IMPORTANT: READ BEFORE POSTING IN THIS SECTION

[Nick]

About posting links to DT material

As we stroll towards September, it is possible that DT material may leak eventually, so might I remind everyone of Rule 2:

2a. Sharing, requests for sharing, offers to share, or discussion of illegally obtaining pirated material is strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, warez, direct links, asking for links/files, and hinting at resources for finding the material.

2b. With regard to "leaked" material ... [from] Dream Theater and side-projects by the members of Dream Theater, you may not discuss the leaked material whatsoever.

Any discussion of a leak, including discussion of the songs themselves, will be met with an immediate ban until at least release date, if not longer.

In addition, I've lost count now of how many times people have posted youtube links of OTHER songs that claim to be leaks. Even though these are fake, they are still pirated material and thus against the rules. I am posting this thread to make it absolutely clear - other than live bootlegs, any youtube link to a song that is not from an official page is against the rules. Bans will be handed out if people continue to post them.

Thanks.

Mike Portnoy Discussion

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EDITED TO ADD THE FOLLOWING:

All insults, bashing, attacking, etc. of Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater, whoever the hypothetical new drummer turns out to be, and/or any other member of the Dream Theater community is to cease immediately. Continued violations will result in immediate bannings without warning and, if that does not solve the problem, permanent shutting down and deletion of DTF.org.

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This is not to stifle or shut down discussion about Mike leaving DT, Mike's reactions to things, and forum members' reactions to Mike's recent behavior.  But bottom line is this:  Bashing of both former and current members of DT is prohibited on this site.  Whatever you have to say, go ahead and say it, but keep your posts respectful.  This will NOT turn into an MP bash-fest, DT vs. MP, or DTF vs. MP.com.  

The feeling that Mike has been overreacting to a lot of things is perfectly understandable.  But to take that further and start namecalling crosses the line.  Again, feel free to post your thoughts, but keep it respectful.  If you aren't sure how to speak out and express disapproval without namecalling, do a quick search of robwebster's posts.  I would consider them to pretty much be the model for how to do it right.  

The vast majority of posts I have seen are fine.  This is more of a reminder than anything else because I have seen a minority of posts that have crossed the line.  Again, this is not to shut down the discussion, but to make sure the discusison continues in a way that is respectful.  Whether or not anyone things Mike Portnoy deserves respect is irrelevant.  Discussion needs to be respectful and needs to not violate forum rules.  Thanks.

I will reopen the thread in a couple of hours after I have some dinner and people have had a chance to read this.

More about Portnoy Discussion

Once again, I unfortunately feel the need to add to this thread because, once again, a small number of posts have either crossed the line or are so intentionally close to the line they may as well have crossed the line.  I will be brief and make this as clear as I can:  Criticism, provided it is construtive, of the may MP is handline the present situation, or any other matter relating to DT's past and current members, is fine.  But if it is expressed in a way that is disrespectful, that is not fine.  For example, "Mike is acting like a ten-year-old," "Mike is an attention whore," and "LOLMikePortnoy" are all examples of insults and/or trolling.  You can make your point without slinging insults.  If you aren't sure whether something is an insult or otherwise violative of the rules, I have a suggestion for you:  hold your tongue and just don't say it.

Going forward, violations will result in a 1-month ban.  No warnings.

Arguing with mods' public moderation decisions will also result in a temp. or perm. ban, at the discretion of the mod staff.

If you don't understand the difference between constructive criticism or you can't voice your disagreement respectfullly, and you want to say I'm censoring you or some other nonsense, all I can say is I'm sorry you misunderstand what I am doing and why we have rules.  You are free to express your opinions, but keep in mind that not every opinion needs to be expressed, and above all else, think about HOW you are expressing your opinion before you hit the "Post" button.

About posting interviews

Okay, not a "rule" per se because I'm not going to ban people over it, but something that I think will make things a lot easier for people.  Because there are a lot of band interviews coming out right now and probably a lot more on the horizon as we get closer to album release date, please be more clear in your thread titles.  Here is what I would prefer:


1.  PLEASE HAVE ALL INTERVIEW THREAD TITLES FOLLOW THIS FORMAT AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE:

[bandmember name] Interview by [name of interviewer or publication], [date]

So, for example:  "Mike Mnagini interview by DTNorway.com, 05/21/2001"   (and, no, you don't have to use N.Am. date formatting if you don't want to)


2.  PLEASE HAVE THE FIRST POST FOLLOW THIS FORMAT AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE:

Bandmember interviewed:
Interviewer:
Date:
Source:  [link, if applicable]
[rest of the post]


I think this will make it easier to find interviews, and will make creating a uniform archive much simpler as well.  Thanks.

And a final note on file sharing DT material

Most of you already know and abide by the rules about not sharing pirated material.  However, two otherwise-reputable users were recently banned for hinting in public posts and communicating via private message about sharing the stem tracks from the BC&SL box set.  It should go without saying that this is absolutely against the forum rules.  Not only that, but it is incredibly disrespectful to the band.  Dream Theater have made the tracks available through a special edition box set that comes with all kinds of cool extras.  If you want those extras, buy the box set.  It is as simple as that.  Illegal sharing of copyrighted material will get you banned from the forum, whether you are doing it publicly on the boards, or privately through PM's.  DO NOT USE THIS BOARD AS A MEANS OF STEALING FROM DREAM THEATER OR CONDUCTING ANY OTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.  Any who cannot respect and abide by that rule will not be allowed to continue to post here.  For the vast majority of you who follow the rules, I am sorry I even had to mention this.  Thank you.

[hefdaddy42]

I have noticed a disturbing new trend here on the DT-side, and it invariably involves new members.  Hi, guys, we love you and we are glad to have you here.  Please share your thoughts and excitement about Dream Theater and their upcoming new release.  Interact with everyone else here, and grow into this awesome online community.

But this is a (relatively speaking) small website, with fantastic admins and a crack staff of hard-working, dedicated mods.  So take this message with all due respect.




Large quote pyramids can have harmful effects on our servers.  So please, with a cherry on top, don't do it.

Props to the other members who have posted to try to get people to stop this.


Carry on! 

[jingle.boy]

I'd add this the the rules.

P.S. felt like quoting the OP, but this is serious business.  Not the time for joking.

[hefdaddy42]

lol

[jonnybaxy]

[TheAtliator]

  but actually I didn't even know about this and I've been on for some months, so it's a good thing you guys said something... It's also a good thing that you asked nicely the first time for me  (JUST KIDDING- THIS WAY WAS MUCH MORE FUN!!)

[hefdaddy42]

but actually I didn't even know about this and I've been on for some months, so it's a good thing you guys said something... It's also a good thing that you asked nicely the first time for me  (JUST KIDDING- THIS WAY WAS MUCH MORE FUN!!)

It's usually just addressed on a case-by-case basis, because it normally doesn't happen very often.  But I've noticed it happening a LOT in recent threads, and I usually get to those threads long after the pyramids have been done, so it didn't always make sense to address those instances individually.  Hence, this announcement.

[King Postwhore]

Pharaoh Hef has spoken.

[Elite]

I'll second jingle's notion to add this to the rules. I don't really know how often those get read anyway, but since the forum basically states you have to read the rules before posting, there will be no excuse to make quote pyramids anymore. I don't know about technical stuff and how they could mess up the server, but as a forum user they are pretty annoying to go through as well.

[XB0BX]

I'll second jingle's notion to add this to the rules. I don't really know how often those get read anyway, but since the forum basically states you have to read the rules before posting, there will be no excuse to make quote pyramids anymore. I don't know about technical stuff and how they could mess up the server, but as a forum user they are pretty annoying to go through as well.

I concur.

[Grizz]

I'll second jingle's notion to add this to the rules. I don't really know how often those get read anyway, but since the forum basically states you have to read the rules before posting, there will be no excuse to make quote pyramids anymore. I don't know about technical stuff and how they could mess up the server, but as a forum user they are pretty annoying to go through as well.

I concur.

Agreed.

[BlastParadigm]

^

The temptation is killing me..   

[Theme Dreater]

Just as clarification, how many posts constitutes a quote pyramid? I've seen some mini pyramids of only perhaps 2 posts and no one seems to mind those.

[Ħ]

The F word in a sticky! 

[BlobVanDam]

Just as clarification, how many posts constitutes a quote pyramid? I've seen some mini pyramids of only perhaps 2 posts and no one seems to mind those.

Two or three should be fine.

I find that as a general rule, if it's beginning to look ridiculous, stop.

[TheGreatPretender]

Just out of curiosity, I know quote pyramids can stretch the page and get physically ugly sometimes, but how exactly do they affect the servers?

[Bolsters]

Just out of curiosity, I know quote pyramids can stretch the page and get physically ugly sometimes, but how exactly do they affect the servers?

They don't.

[TheGreatPretender]

They don't.

Large quote pyramids can have harmful effects on our servers.

[wolven74]

Have to admit I'm glad this thread (to a sticky no less) about quote pyramids hasn't degenerated into one big quote pyramid of everyone agreeing not to make quote pyramids.

[TheAtliator]

Actually, come to think of it, would it be at all possible for us to ask permission and then have the mods to get prepared with whatever they need so that we can make the biggest quote pyramid there has ever been, right here in this thread?

[ariich]

No.

[Scorpion]

No.

I'm sorry.

[Bolsters]

They don't.

Large quote pyramids can have harmful effects on our servers.

It's a joke. Quote pyramids are just a string of text like any other post, the problem is just in the annoying way the information is displayed.

[TheAtliator]

  it was worth a shot!

[XB0BX]

They don't.

Large quote pyramids can have harmful effects on our servers.

It's a joke. Quote pyramids are just a string of text like any other post, the problem is just in the annoying way the information is displayed.

But then again, when you have intricate conversations where people are constantly referring back to previous information, it might occasionally be beneficial to keep the previous comments quoted for easy reference.

[hefdaddy42]

The previous, yes.  The previous 10, not so much.

[Perpetual Change]

Maybe XJ should stop working on degrees so I can quote while I quote all I want from my phone on tapatalk! 

[XB0BX]

The previous, yes.  The previous 10, not so much.

Who are you referring to with this post?

[Grizz]

Referring to the previous post vs the previous 10 posts.

[hefdaddy42]

The previous, yes.  The previous 10, not so much.

Who are you referring to with this post?

The post right before my post.  If you do that, you don't need a quote.  You just answer.

[BlobVanDam]

I generally quote as much as is necessary for my response to make sense. If you're answering right after someone, you may not need to quote them at all (unless it goes onto a new page).
Sometimes you need a couple of quotes of the conversation, but if it gets more than that, I find you really don't need to keep the earlier posts of the quote anymore, and it just makes your post longer and more redundant to do so.

And if you're just quoting a giant pyramid of the same response just to repeat the same answer, then your post probably isn't necessary at all.

[ariich]

I seem to be quite unlucky with that - usually if I respond to the latest post, then by the time I post my reply, either it's taken me to a new page, or someone else has posted something in between that means I no longer make sense (or make even less sense than usual, if you like).

EDIT: Phew, this time I got my post in on time!

[BlobVanDam]

I seem to be quite unlucky with that - usually if I respond to the latest post, then by the time I post my reply, either it's taken me to a new page, or someone else has posted something in between that means I no longer make sense (or make even less sense than usual, if you like).

That's known as Murphy's Forum Law. Any post that can go wrong, will go wrong.

[jingle.boy]

at 22k+, I'm sure you've had your fair share.

[BlobVanDam]

Only the ones that have "BlobVanDam" to the left of them.