Explain RSS to an idiot in simple terms

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Colin
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I have a couple of questions about RSS having never used it before...

1. Can I use Firefox for RSS feeds?
2. How do I set it up for RSS feeds?
3. If I see an RSS subscription on a web/blog site, what do I do then?

Kind regards,

Clueless of Herts.

:D
 
RSS

I think with FF you'd be better off getting an addon to make the best use of RSS feeds...think it does it "out of the box" but the addons are better
 
Use Google Reader for your RSS feeds. Fantastic and free if you have a gmail account.
 
Come on, Colin..............let's admit it.

What Colin and I want to know is; what are RSS feeds and how do we use them and how do they work!! :bang:
 
oh, I came here with much hope expecting an explanation of RSS.

It seems I'm more of an idiot though as I don't understand enough about it to even ask those questions.
 
Janice said:
Come on, Colin..............let's admit it.

What Colin and I want to know is; what are RSS feeds and how do we use them and how do they work!! :bang:
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I'll have a go at the explanation. Suppose, you have a favourite website that you visit often and look at their new stuff. It usually is a waste of time tovisit it just to find out nothing has been changed since your last visit. Here comes RSS. It is a kind of news stream from that website that sends a short/long message every time there is an update. You then have a subscription to those streams and have the application(s) that allows to read those messages and notify you.

An analogy would be a kind of forum where you can receive email notification for the discussions you are interested in (subscribed to). Only in this case you use specialised client application not email to receive those notifications.
 
From simple wiki.

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish often updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.

RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader," "feed reader" or an "aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that begins the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds often for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.
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If we did an RSS on this forum.. wouldnt it permanently have new stuff on every moment so not really worth doing for this type of site??
 
PMSL. I don't begin to understand it either. I have RSS enabled on my web site... I think. Anyone care to tell me if it's working ot not? :thinking:
 
I use www.my.yahoo.com as my home page and have RSS feeds from 20 or so of my favourite web sites on there so I can see (and link to) the top 10 stories or posts every time I open my browser.

It works perfectly with IE, Firefox & Chrome and I've no reason to suspect it won't work with other browsers too.

Edit: of course it also means that I have all my links in one place no matter what computer I'm on anywhere in the world.
 
Great, so I am not the only illiterate here :)

Thanks for the explanation ...

Now, why would I use RSS when I could use "subscription"?
 
Colin

Install flock which is a browers and there is a RSS reader built in so ever time you are browsing the you will know if any of your feeds you subscribe to have been updated.

Cheers

Nigel
 
Go for Google Reader - and then add the Google Reader gadet to your iGoogle homepage; that is the way I do it.

That way, as soon as I open my browser (and therfore my igoogle homepage) I get to see all the recent updates onn my fave websites.
 
Janice said:
If we did an RSS on this forum.. wouldnt it permanently have new stuff on every moment so not really worth doing for this type of site??
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Only for new threads on a per forum basis. So you can subscribe to say landscapes forum and get the content pushed to you when its new. I used to subscribe to the forums main RSS feed over a year ago. The forum was small enough that it was easy to keep up that way. It was easy to flick through all the threads instead of just titles. Now its not possible really.
 
CT said:
PMSL. I don't begin to understand it either. I have RSS enabled on my web site... I think. Anyone care to tell me if it's working ot not? :thinking:
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Yeah it is.

RSS feeds are extremely important on websites that have regular updates in content, such as blogs, news websites and internet forums. They are also a great way of getting your content out there. People have rss readers on their mobile phones. People can view your content without actually having to visit your website. If you're worries about loosing ad revenue because of that then don't... Google ads can be places in RSS feeds also.

It's worth doing some reading on RSS to find out the advantages. There are advantages for yourself as a content creator and advantages for those interested in reading your content. Once you get the hang of it and familiarise yourself with an RSS reader then the advantages will become apparent very quickly :)
 
I do think that RSS feeds for the classified forums would be a good idea.
 
Another vote for Google Reader here, it means I can check it on any computer or even my phone and the read items are marked as read everywhere!
 
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