Forum Definitions and FAQ Thread

Started by Nick, September 26, 2009, 07:16:36 AM

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Nick

Definitions
Note: These definitions are provided to improve discussions within the forum by using standardized terms with which to discuss music. We are not asking that you agree with these definitions, and we are not saying that they are technically "right". We are however saying that for reasons of clarity inside this forum you are to use the following terms as they are defined below.

Concept Album - This is an album that follows a storyline or a narrative.

Rock Opera - This is a concept album in which most or all of the lyrics are pieces of dialogue.

Themed or Thematic Album - An album which sees a common theme, either musical, lyrical, or both, running throughout the entire album.

FAQs
Q: How do I classify A Mind Beside Itself and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence?
A: A Mind Beside Itself is three separate songs that together form a suite. On the other hand Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is a single song that is broken down into smaller movements (as per definitions from DT themselves).

Q: Where are the acoustic Dream Theater songs played over the PA at their shows from?
A: Those covers are done by a French couple named Pipo & Elo, and their site is here: https://pipoelo.free.fr/welcome.php

Q: I notice people sometimes post tickets, merchandise, or other things for sale on the forums.  How do I know I won't get ripped off if I try to buy something?
A: We permit users to post tickets and other items for sale, but the forum, its admins, and its mods DO NOT endorse or personally guarantee or assume any responsibility for any transaction sale.  Any transactions are strictly between the buyer and seller and are made at your own risk.

Q: Why does Pull Me Under suddenly end on my copy of Images & Words?
A: That is how it's supposed to be; your copy is fine. It's meant to signify the suddenness of death.

Q: What is the history of this forum, how did it get to be where it is today?
A: From the head man himself-
Quote from: bösk1 on October 02, 2009, 06:31:38 AM
The story:  First there was EZBoard.  Nobody on the payroll really knew how to do an Internet discussion forum yet.  They upgraded and integrated with dt.net, and all was good.  Itchy eventually got tired of running things and gradually turned the board over to the userbase.  Certain individuals reported to Mike Portnoy that the board was a complete mess and reflected poorly on the band.  Some of this criticism was deserved, but much was exaggerated.  Mike told Itchy to either clean it up immediately and take control, or else shut it down.  Itchy apparently had no desire to take control, and simply pulled the plug. 

A temporary board was set up by a user, and then migrated to dtf.com where another user had set up a more stable and robust environment that would work more long-term.  A new mod staff was brought in and it wasn't long before a sense of division began to develop.  One group wanted things kept very loose and did not necessarily want the board to continue as strictly a Dream Theater forum.  The other group wanted to tighten things up a bit and run the place in a way that reflected positively on the band.  Discussions were had among the admins outside the presence of the mods, and it was decided they would take the board in a non-DT direction.  They started a user poll, and a large number of users expressed that this was a horrible idea.  Others wholeheartedly supported it.  In the meantime, to help with a lot of the technical issues, a user named Thalagyrt was given more and more control over the technical side of the forum.  The intent was that if he had access to the database and everything in it, he could do any programming and handle any errors that came up.  Shortly after the infamous poll, in which the majority concluded they did not want the direction of the forum to change, Thalagyrt assumed total control of the forum and shut it down, with a message that it would return shortly as...something else.  This was May 2007.

Myself and a very small group of people had several telephone conversations late into the night and early into the next morning and decided that since there were anywhere between a few hundred and a few thousand users who wanted a Dream Theater forum, and that we felt we knew how to run one in a way that would reflect positively on the band, we decided to set something up.  The next morning, two new websites opened.  The former dtf.com was now known as fiveeight.com.  The other was this present site.  None of us here knew how to really run the technological side of a web site.  But there was lots of experience and good intentions on how to run a forum community.  There have been some definite learning experiences along the way, such as the big crash.  Honestly, we almost lost the site during that time.  But I read in the newspaper that without a "report post to moderator" button to click on every five seconds, tri.ad had been arrested for running around using his clicking finger to poke random people on the streets.  It was right then and there that I knew this place must rise from the ashes yet again.  And so, here we are.

Q:  What is Vlasto Day?
A:  Any day can be declared Vlasto Day; it is an ever-present holiday, and it is called upon to brighten dark days, break the silence, or simply to spread general good times and happy feelings. Vlasto Day is something we've had forever as far as I can remember, and that goes back to December of 2003. The reason why Vlasto Day started is unimportant, but what is important is when someone wants to celebrate Vlasto Day we meet it with good vibes and combined celebration, a coming together for the sake of coming together.  Along with 4/1 and the DTF Forum Birthday (5/18), it is considered an important forum holiday.

Q:  Why are there emoticons that are named after certain users, and how can I get one named after me?
A:  "There are dozens of 'hidden' emoticons that are not listed in the emoticon menu.  How many?  I couldn't tell you if I wanted to because I'm constantly adding them.  I generally try to come up with something witty to name them or will name them after a forum 'inside joke.'  So they basically can get named after a particular user if the emoticon reminds me of something about that user's personality or if the user has done something particularly awesome.  For an example of the latter, refer to this post and the following 10 or so posts after it to see how Guitarded got his:  https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=11517.msg508940#msg508940 "  ~bosk1

Q:  Who designed the artwork for Dream Theater's albums?
A:
When Dream and Day Unite:  Amy Guip
Images & Words:  Larry Freemantle
Awake:  Larry Freemantle
A Change of Seasons:  Larry Freemantle
Falling Into Infinity:  Storm Thorgerson
Scenes From A Memory:  Dave McKean
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence:  Dung Hoang
Train of Thought:  Jerry Uelsmann
Octavarium:  Hugh Syme
Systematic Chaos:  Hugh Syme
Black Clouds and Silver Linings:  Hugh Syme
A Dramatic Turn of Events:  Hugh Syme
Dream Theater:  Hugh Syme
The Astonishing:  ___
Distance Over Time:  Hugh Syme

Q:  Was The Astonishing tour filmed?  Will it ever be?
A:  The short answer is, it was not filmed, and there are no plans to do so.  The slightly longer explanation is:  The band DID plan on recording it.  The second leg of The Astonishing tour was supposed to be PRIMARILY markets that they hadn't played on the first leg.  They were considering filming a show late in the second leg.  But then it was mis-booked and they got slated to play a bunch of places they had already hit on the first leg, which impacted attendance and caused them to change up the set list a bit.  They were still considering doing a one-off in a certain city to film it after the tour wrapped.  But they didn't due to a combination of being too busy with other things that had come up (primarily, the I&WaB tour), and not being confident there was a sufficient demand for it to justify renting that huge TA touring rig again for one show and a film crew, so they just decided to pass and move on.


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If you have any questions that you think are commonly asked and could use a clarification on the forum, please post them in forum suggestions so a good answer can be found.

Nick

#1
Updated to say that posts regarding this thread should be made in forum suggestions.

Thanks Veronica!

Nick

Updated the FAQ with a Pipo & Elo question and the classic PMU question.

bosk1

#3
Updated FAQ with Vlasto Day explanation.

bosk1

Updated to include information about album art.