Didn't the dB scale at least <i>used to</i> correlate to the amount of attenuation applied to the pre-amp's output signal?

At -&#8734;dB, the signal is fully attenuated/muted.
At 0dB, the signal is passed unaltered at line level.
At + dB levels, the signal is being boosted.

One would think this is still the case, no?