I have a modest proposal for Markos. The rec list has always been a source of controversy on this site. I remember when DK4 was being rolled out there was much discussion about it with Markos making the statement that it was broken. There was much debate about it. There was discussion of simply doing away with it. My best memory is that the present arrangement with the Community Spotlight above the rec list was an eventual compromise.
My proposal is to conduct an experiment to see what Daily Kos would be like without the rec list. I would think that it would not be highly difficult to just temporarily suppress its appearance in the various places that it shows up. The idea would be to do that for something like a week or so and see what actually happens.
DK4 provided people with a personal stream to track diaries by followed posters and tags. At present the volume of diaries posted in the course of the day isn't all that large. I am able to keep track of it by looking at the running diary list. There are also groups to follow. In short there are other ways to follow what is being published on the site than the rec list.
There are several problems with the rec list IMO. The biggest one is the battle of accusations against people for reccing a diary that someone disapproves of. Without a rec list that wouldn't be an issue.
I honestly think that the rec list is something we could get along without.