RSS Icon

What is RSS?

 

Don't Panic!
This page should explain everything you need to know about RSS.

What does RSS stand for?
   
  • Real Simple Syndication.
   
What is the purpose of RSS?
   
  • When a web site is updated, users who frequently visit the web site may want to be notified of the changes. This notification can be done several ways:
    • Email can be sent out to a list of users who have requested notification.
    • The users can visit the web site frequently and look for a "What's New" section describing the changes.
    • The users can subscribe to change notifications for the web site using RSS.
  • RSS provides an automatic means of notification for changes to a web site via an RSS feed.
   
What is an RSS "feed"?
   
  • It is a file resident on a web site that describes change information in an RSS format. This file is read by the user's browser or RSS feed reader and the change data is displayed for the user. The data can be a list of podcasts, blog entries, news items, or anything that the web site wants to present to the user.
  • A feed file is an XML file (something you don't need to understand to use) with an ".XML" or ".RSS" extension.

For more in depth information see:
   
What are the requirement to use RSS?
   
  • The web site must contain RSS data.
  • The user's web browser must support RSS. The following browsers have built in support for RSS:
    Firefox 2
    Internet Explorer 7
    Safari 2
    Netscape 8
  • If your browser doen't support RSS you can access RSS feeds with a Feed Reader. Here is a list of popular free Feed Readers:
    Windows/Mac:
    		  
      Google Reader
    Windows:
    		  
      Omea Reader
      Awasu
      Bloglines
    Mac:
    		  
      Shrook
      NetNewsWire
   
How do I subscribe to change notification using RSS?
   
  • If your browser supports RSS, when you open a page that contains RSS data, the RSS Icon RSS Icon will appear. This page contains RSS data, so you may see the RSS Icon right now.
  • Click on the RSS Icon, the RSS data will be displayed, usually on a new page. This new page will contain the change information for the web site.
  • Click on "Subscribe Now" or "Subscribe to This Feed" or something similar. Depending on the browser, the RSS feed subscriptions will be kept in the bookmarks section or a special section for RSS feeds.
  • Some sites will also contain RSS subscription buttons that will accomplish the same thing.
  • If you are using an RSS Feed Reader, you will need to supply the Reader with the URLs of the RSS Feeds to which you want to subscribe. Refer to the Feed Reader's documentation for adding URLs.

Test out subscriptions with these URLs: