Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: What to do about RSS

Author:Chuck Shotton
Posted:9/2/2000; 9:09:24 PM
Topic:scriptingNews outline for 9/2/2000
Msg #:20750 (In response to 20744)
Prev/Next:20749 / 20751

I agree. Anyone interested in trying to solve a problem as thorny as content syndication has already transcended "weinerboy-dom". There's some common ground in here somewhere.

Looking at the new proposals, I have to wonder if it's a lot of work for only an incremental gain. Here's what it boils down to for me. Current content authors publishing in RSS (0.9x) have every incentive to do so. Because the format is limited to a headline/synopsis model, it's geared towards driving traffic back to the originating site. I.e., the ad-based revenue model survives and the status quo is maintained.

If you expand RSS too far, it simply becomes a variant of XMLized HTML and it becomes an exercise in supporting YAF (yet another format). WML, HDML, and the whole WAP thing are competing for mindshare and programming cycles now. A rejiggered RSS spec that causes code rewrites is liable to give people an incentive to just switch to a different model completely.

In any case, it's time for this discussion. I remember bringing up the subject of computer-readable mark-up (vs. human readable, which is what HTML essentially is) at the very first WebEdge conference in Austin in 1995. The Web is still suffering under a hangover from desktop publishing days. The sooner we get away from the model of WYSIWG layouts and eye candy, the better, IMO. RSS 0.91 was a great first step.

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