(added later: please read this with the tone I wrote it with, a helpful, calm, understanding attitude)

a friendly response to milkofparadise's questions,

I understand your frustration. In a way, I'm sure we all do (even those featuring records). This method of collaborating is unturned earth. This is young soil, and we haven't perfected how to grow fairly and flourish. There are many flowers that have no room for their roots, and others no room for blooming.

However, most active members are doing our part to amend these shortcomings, even sherbz (infact the reason sherbz is now able to feature records was to aid in this process. there used to be only three people featuring. did you know that?)

The featuring is, of course, subjective to the taste of the persons who choose the records... which of course, gives some records an advantage. When you say 'Are we producing media from the bottom up or fulfilling assignments from the top down?' I feel your frustration, but our aim is to do neither. (at least not solely). There are tens of thousands of people on this sight. There are only a few ways to navigate through their works. Mathematically, that will always leave us at a loss when it comes to fair viewing and representation. I myself am familiar with the feeling that occasionally we are near minions being assigned projects- but I can assure you that is neither the intention of the 'featuring method' nor the spirit of hitRECord. It is nearly a symptom of an unrefined idea- a beautiful, beloved, newly explored idea that no one has yet to perfect, but which we as a community are obliged to be accountable for. Sherbz is merely doing his part to aid in the sharing of records he loves.  Nothing is wrong with that.

.....We as a community  are all responsible for administering change in the way we see fit.  If you belive records are going unseen, than do your part to search for them, to recommend them, to promote them (even through outside sources and social networks.)  Many of us do that.  Featuring is not the only way to share records.  Infact, featuring is merely one very simple route for unfamiliar users to be introduced to the method of hitRECord.  It is in no way a command from some small set of dictators.  It is merely a small example set of suggestions.  

I once wrote a text peice addressing the crux of this issue; i believe it is not the featurers, but the masses of average members that fall short of our duty.  WE should be the ones paying greater attention.  WE should be the ones taking the time to browse through material.  WE should be the ones to expand our attention span to loftier works than just the popular puns and cutesies.  HitRECord is most potentially a user ran site. We as users have the potential to do anything.  Relying on the featured records, and/or blaming them for our shortcomings is cowardly and lazy.  Encourage each other to work harder, to search harder, to pay more attention and we will have the results you so desire.  

If you don't like the truth, than change it.

most respectfully and with positivity,

May McDonough

p.s. I apologize for spying on a record addressed to one man only, since this a public sight I assumed all too quickly that   the record was for all of us.  And Ill admit I was excited to read a lengthier text peice than the usual tiny stories I come across.  I just feel i should sumrise that the problem here isn't the records being featured.  The problem is that hitREcorders dont seem to contribute to projects unless they feel the project has all ready been greenlighted for sundance or print.  If we all started collaborating on each others unfeatured works, we wouldn't be having this issue.

I look forward to the day when the people from my planet come back for me and take me home with them.  Then this will all just seem like a bad dream.