There is still some disagreement regarding the desired scope and direction of Stack Apps, apparently, between parts of the app developer community and the Stack Exchange Pantheon (a great phrase coined by Dave Swersky in his question Are there any restrictions on using icons/look-and-feel from the site(s)?, IMHO :)
I don't want to argue this complicated issue here, but rather propose and extend Daves suggestion:
Could app-request become an official tag featured on the front page as app-requests, just like the app tag is featured via the apps tab? This would improve one part of the issue considerably already I think, and match nicely with Jeffs request to change stackapps and improve it to meet the intended role.
If you do agree, please vote on Daves suggestion too, his cool tag name pin pointed the issue!