DTF Is The Greatest Band-Based Forum I've Come Across

[adamack]

This just hit me out of the blue. Are there any other band/musical artist forums online with communities as expansive, active, and informative as DTF?

I find it incredible that my favorite band happens to have such an amazing forum...the best I've come across. DT is popular of course, but it's not like their level of popularity is comparable to bands like, say, The Beatles, U2, or even on a smaller scale, someone like Metallica. I searched around to see if Metallica had a forum like this, but DTF has over 5 times as many topics (in the Dream Theater section alone!) as the Metallica forum does.

Also, I was recently searching for a DTF forum-sized equivalent for Porcupine Tree or Steven Wilson, as SW is my other favorite music interest. I found a couple very small, very inactive forums, but nothing even worth posting on due to the lack of activity.

So I'd first like to state how appreciative I am to have such an awesome community, but I'm also asking how this forum got to be as successful as it is, when much more popular bands have forums which pale in comparison?

Is it because DT fans are generally very speculative and observant, and this sparks a ton of conversation? Is it because DTF also has sections about other bands? Or is it mainly just the result of excellent administration and moderation by the creators of the forum?

...Or do these other forums exist, but I just suck at Google?

[AngelBack]

We would appreciate if you aim elsewhere....



yeah, it's the best, Rush forum seems a little narrow and clique-ish, and mp.com, well kind of a playground at this point.  5/8 is just silly.

[Anguyen92]

For me, it's a sense that we can talk about anything we want whether it is any type of music, sports, etc. without feeling out of place.  Also, I think it's because the band is mostly active where either they are going to be touring or they are going to go into the studio and that they manage to give a good amount of info on social media and stuff that we can talk about in a thorough and intriguing manner. 

All the other forums I go to seem to have certain flaws.  The GNR forum seems to be a little too negative on either Slash doing his solo work (and bashing Myles Kennedy and his voice) or their current line-up.  Some of the posters in the Download Festival Forum seems to have this kinda unopenedness to them and pretty much bash any bands they do not like, even if there are posters that are fans of those bands reading those band threads (I mean some people complained that Muse should not headline Download because they are not heavy or Matt Bellamy's vocals are arse or whatever, not all of them though.  In fact, the majority of them are excited that Muse is headlining Download.)  The forum, that I call my 2nd home, TheAlterBridgeNation forum, while the environment can be just as great, if not better, as DTF, there are moments of inactivity in the forums while Alter Bridge is not touring/making an album due to Myles Kennedy working with Slash and Mark Tremonti working on his solo band.

Overall, this is a great place to have good discussions about a great band and pretty much anything we can think of and I'm happy to be here.

[TheGreatPretender]

Also, I'm not on any other band forum. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'm a member on a number of forums, but this is definitely the best one, and the only one I spend a lot of time on.

[KevShmev]

yeah, it's the best, Rush forum seems a little narrow and clique-ish, 

Agreed.  Rush has been my favorite band for over 20 years, yet I have a whopping 378 posts on The Rush Forum since May 2006.  Compare that to here, where it's usually over 1K a year.

[CharlesPL]

DTF(2007guest-2013 as User)
MP Forum (2002guest-2009 as user)
I understand all, but I have problems with writing it's not my 1st language, therefore Long guest
Metropolis PL (2006-Present Admin,Co-Founder here, it's PolishDT forum)
Overkill PL (2003 -Metallica forum)
Sanktuarium (2003 -Iron Maiden forum,Mod here)
Hemispheres (Rush forum, as guest)

Other forums on which sat they already removed.

[Sycsa]

I completely agree with the OP. However, since I read some complaints from veteran members, I'd like to ask, when was the forum's golden age and how does it compare to that today?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

DTF IS THE BEST THEM!!

Seriously DTF has been my main hub for discussion about metal/rock/prog/movies/science/space/games/sillyness/life/food/nothing/something/AndyDT and many many more things for the last couple of years.

You can find band threads on DTF more active than their respective forums if they even have one. That's pretty rad if you ask me! 

[Orbert]

I completely agree with the OP. However, since I read some complaints from veteran members, I'd like to ask, when was the forum's golden age and how does it compare to that today?

Old people will always tell you that things aren't as great as they once were.  I know, because I'm an old person.

Seriously, I consider myself a veteran, and yeah, I can think of a time when I could come into pretty much any thread and see lots of familiar names and know pretty much what they're going to say, but that can get boring, too.  Forums are always in a constant state of turnover.  We've had some favorite posters move on, but we've had some great new blood come in as well.  People figure out for themselves whether or not the place suits their style; if not, others will clue them in.

[hefdaddy42]

[JayOctavarium]

We've had some favorite posters move on

Don't worry. I am not going anywhere 

[BlackInk]

I've only been on one other forum (LastAirbenderFans), and it wasn't nearly as good as here. So yeah, out of the two I've been a part of this is by far the better. LAF had mods almost bordering on rude at times and seemed to think they could say whatever they wanted to the new members. I also looked through the Meshuggah forum once, and almost everyone seemed to be incredibly rude. I don't know if this is a common problem on forums though, because all of that is just so much better here, both mods and members.

[hefdaddy42]

LAF had mods almost bordering on rude at times and seemed to think they could say whatever they wanted to the new members.

It's in our training.

[LCArenas]

LAF had mods almost bordering on rude at times and seemed to think they could say whatever they wanted to the new members.

It's in our training.

Tell me more about your training, hef

[chaossystem]

I think a big part of the reason for that (what the OP said in his introduction) is because Dream Theater is a unique kind of band in that they have more depth and dimension in their music, and much deeper and more complex meanings in their lyrics.

They give us a LOT more to talk about than most other bands do.

Now I have said many times that Metallica is one of my other favorite bands, but I would probably find their forum to be very boring.
A big part of the reason for this is because it seems to take them at least four or five years to get one album out, and then they do five or six (that MAY be a SLIGHT exaggeration!) world tours in support of that album, playing almost EXACTLY the same group of songs, in almost EXACTLY the same order, before they FINALLY decide to throw us a bone by putting out some new music!
That really DOESN'T give us much of anything new to talk about where they're concerned, does it?

DT, on the other hand is always moving forward. They as a band or the members individually are always working on some new project, always putting out new music, and always doing things that are worth hearing and talking about.
And you can bet that even if the set list on their next tour stays the same the entire time, it will sttill be DRASTICALLY different from the current/last one.

As opposed to opening with "Creeping/Bell" and closing with "S&D" EVERY SINGLE TIME FOR YEARS ON END!!!

Also, I've checked out a couple of the other "metal" forums, and they're not NEARLY as good as this one.

[425]

I would say that it also helps that DT is at a crossroads of musical styles and is (comparatively) quite popular. DT draws metal fans and prog fans, so DTF also draws fans from both of those genres, and causes a lot of cross-pollination between the two (metal fans becoming prog fans because of DT and vice-versa). Also, since DT is one of the biggest contemporary prog bands, DTF kind of naturally lends itself to being a place to discuss a lot of related bands, particularly smaller ones that don't necessarily have fanbases who can support a sizable forum.

Plus there's the fact that this forum is very well-run and has an extremely active community comprised both of long-time members and enthusiastic newbies.

[Nearmyth]

DTF is definitely one of the best helpful, friendly, and informative forums I've seen

[Skeever]

There were a lot of great forums back in the days when forums were still broadly used. Ones waaaaay more active than this.

However, forums are kind of an older thing, very 2005-ish. Even since the dawn of social media and Facebook pages, bands seem to have started ditching forums. This is one of the few actives ones I've seen lately. There used to be entire forums dedicated to anything you could think of - a band, a videogame, whatever.

Of course, reddit is sort of like a more modern forum.

[ErHaO]

Not a band based forum, but I sometimes use neogaf, a videogame forum. It is really, really active with topics about all kinds of things, including music and film and cultural stuff. Sometimes a bit unpersonal though, as it has many users and is heavily moderated. But it is the most active dedicated forum I can think of.

[hefdaddy42]

LAF had mods almost bordering on rude at times and seemed to think they could say whatever they wanted to the new members.

It's in our training.

Tell me more about your training, hef

Most of it is top secret, sorry.

[Mebert78]

I love this place.  I was thinking about that a month ago.  I've made this place a part of my life.  There are only 24 hours in a day, and I spend a small chunk of that time visiting here and reading everyone's thoughts on various topics.  Even though I don't post every day, I visit religiously.  It's so weird how an internet message board can have an important place in your life.  I've only met less than 10 people from this forum in person, and most of those are just one-time meetings at a show in NYC.  But this place is so valuable to me.  I hope it's around forever.   

[The Letter M]

We would appreciate if you aim elsewhere....

-Marc.

[TAC]

I love this place.  I was thinking about that a month ago.  I've made this place a part of my life.  There are only 24 hours in a day, and I spend a small chunk of that time visiting here and reading everyone's thoughts on various topics.  Even though I don't post every day, I visit religiously.  It's so weird how an internet message board can have an important place in your life.  I've only met less than 10 people from this forum in person, and most of those are just one-time meetings at a show in NYC.  But this place is so valuable to me.  I hope it's around forever.

Agreed.

[jjrock88]

I agree, it's an awesome place!!

[Chino]

This is the best forum I'm on. Period. I visit a good 20+ forums a day, and this community takes the cake. I have more posts here than all my other forums combined.

[?]

Most of the forums I've been on over the years have either been shut down or just become deadly quiet, so this is the only one I still visit regularly. I also think the GD and GMD sides here are much more interesting than those on other discussion boards.

[BlackInk]

This is the best forum I'm on. Period. I visit a good 20+ forums a day, and this community takes the cake. I have more posts here than all my other forums combined.

20+? How do you keep up enthusiasm for 20 forums every day? I'm only on this one, and sometimes when there's a lot of threads and posts to catch up on I just take a nap instead.

[Zydar]

This is the only forum I visit, plus I am also active in a few Facebook groups about other bands. This has always been a cool community with (mostly) interesting discussions.

[Sycsa]

I'm on. Period.

Couldn't help but read it this way.

[adamack]

We would appreciate if you aim elsewhere....

yeah, it's the best, Rush forum seems a little narrow and clique-ish, and mp.com, well kind of a playground at this point.  5/8 is just silly.

By aim elsewhere did you mean this belonged in a different section? If so, apologies for adding the thread here.

And agreed, Portnoy's forum is very active as well, but it can get a bit out of hand. And yes 5/8 is beyond silly...it's troll-ridden.

Also, I'm not on any other band forum. 

I just knew that my answer was right under my nose this whole time! Duh, me.

DTF(2007guest-2013 as User)
MP Forum (2002guest-2009 as user)
I understand all, but I have problems with writing it's not my 1st language, therefore Long guest
Metropolis PL (2006-Present Admin,Co-Founder here, it's PolishDT forum)
Overkill PL (2003 -Metallica forum)
Sanktuarium (2003 -Iron Maiden forum,Mod here)
Hemispheres (Rush forum, as guest)

Other forums on which sat they already removed.

Thanks for sharing. I will have to check some of these out.

DTF IS THE BEST THEM!!

Seriously DTF has been my main hub for discussion about metal/rock/prog/movies/science/space/games/sillyness/life/food/nothing/something/AndyDT and many many more things for the last couple of years.

You can find band threads on DTF more active than their respective forums if they even have one. That's pretty rad if you ask me! 

This. For example, the discussions about Steven Wilson are more active on DTF then they are on any other SW-based forum I've come across. It's crazy, because one would think there would be a very active SW forum, as his fans seem to be very similar to DT fans in their observant and opinionated natures.

There were a lot of great forums back in the days when forums were still broadly used. Ones waaaaay more active than this.

However, forums are kind of an older thing, very 2005-ish. Even since the dawn of social media and Facebook pages, bands seem to have started ditching forums. This is one of the few actives ones I've seen lately. There used to be entire forums dedicated to anything you could think of - a band, a videogame, whatever.

Of course, reddit is sort of like a more modern forum.

Wow, that's crazy that there used to be forums far more active than DTF. And I totally agree...forums used to be all the rage. Nowadays, it's more social media as you said, but I believe the rise of Reddit has also turned used-to-be "fan" forums into large places of discussion which have taken their places.

This is the best forum I'm on. Period. I visit a good 20+ forums a day, and this community takes the cake. I have more posts here than all my other forums combined.

20 is crazy! Are these mostly band-based forums, or a bit of everything?

[Chino]

This is the best forum I'm on. Period. I visit a good 20+ forums a day, and this community takes the cake. I have more posts here than all my other forums combined.

20+? How do you keep up enthusiasm for 20 forums every day? I'm only on this one, and sometimes when there's a lot of threads and posts to catch up on I just take a nap instead.

I don't regularly post on them all, but I lurk. I belong to a few aquarium forums, model railroading forums, radio control forums, exercise forums, potato cannon forums, and a few others. I have several hobbies and I visit their respective forums at least once per day. Some of the slower forums usually get a view in the morning and then again at night, and then there are others that I'll check a few times over the course of an hour.

[The Letter M]

We would appreciate if you aim elsewhere....

yeah, it's the best, Rush forum seems a little narrow and clique-ish, and mp.com, well kind of a playground at this point.  5/8 is just silly.

By aim elsewhere did you mean this belonged in a different section? If so, apologies for adding the thread here.

DTF Is The Greatest Band-Based Forum I've Come Across

-Marc.

[adamack]

We would appreciate if you aim elsewhere....

yeah, it's the best, Rush forum seems a little narrow and clique-ish, and mp.com, well kind of a playground at this point.  5/8 is just silly.

By aim elsewhere did you mean this belonged in a different section? If so, apologies for adding the thread here.

DTF Is The Greatest Band-Based Forum I've Come Across

-Marc.

OHH. That.   

Heyoooooooooooo

[XB0BX]

I don't think this place is that good. Everyone seems to have a strange grudge against Systematic Chaos for some weird reason.