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RSS is dead. Stop crying about Google Reader
8 hours ago
- RSS is often nostalgically defended as a decentralized, anarchy-like web tool, but the average person does not care about algorithmic silencing, privacy, or paid reviews.
- Social feeds became profitable because they optimize for engagement with tracking and dark patterns, while RSS is 'too honest' for advertising with no tracking, profiling, or engagement optimization.
- Google Reader was killed in 2013 due to lack of profitability, not declining usage, as Feedly gained 3 million users after its announcement.
- Most people prefer easy doomscrolling over setting up RSS, but tools like yarr, rss-bridge, searxng, and AI integrations now make self-hosted RSS better and more private than ever.
Atom is better than RSS, in ways that matter
16 hours ago
- Atom is technically superior to RSS, yet many still use RSS due to ignorance or indifference.
- RSS has ambiguous title encoding semantics, making it unreliable for characters like < or &, while Atom provides clear text, html, and xhtml constructs.
- RSS lacks a standardized distinction between summary and full content, leading to interoperability issues.
- Podcasts remain heavily dependent on RSS due to historical dominance of Apple's iTunes/Apple Podcasts, which never fully supported Atom.
How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)
20 hours ago
- Google removed the RSS button from Chrome without notice, discouraging user adoption.
- Google acquired FeedBurner, then shut down its APIs and removed key services like email subscriptions, breaking RSS feeds for many users.
- Google killed Google Reader in 2013, claiming low usage, which led many users to abandon RSS entirely.
- Google removed RSS feeds from Google Alerts in 2013, only reinstating after backlash, but damage was done.
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I ♥ RSS – A directory of people who love RSS
21 hours ago
- Launched the 'I ♥ RSS' directory for RSS enthusiasts.
- Added the directory badge to the footer and submitted the site.
- Homepage features a live blogroll powered by FeedLand.
- Invites others to join by adding their own websites.
When the Walls Came Down
4 days ago
- Matthias Pfefferle at Automattic built a substantial bridge between WordPress and RSS.chat, marking a potential moment for RSS as a social web protocol.
- The author stresses the web's nature of small pieces loosely joined and replaceable parts, with this event echoing the pre-Twitter web.
- RSS 2.0 is being used with new extensions, including one suggested by Claude, demonstrating RSS's extensibility and its first upgrade in a long time.
- The author believes RSS is still alive and picking up where it left off in 2006, after being buried by BigCo.
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You can absolutely have an RSS dependent website in 2026
6 days ago
- The author chose not to offer an email newsletter due to cost and a desire to avoid holding user data.
- Sending emails without monetization is financially unsustainable; the author's security strategy is to never collect data.
- The author's RSS-based approach was dismissed by peers, but it proved viable: 50% of traffic comes from RSS feeds.
- RSS traffic is spread across the day, indicating real human readers, not bots.
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sorry for the rss screwup
6 days ago
- The author apologized for sending about 10 empty posts to their RSS subscribers.
- The issue has been fixed, but RSS readers may cache the empty posts indefinitely.
- The workaround for the author's client was to delete and re-add their page, losing read state.
- The error occurred because a new 'stub' post type was correctly handled on the main site but not on the RSS feed.
Entropic Thoughts
6 days ago
- The RSS feed previously only contained article titles and dates, lacking full content or previews due to technical complexity concerns.
- The feed is generated in two steps: first using Emacs Lisp to create an org-element syntax tree, then exporting it via ox-rss backend, both without including article content.
- To simplify adding previews, the author focused on basic elements (paragraphs, tables, lists) and stripped complexities like internal links, images, and code evaluation.
- A custom export backend ('teaser-html') was created to generate limited HTML for RSS, avoiding issues like syntax highlighting and footnote references.
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I wish your bespoke React-Tailwind-etc static site generator had RSS
6 days ago
- Many blogs lack RSS feeds, especially those built with modern frontend stacks by passionate programmers.
- Adding RSS to a custom static site generator is straightforward, as it's similar to HTML generation.
- Common RSS issues include missing meta tags for automatic discovery, invalid XML, mismatched content, and lacking permanent IDs.
- Standard blogging platforms like WordPress, Ghost, and newsletter platforms (Substack, Buttondown) generally provide working RSS.
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There Are No Instances in atproto — overreacted
6 days ago
- atproto does not use 'instances'; instances are a Mastodon concept that conflates hosting and apps.
- atproto separates hosting from aggregation, similar to RSS and Google Reader, where content lives on personal hosting and apps aggregate it.
- In atproto, users can swap hosting freely and build new apps without being tied to a single platform.
- Centralized social media (e.g., Facebook) encloses users in one space, while federated systems like Mastodon use instances that exchange data, creating issues like identity tied to instances and O(n²) scaling.
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Show HN: Textcaster – social networking where RSS is the protocol
14 days ago
- The text describes various updates and features related to RSS-based social network platforms, particularly rss.chat and similar instances like demo.rss.chat and perstitio.us.
- Key developments include: per-user feeds with subscription management, four-tab home timelines (Local, Federated, Personal, Public), multi-session support for multiple accounts, and the ability to edit posts with updates propagating via RSS.
- The concept of 'repeaters' is introduced, inspired by amateur radio, where servers monitor and rebroadcast feeds to extend coverage in a decentralized manner, emphasizing small pieces loosely joined.
- Other features highlighted: syntax highlighting for code (e.g., Clojure, bash) via AsciiDoc, cross-posting to platforms like WordPress, and firehose documentation for real-time updates via WebSocket.
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The State of RSS Feed Readers
18 days ago
- RSS feed readers are experiencing a renaissance due to the FediVerse and IndieWeb, with new services like Bubbles emerging.
- RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a lightweight protocol for syndicating updated website content, still widely used across the internet.
- RSS readers help users efficiently manage information by aggregating updates from multiple sites, offering features like tagging and rules.
- Options for RSS readers include browser extensions, self-hosted solutions (e.g., Tiny Tiny RSS, FreshRSS), cloud-based services (e.g., Inoreader, FeedLand), and desktop/mobile apps.
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Introducing Rss.chat
23 days ago
- RSS.chat is presented as a social network built on RSS, envisioned as a network of small communities running on small servers.
- The project uses established technologies like RSS 2.0, OPML, Markdown, SQL, and WebSocket, supporting features like textcasting and rssCloud for instant updates.
- Developed in collaboration with Claude AI, the platform emphasizes interoperability and user choice, with plans to release under an MIT license and provide extensive API documentation.
- The author advocates for a decentralized web approach, where all components are replaceable, and criticizes forced standards like WebSub/Atom for being anti-interop.
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Hate "The Algorithm?" RSS Is One of the Tools You've Been Looking For
a month ago
- RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an older tool that helps users manage content feeds and avoid algorithmic control on social media platforms.
- RSS allows websites to publish new content to a feed, which RSS readers display in chronological order, similar to following podcasts.
- Users need to choose an RSS reader (web-based or app), add feeds by pasting URLs, and use features like folders and filters to organize content.
- RSS is effective for following news from major sites like CNN and The New York Times, as well as niche blogs and newsletters, offering privacy and reliability.
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Convert your RSS feeds into a static website
a month ago
- The author uses Liveboat to convert RSS subscriptions into a static website for easier access via browser, avoiding costly or complex RSS readers.
- Hosting on GitHub Pages provides free, low-maintenance access from any device, enhancing accessibility and eliminating the need for self-hosted servers or apps.
- Liveboat supports features like Newsboat integration, JSON data export, and filtering, though it lacks advanced functionalities of tools like FreshRSS, prioritizing simplicity for news consumption.

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rss

RSS is dead. Stop crying about Google Reader

Atom is better than RSS, in ways that matter

How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)

I ♥ RSS – A directory of people who love RSS

When the Walls Came Down

You can absolutely have an RSS dependent website in 2026

sorry for the rss screwup

Entropic Thoughts

I wish your bespoke React-Tailwind-etc static site generator had RSS

There Are No Instances in atproto — overreacted

Show HN: Textcaster – social networking where RSS is the protocol

The State of RSS Feed Readers

Introducing Rss.chat

Hate "The Algorithm?" RSS Is One of the Tools You've Been Looking For

Convert your RSS feeds into a static website