Symphony X Forum - A couple announcements

[MetalAges]

Hey gang,

Hope everyone has been enjoying the new album (I've read most of the feedback from everyone). Personally, I think it kicks ass and is a finely balanced brew of Paradise Lost and Iconoclast, with touches of V in there for good measure. Definitely in the running for one of my top albums of the year. I am also finding little nuances the more I listen, which is always cool to have an album "continue to deliver" in that way!

Announcement (and concerns):
The negativity by some of the users on this forum.

I was pretty much asked to close this forum due to the negativity of a handful of users, I won't name names. I had already banned and/or warned a couple about their posts in recent months. I asked that Jax and the band let me have some hands-on with the forum and to please keep it open. I enjoy having them here, and they are one of my favorite bands. A lot of the old school TEoF users (both long time fans AND friends) don't even bother to come here any more due to the newer generation of fans posting here and constantly spewing negativity vs. anything really constructive. That sucks. I can't tell you how many killer bands and good conversations I have had as a result of people from the early SymX days. Quite frankly, I miss it!

Being able to express an opinion is one thing, but doing so in a "holier than thou" way or completely disregarding other people's opinion to make sure and push yours, that's not ok. Also, there's ways to express an opinion without being so insulting/venomous. Please do keep in mind, that this is the band's forum.

So that said, I have cleaned up a little bit, but I am urging you all to, not censor yourself, but be selective on how much you go about dissing the band. I mean, we're all here for a reason, which for most of us is to show our support and love of Symphony X. If that's not one of, if not THE, main reason you are here - you probably won't last much longer here (or any other forum on this site).

Any questions, feel free to post here. Any lurkers (long time TEoF folk or otherwise), if I am hitting the nail on the head, please speak up!

Thanks gang!

 

[Neva Kee]

While the flames look very cool (even though they remind me a lot of a more Paradise Lost style similar to the fold out cover of that album), I think they get a bit in the way, escpecially when I do not scroll far enough down and try to click buttons down there that are not visually behind the flames, but are not clickable due to them. And since they reach quite far up, that happens more often than I'd like.

If you could click on buttons and content behind the flames, I would be all for letting them stay, but as they are, I would rather vote for user-friendliness.

And I am totally on board with the sometimes much needed polite approach around here. It would be sad if the forum would go away because of it....

 

[EyeballKid]

The update is awesome! I like the flames, but I'm not sure if they're necessary.

And thanks for saying something about the negativity. There sure are a bunch of curmudgeons around these days and it really makes posting here a chore sometimes.

 

[TerminusDeus]

As a mostly lurker here for over a decade, I feel a decent amount of the negativity started off with good intentions to provide constructive criticism as the band's style shifted over time that older fans weren't thrilled about. I personally prefer the earlier albums, and I've made my fair share of complaints here, but I still thoroughly enjoy their music. I'm lucky that I live in NY, so concerts are almost a sure thing every year. Underworld is definitely their best effort in years, and while it won't top any of my personal lists, it's a solid album.

Concerning the forum flames, I'm not a fan. The transparent area between the flames prevents clickable things, and on my laptop, it eats up about 1/5 of the browser window. If the z-index can be altered so that the image is behind the main forum elements, it might work better.

 

[Durakonis]

The flamy thing was cool, but it is better without it. I didn't get sick of the negativity to the point of desiring the forum to be closed. Maybe it is because I also contributed to the negativity, albeit not towards the band or their recent albums.

 

[MetalAges]

Flames have been removed, thanks for the feedback on that guys!

 

[nckissfan]

thanks for what you are doing. I enjoyed this forum for a long time, but did more "looking" than posting, because I felt my opinions differed greatly from the norm of late.

This problem is not a Symphony X forum only thing. Many, many band forums end up the same. The "elite, longtime" fan standing their ground on the way they want "their" band to act. You find this in the Nevermore forum, as well. Hell, I had someone tell me my opinion didn't stand for shit, since I have been a member for 12 years and don't have 1,000+ posts, compared to his 13,000+ posts

 

[anonym115]

Before I took the plunge and started posting, I had to hold my breath, that's for sure. It took me years to dive in because of the glaring negativity. I used to do a double check in Google to make sure this was really the SX official forums, because I wouldn't have guessed based on the content. Seems like alot of people have become very reasonable, though, since Underworld's release, and I'm actually enjoying my stay here. I have a lot of pent up opinions from over the years, so it's fun to actually have people to discuss with finally!

 

[MetalAges]

Yeah it is those type of users I plan on weeding out or "segregating" for lack of a better word.

Yes, there are some forums that have very much clique users and the "band" forum has more become a pal hangout. The whole site will be going through a massive upgrade (well, it IS just behind the scenes right now) and I plan on introducing a lot of new stuff. Keep visiting and posting, it will only get better

 

[Liampie]

I don't know if I'm then one who contributed to the negativity. I know that I can be very skeptic of Symphony X's latest developments... But whatever the case, internet fora seem to be a slowly dying phenomenon. I'm very glad the Symphony X forum is destined to exist for a while longer! I'd like to thank everyone here for sticking around, friend and foe, lurker and admin, for making this possible.

 

[Jax]

Deron is being kind here.

The truth is, he was actually told to close the forum. It's only even here now because I begged Romeo not to trash it after only a few months, but I've seen no actual productive use for the place for several years, aside from apparently incubating a special brand of internet music jerk. Frankly, we're pretty skeptical that a change in rules will have any chance against the fundamental asshole culture that has grown here over the years and chased off who knows how many fans.

However, Deron pleaded his (your) case effectively, and so you all got a reprieve.. for now. It's currently a limited time offer, so what you all do with it is up to you, but have no doubt that for the time being, there's still an axe lurking overhead. This is still the band's online presence.. put on your grownup manners and act like you would if they were sitting right next to you, for a change.

Best of luck.

 

[anonym115]

I think many of the internet jerks would behave the same way if Romeo was sitting right next to them, sadly.

 

[metalxmetalx]

Deron is being kind here.

The truth is, he was actually told to close the forum. It's only even here now because I begged Romeo not to trash it after only a few months, but I've seen no actual productive use for the place for several years, aside from apparently incubating a special brand of internet music jerk. Frankly, we're pretty skeptical that a change in rules will have any chance against the fundamental asshole culture that has grown here over the years and chased off who knows how many fans.

However, Deron pleaded his (your) case effectively, and so you all got a reprieve.. for now. It's currently a limited time offer, so what you all do with it is up to you, but have no doubt that for the time being, there's still an axe lurking overhead. This is still the band's online presence.. put on your grownup manners and act like you would if they were sitting right next to you, for a change.

Best of luck.

Well, it seems I'm not the only person that thinks the same!

I had already posted the following message on another thread:

When I first came here I thought it was a forum about Symphony X, but it seems it’s not. Reading this thread and the other ones, I came to the conclusion that not only metal is not very popular around here, Symphony X aren’t either.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Postulate View Post
Time to move on to neo-prog I'm afraid...

No bloke, it’s not that simple. People will not move on. They will keep on coming to this forum to bitch about the band over and over again, and tell us how the “new” Symphony X suck and how much better the “old” Symphony X were, or how great other bands are compared to Symphony X these days.
It gets really tiring after a while reading about Symphony X past greatness and their current “decadence”, doesn’t it? If you pay attention, most of the posts on this forum are not about the band anymore. They’re about how they, the old fans, want their former unknown secret band to be, about the nostalgic days of yore when they and just half a dozen friends attended the concerts and knew the band . It’s THEIR band, the new fans are ridiculed just because they like the “new” Symphony X and have embraced them. Most people don’t come here to share information about the band, talk about an interview given by a band member, review a Symphony X live gig they’ve been to, or reveal the latest setlist. No, the forum has become a cyberdivan, where people come to air their grievances to fellow mourners and lament the passing of a former great band. What a bunch of narcissistic, egomaniac so-called fans: I want, I need, I, I, I, I, I…..ad infinitum, the ubiquitous I! How many new fans posted here last year? I think new fans feel intimidated by the barrage of negative things written here about the band. If I didn’t know, I’d say that this is not a Symphony X forum.

 

[Kenneth R.]

I wonder if I'm being considered one of the troublemakers. It seems likely.

I am a pretty opinionated person, as most of the regulars here will attest to. I'm pretty fair in my opinion, at least I'd like to think so.

And while I may not always have the best of things to say about this or that band, I think that censorship is the worst of all evils. Granted, this forum IS the band's and Deron's, and if they decide to censor certain views because it impacts the community in a negative way, then that is their right, for sure. However, I will always present myself uncensored so long as I am allowed to, because I could never become one of those music fans that worships at the altar of their favorite group. Many of my favorite artists have put out material that I have criticized, including Symphony X.

I don't presume to dictate what the band should do with their music, I only say whether it appeals to me personally or not. I've never demanded a DVD or a set list or any of that stuff.

I like deep discussions on music rooted in philosophy, sociology, history, and culture. There've been a lot of good ones here. And that's why I stick around, because there are good conversations with interesting users, even if only once in a while now. I don't think I'm one of the jerks.

Anyway, that's my take on this.

 

[Liquid Tension]

Message recieved...

I'll also remove them from my facebook account....

All the best everyone!!

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I enjoy conversations where people dissect the music (like the post I just made in another thread about "Rediscovery"), and that is the types of discussion I expected when I joined many years ago, but that kind of stuff is very rare.

I have been one of the negatives lately, I admit, so I'll try to tone it down. It's just that I feel completely let-down over the last 10 years by the guys who showed me prog, and the guys who taught me some of the best stuff I know today.
Hey, I still bought Underworld, and I was happy to do it

 

[Durakonis]

The worst is not "their band" thing, it is that "the small child SX has become naughty, and we, as supreme adults, should show them how to be nice again, and hope that one day it'll turn back to the 'glorious days of nostalgia' again" attitude. At least I got a lot of from this "parental authority" pretentiousness here... Hopefully it is over now.

 

[Adam Fiske]

I tend to only show up around here for the months around when a CD is released or about to be released. I try to just ignore the negative posts, and post about the new music or the old music or whatever. I love to talk about the music and what works about it and what doesn't for me. I really enjoy how the board becomes active around these times. It's one of the few places I can go to dissect music I like. I like most of what Symphony X does, they're are easily still my favorite American metal band, consistently. You can't have these type of in depth conversations on a place like facebook, so I would be bummed if it went away.

 

[anonym115]

I would be pumped if we could start in depth conversations, both objective and subjective, about individual songs or something like that. I have these talks with my cousin all the time.

 

[chriscc]

Other than praise, what would Romeo and the other members want to see on this forum?