American Idol On LJ: FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 4/15/08.

Section 1: americanidol Community Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who runs this community? Where can I get in contact with a moderator?
This community is maintained by dysenchanted and co-moderated by blackbird_fly, but any questions, comments, complaints, etc. about the community can be taken care of through idolmod.

2. Why did my post get deleted/rejected?
Your post got rejected or deleted because it did not follow one of the community rules. On show nights, these rules are enforced heavily in order to cut down the amount of posts.

3. What are the community rules?
The community rules can be found in the community profile. But here they are, reposted for you again.

1. This LJ community was designed to be a respectful, light-hearted, fun forum, and everyone is strongly encouraged to state their opinions in a kind manner.

2. If your post contains spoilers (ie. information about the show that has just aired that contains voting results, etc. that people on the West Coast haven't seen yet), you MUST use a cut tag. The general rule of thumb is 12 hours after the initial East Coast airing of the episode. Posts will be deleted without question if one is not used.

3. Feel free to state your opinions respectfully.

4. Put long entries, entries that may offend, entries containing polls, and especially entries with pictures, behind a cut tag. This is absolutely necessary as pictures take a long time to load on dial-up connections.

5. Do not exhibit sexism, racism, homophobia, or other ignorant attitudes in this community. If you are reported to a moderator and the complaints are found to be valid, you will be banned.

6. Do not be rude or disrespectful to your fellow community members. Diss the contestants, not the opinions of community members.

7. Feel free to leave feedback, complaints, concerns, etc. on the post at idolmod. (Please DO NOT comment the personal journals of any of the other moderators.)

8. Off topic posts along with icon and layout requests including community introductions will be rejected because people cannot discuss anything, unless they have something to do with American Idol. Saying that you love the show? Not relevant. Saying you know a contestant? Relevant.

9. Community promotional posts are not allowed. If you have an American Idol community, please comment here and we will add it to the list in the userinfo, along with posting the link in a post dedicated to community links.

10. As of Season 6, all posts in the community will be moderated, which means they won't show up in the community until one of the moderators approves it. If you want your post to be approved, make sure it's substantial enough (no one-sentence posts allowed as far as discussions, unless it's a question) and that you've followed the group rules here, especially the ones about USING A CUT TAG.

11. If you aren't able to watch show and insist on asking for help on where to see what you missed, your post MUST BE FRIENDS LOCKED.

12. Do not disable the comments on your posts. This community is here for the sole person of discussion, and that can't happen if you disable comments, no matter what your reasoning is for doing so. Your post will be deleted if you disallow comments.

4. What's a spoiler?
A spoiler is information about the show that has aired in one time zone but not in another. If you think you could be ruining the show for someone on the West Coast, just use an LJ cut.

5. How do you do an LJ-cut?
<*lj-cut> Take out the *. Detailed cut instructions can be found here.

6. When can I stop using an LJ-cut?
On Tuesdays, you can stop using an LJ-cut after 1 AM EST. On Wednesdays, following the results show, you can stop using an LJ-cut after 12 hours.

7. Why are posts moderated?
This community runs like the TV show where majority rules. As per our last poll, the majority voted to have posts moderated. There are over 3,000 members in this community. We can't please everyone.

8. Are you an official community? Where can I find one?
No, we are not an "official" community. None of us have anything to do with "American Idol". We are the first and most popular one on LiveJournal, however. The official Idol community is at the official American Idol website. Another popular forum for all things "American Idol" is Idol Forums, or IDF. Both places can be scary, so good luck.

Section 2: American Idol Show FAQ

1. Does it cost money to vote on American Idol? How do I vote?
If you are voting from a landline telephone, it does not cost money to vote. If you are voting from a cell phone, you will be using your minutes to vote. If you are text messaging (AT&T customers ONLY), standard text messaging rates apply. You can vote by calling or texting the appropriate contestant number in the two hours following performance shows on Tuesdays. Voting numbers and song choices will be included under a LJ-cut in the Tuesday show episode discussion post.

2. How do I get tickets to a taping?
The ONLY way to get tickets is to get them through the OAC TV website. You can find a link at the official American Idol website.

3. There's no mansion this year? What the hell?
Unlike Season 1, the contestants are not staying in a mansion this year. They're staying in apartments. No, we don't know where they are, nor can we tell you where they are living.

4. Can I get a tape of a certain episode?
It's not likely. See rule #11 for more information regarding this.

5. Is the show on DVD? How can I get it?
Right now, full seasons of American Idol have NOT been released on DVD. There is a season one highlight DVD and a best and worst highlight DVD but that's it.

6. Where are the guests judges this season?
There will be no guest judges this season. However, there will be four celebrity "mentors": Dolly Parton (Top 9), Mariah Carey (Top 7), Andrew Lloyd Webber (Top 6), and Neil Diamond (Top 6). They will coach the contestants and most likely perform on Wednesday night's results shows.

7. Where can I find mp3s or videos for my computer?
iTunes has been selling studio recordings and videos of the Top 12 finalists' performances. Since the finals, all of the recordings were recorded in the studio. The Top 24 semi-finalists' performances were recorded from the live show. For additional information, _rockthenight has weekly "American Idol" posts. If you aren't able to watch show and insist on asking for help on where to see what you missed, your post MUST BE FRIENDS LOCKED.

8. Why did Mario Vazquez (Season 4) leave the show?
Officially? For "personal reasons." However, he hired Clay Aiken's lawyer to get him out of his American Idol contract and subsequently released an album on Clive Davis' label, with a moderate hit single, "Gallery." He was recently sued by a former employee of FOX for sexual harassment.

9. What is the song they play when someone gets voted and they show their "journey"?
Season 6: "Home (Acoustic)" - Daughtry
Season 7: "Hollywood's Not America" - Ferras / "Best Days" - Graham Colton [both during the semi-finals], "Celebrate Me Home" - Ruben Studdard

10. Do the contestants have MySpaces?
Season 5's Top 12 had "official" MySpaces set up for them by American Idol. They can be found at, for example, http://www.myspace.com/katharinemcphee. Several of the contestants had personal MySpaces (though Fox has asked that they be taken down). We prefer to respect the privacy of the contestants and will not post the links to their personal MySpaces here. However, if you have a link to a music MySpace, feel free to share it with the community. If you're curious enough, do a search on your own.

11. What is next week's theme?
Each Thursday after the results show, FOX issues a press release about next week's theme. You can read them at The Futon Critic.

Have a burning question? Ask it and we may add it to the FAQ.