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Use RSS correctly

Did you get this post as an update? You shouldn't have.  Read my update below why your aggregator, not your blog publishing software, may be to blame..

One thing I hate about RSS - no, let me start over.

One thing I hate about some people's use of RSS is that they keep updating their dates when they fix a typo. So we all get to read an essentially identical version as the one we read an hour ago.

One really bad example is Bob Parson's blog. It is now so annoying I may just unsubscribe.  He writes chapters in his blog they are so long, and then edits them for weeks.

I'm on my laptop so I cannot tell you exactly how many times I read this blog entry "Goodbye Saigon", but it surely stands out as the most edited blog entry ever.

Disclaimer: Dozing Dogs has a checkbox entitled "Do not show readers that this page has been updated", which stops the article/blog re-appearing in the RSS and taking over the front page again. You choose.

UPDATE - YOUR AGGREGATOR MAY BE TO BLAME..

It seems that the problem is really mis-communication between blog publishing software and RSS aggregators. For example, I use Newsgator and it ships with this option enabled: "Treat modified posts as new".

Quoting from their help: "If this option is enabled, a post will be re-retrieved in NewsGator if it has been modified since the last time it was retrieved. This can lead to duplicate posts in some cases, especially in situations where posts are frequently updated by the author, but it will also ensure that you will see any changes to the post that occur after the initial retrieval.

If you do not wish to see modified posts from this feed, clear this option. If the feed uses RSS elements to uniquely identify posts, then you will only see a post once, regardless of whether it has been modified. If the feed does not use the element, then this option has no effect. "

So, perhaps it's not all the fault of the blog. Your aggregator may also have settings that basically means that you'll get all the small corrections come through. I just wish it was off by default.

Tip: In NewsGator you can select all your feeds by clicking at top, holding shift and clicking at bottom of list (Ctrl-A doesn't work). Then click Edit, Options and uncheck this silly option.

Posted: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 4:00 PM by James
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