Yes, I am saying goodbye...
...to the Rec. list as we've come to know it for so long.
Wait, what? You thought I was leaving Daily Kos?
No, this is a Good Bye Cruel Reck-List.
See, starting tomorrow (Monday), front pagers/editors will be able to make the Rec. list with their posts, thus altering the community-driven, community-empowering space we've come to love (or hate).
Yes, it's true that Kos has indicated, if editors begin to dominate the new-look Rec. list, some changes will be made.
Yes, editors' work that appears on the Rec. List will drop off once it moves to the front page.
Nevertheless, I think we can all agree that, despite the above two points, community members will no longer have as much space on the front page to showcase their work, spark discussion and build community. For I think we can all agree that editors' work will, to a high degree, receive much recognition and recommending, as they in most cases likely should.
Look, I agree that editors' diaries should have a real-time audience, and should show up in the "Recent" list, just as the work of community members does.
Perhaps what I'm sad about, if this change sticks, is how one of my favorite spaces on all of the internet will no longer be the same. Why do I so cherish the way things have been?
1) I come back to this site, time and again, specifically because I value both editor-driven and community-driven content, and know exactly where to look for each.
2) I am both inspired by the idea of community-driven dialogue and by the content produced to establish that dialogue, whether it's political analyses, personal stories or meta posts. And the Rec. List has provided a visible place in which the community can, collectively, determine what is valuable that is being generated specifically by those who make up the lay (unpaid) community.
With the front page already dedicated to editor content, this change will (in my view) severely impinge upon the sense of community empowerment that this site enjoys.
My suggestion, and it's a recognized option by Kos, is to create a separate, "Editors' Rec. List" space to go along with the communal Rec. List.
But that's just me.
Anyway, I'm a bit resigned not only to having my diaries show up less on the Rec. List, where those ideas and issues to which I'm personally dedicated have found a dynamic audience, but I'm resigned to seeing the ideas of community members show up less as well. Meaning, perhaps: less weatherdude. Less Seneca Doane. Less Black Kos.
Perhaps things will actually end up being better. Perhaps the visible content will improve with editors taking up space on the Rec. List.
But even so, I can't help but be a bit, hmm, sad.