Song Requests

[Roger -Dot- Lee(Admin)]

As Jim had pointed out on the main page, we have had to take some fairly drastic action due to the abuse of the station request feature. I'd like to take a few moments to expand on the nature of the problem and the solutions we're developing.

• The problem: Someone, or some set of people, are continuously requesting the same songs, day after day, week after week. This is causing distress amongst many listeners as well as a significant portion of the staff here at Aural Moon. We have well in excess of 12,000 different tracks, that, as Jim stated in his announcement on the main page, would take the better part of two months to complete, were we to start at one end and end at the other. The fact that there is a VERY small portion of songs taking far too much airtime is, as Jim indicated, ridiculous. My personal assessment is that it borders on insulting to the finances and efforts that the volunteers put into this station.
  
• The solution: We will be keeping a VERY close eye on what is requested and by whom. Should we feel that a song is being overrequested because someone has bestowed upon themselves the title of Unofficial Station Manager and Arbiter of What Is To Be Played, it WILL be removed.

Now I'm sure there will be questions. I'm sure there ARE questions. I'll do my best to answer the ones that I can think of right off the top of my head right now:

• What constitutes abuse?

We haven't decided on any raw numbers at this point. A lot of it will depend on the length of the song being overrequested, the REASON the song is being overrequested, whether the overrequester is a habitual overrequester or whether it's a momentary phase based on the 'newness' of the song on the station, the length and type of song being overrequested, and many, many other factors that I can't think of off the top of my head.

• Are these suspensions temporary or permanent?

We haven't decided that either, but try and think of the last time you heard Rome by Blue Shift. I'm not saying, in any way, shape, or form, that once it's pulled, it's gone. We will likely be taking each instance on a case-by-case basis.

• What if [insert artist name] receives a lot of complaints but isn't actually being requested to death?

We will investigate all complaints. Spurious ones will likely be ignored, so don't get any ideas of complaining about Don Cab or GY!BE being requested to death just so they'll get yanked. All that'll do is waste my time and make me give less credence to any other complaints coming from those parties.

• What if my favorite song gets pulled due to over requesting, but I disagree in that I don't think it's being played too much?

We will entertain appeals to our decisions and, if there's validity to your argument, we might reconsider. But bear in mind, we're not going to be pulling songs for no good reason, and chances are fairly good that we've already gotten a count on the number of times a given song has been requested. In short, you can disagree, but don't be too surprised if we suggest you purchase the album if you want to hear it as you'll be able to listen to it as much as you please then.

In conclusion, I'd like to state that it pains me beyond my ability to express it that we've had to take such measures to ensure the continued viability of Aural Moon. However, Jim and I both agree that we will not let a select few turn Aural Moon into a "All Flower Kings/Transatlantic/Blue Shift/Grendel By Marillion All The Time" station. If the overrequesters wish to listen to just their favorites, as Jim said on the main page, they are welcome to start their own station. We'd be delighted to give them pointers as to who they can use for streaming as well as who they can use for their web site (if they wish to have one, of course).

In conclusion, I'd just like to say: Please don't abuse the request privs. It's one of the most popular features of Aural Moon, and I'm not at all interested in seeing it go away.