History of Competitive DotA

The history of competitive DotA spans the period from 2004 to the present day. For detail on individual periods of the history, see one of the following articles:
 * History of Competitive DotA (The First Light of Dawn: The 6.2x Era)
 * History of Competitive DotA (Violent AOE: The 6.32 Era)
 * History of Competitive DotA (Fast Push: The 6.37 Era)
 * History of Competitive DotA (Trilane and the Global Strategy: The 6.41 Era)
 * History of Competitive DotA (Rise of the Blink Dagger: The 6.43 Era)
 * History of Competitive DotA (Lessons in Ganking by VP: The 6.48 Era)