As we go into the second day of Double Request week for January, I have been looking at some statistical data from the request system.  The results have lead me to make some changes to the way the request limits will work.  Most of these changes will have minimal effect on the majority of the listeners who utilize the request system.  In fact, it will make the system more friendly to the average listener.

Currently, the request system allows someone to request 5 songs every 8 minutes, slightly more than one song, every two minutes on average.  It also, effectively, has no daily cap on requests.  During double request weeks (the second week of each month), that goes up to 10 songs every 8 minutes, more than 1 per minute, and still, effectively, has no daily cap.  

Effective on January 8th, immediately at the end of this double request week, the limits will change to 10 songs every 30 minutes (average of 1 every 3 minutes) during normal weeks, and 10 every 15 minutes (average of 1 every minute and a half) during double request week.  Additionally, the system will impose a limit of 100 requests every 24 hours.  The daily cap will remain the same, even during double request weeks.

As we begin 2012, it also seemed like a good time to reset the request stats for the top requests listing.  So, I will also be clearing all stats prior to January 1st, and have already set up a script to run daily that will clear any data over 1 year old.  

As always, I welcome any feedback and discussion of these changes.