We setup this section so that everyone would have an easy and convenient place to ask questions pertaining to the band and/or these message boards, and have them answered relatively quickly by someone who knows the answer (an admin or mod).

This should help in several ways:

1. It allows the admins to have one simple place to check if there are questions or issues that need to be addressed, rather than dig through lots of threads and posts. This should speed up the response time.

2. It allows you to get a direct answer to a question from the people who have access to the most accurate information, rather than have your thread fill with speculation from people who, while being very well meaning, don't necessarily know the answer.

3. It allows you to "elevate" issues that may arise on these boards. If there is a discussion and someone thinks that discussion would benefit from consulting an admin or mod, it can be posted and referenced here to get a faster response.

How it works:

This forum is set up so that anyone can create a thread, but only admins and moderators can respond to the thread. You can post as much as you want within your own thread, but you may not post in a thread created by anyone else. Again, this area isn't meant for discussions, it's meant for direct responses to questions. All threads can be read by anyone, so we encourage you to browse the section to see if your question may have already been addressed.

What is appropriate:

Questions about the band's background, future plans, past activities and events, policies, and other factual inquiries, or questions about these message boards. Things like: Where can we buy the new record when it comes out? Can I tape the show? Do you allow video cameras at shows? What is Matt's birthday? Why can I only upload 20 images to my photo gallery? Why can't I embed a video in my signature?

What is not appropriate:

Please don't ask about future tour dates. Check the tour dates on the website. Those are all of the confirmed public appearances. Sometimes a promotional appearance won't be listed with the tour dates but will appear in a news post on the website. If you've heard a rumour the band will be appearing at Amoeba Records but you don't see it listed anywhere, go ahead and ask about it here. If you want to know when the band will play in Wisconsin next, check the tour dates. If there is no Wisconsin date listed, the answer will always be "sometime in the future". If we knew when, it would be listed in the tour dates.

Really personal information about the band and their families will never be given out. Don't ask things like "What is Benny's address?" or "Can you put me in touch with Grace's Dad?". Anything deemed to personal, inappropriate, or confidential will get a response like "Sorry, we can't answer that." If you get this response, don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. When in doubt, ask, but don't be surprised if your question can't be answered. Also, it may happen that we just don't know the answer to your question. If it's considered information that is generally important or interesting to the fan base, we'll do our best to get the answer.

Hope this isn't too confusing, thanks for stopping by.