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

            Originally posted by Since86 View Post
            Disagree with what exactly?

            I said she was screwed over. I said the difference is I'm not ready to label the ENTIRE system as screwing people over, which is where me and graphic are on two completely different levels.

            I can find article after article showing where a teacher had sex with a student. So all teachers have sex with students.

            I can find an article where a gay man molested a little boy. So all homosexuals are pedophils.


            That is what I'm arguing. I'm not saying the state was in the right, with regards to the last case, I'm saying **** HAPPENS.

            Find me one thing that is perfect. One. Not two. One.

            A few bad cops in NY, doesn't show that the entire legal system is wrong. We know our legal system has flaws. We try to limit those flaws by having things like having all three branches of government involved in the process, and by having these crazy ideas of juries made up of our peers.

            But instead, we're labeling all homosexuals pedophils, like dumbasses, instead of just acknowledging that mistakes are made and trying to prevent them in the future.

            But no...all cops are out to screw you over, and all prosectutors only care about winning.

            How stupid. How simplistic. How immature.

            But in the end, the system corrected itself. It prevented an innocent woman from going to jail for punishment on crimes she didn't commit. Did the system work perfectly? Hell no. But it WORKED!! It did exactly the job it was designed to do.

            It didn't work perfectly, it didn't even work on an accpetable level. But it worked.
            Okay you are right, not all cops are dirty and not all prosecutors are gunning for your conviction.

            But you as the individual should absolutely treat them as if they are when you are dealing with them, because you don't know what they're intentions really are. They say pitbulls can be some of the nicest dogs, but they also have the biggest bite.
            You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

            Comment


            • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

              As someone who has owned pitbulls, I know what you mean.

              I can have good faith interactions with a pitbull, all while keeping an eye out for a shift in behavior. Just because I don't trust pitbulls fully, doesn't mean that I can't trust them at all.

              Just like police/DAs.

              I agree that you should keep your eye on them, and not just blindly put your trust in their hands. But at the same time, I think you can interact with them openly, and honestly, without getting bitten.

              Are there times when the best course of action, for you, is to shut up and get behind your lawyer? Most certainly.

              But there are other times when you should cooperate and make yourself available to their questions.

              You can have a distrust of police, and interact with them.
              Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

              Comment


              • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                As someone who has owned pitbulls, I know what you mean.

                I can have good faith interactions with a pitbull, all while keeping an eye out for a shift in behavior. Just because I don't trust pitbulls fully, doesn't mean that I can't trust them at all.

                Just like police/DAs.

                I agree that you should keep your eye on them, and not just blindly put your trust in their hands. But at the same time, I think you can interact with them openly, and honestly, without getting bitten.

                Are there times when the best course of action, for you, is to shut up and get behind your lawyer? Most certainly.

                But there are other times when you should cooperate and make yourself available to their questions.

                You can have a distrust of police, and interact with them.
                But thats just it, you know pitbulls because you owned them. So you have a familiarity with them. Even most dog owners (like myself) would have some knowledge of pitbulls. But the same does not ring true for non-dog owners. I have seen people absolutely freak out because a little Terrier was jumping on their leg. They dont know anything about dogs so they treat them all as dangerous and would prefer not to interact with such a harmless little dog.

                Why can't I say the same about the police? Most people in society are completely ignorant of the law. So why would you tell them to act open in honestly with something that might bite them if they are ill- equipped with the knowledge one would need to deal with the police that would limit their chances of getting bitten?
                You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

                Comment


                • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                  Did I EVER say you shouldn't have a lawyer present?
                  Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.

                  Comment


                  • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                    Originally posted by Since86 View Post
                    Did I EVER say you shouldn't have a lawyer present?
                    Most people in America live pay check to pay check, you think they can afford legal counsel? Best not to talk to the police. Cheaper, less risk.
                    You can't get champagne from a garden hose.

                    Comment


                    • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                      Wow this thread has gotten derailed.

                      Comment


                      • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                        Heard on the radio. FBI is checking a landfill in Vigo County. Man, her parents thoughts today WOW!!!

                        Comment


                        • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                          Heard that on the radio. Question. Would trash from a dumpster in Btown be hauled to Terre Haute landfill? (uh, no jokes please)
                          Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??.

                          Comment


                          • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                            i just hope it gets resolved.


                            Comment


                            • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                              Originally posted by indygeezer View Post
                              Heard that on the radio. Question. Would trash from a dumpster in Btown be hauled to Terre Haute landfill? (uh, no jokes please)
                              I wouldn't see why not. It's a straight shot from B-town up SR46 to the turnoff in Riley to get to the Terre Haute landfill which is actually very far south of the city.

                              Also, this means they have most likely gotten a tip from somewhere. They're not going to search a landfill on a gut feeling.

                              Comment


                              • Re: PLEASE HELP FIND A FELLOW HOOSIER

                                Lauren Spierer case: Bloomington police refuse to comment on landfill search reports

                                http://heraldtimesonline.com/stories...qp-2477468.sto
                                The H-T is subscription only, but I include the link for attribution's sake


                                By Laura Lane331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
                                August 3, 2011

                                Bloomington police will not confirm recent unsourced news reports that a warrant has been issued for the search of a landfill south of Terre Haute for evidence relating to Lauren Spierer, the Indiana University student who has been missing two months. No search is under way, and none, apparently, is scheduled.

                                WTHR-TV reported on Tuesday that investigators requested a search warrant on June 16, two weeks after 20-year-old Spierer disappeared from downtown Bloomington, for local trash ultimately dumped at the Sycamore Ridge Landfill in Pimento.

                                But local police are adamant that they will not discuss anything related to a possible landfill search.

                                An Associated Press story Wednesday cited the television report, which said the FBI intends to search the landfill. There was no connection made to the Spierer case.

                                No one was at the Bloomington FBI office Wednesday morning to answer questions about the alleged search warrant, which would be sealed to the press and public if it does exist because it would be part of an active investigation.

                                On July 16, The Herald-Times reported that Bloomington police had contacted the landfill’s manager soon after Spierer went missing inquiring if the trash from Bloomington from after June 3 still was there. It was, and was set aside . . .

                                Comment

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