Anyone successfully created RSS feeds?

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jimbob23

Official 1000th poster
If so, how have you done it?

I've been charged with trying to get it sorted for the Defra website. Been using a trial version of Dreamfeeder, but it seems to be throwing out all sorts of weird stuff (missing out bits of URLs for one, also not sending new feeds to agregator when updated and re-uploaded).

I can sort some of the errors by going in and editing the XML, but this defeats the object of having something like Dreamfeeder, which we want to use because it's supposed to be quick and easy.

Doing my (pie) crust in.
 
db

db

#chaplife
i don't get this whole RSS malarky.. despite being a bona fide computer geek, i don't even have a reader (or aggregator or whatever) installed..

so, yeah, sorry - no help at all lol..
 
R

rich upsetter

Cuffy is the new skill
i believe my site has got an rss feed. got a meeting with the IT bods later ill see what i can find out for yas.
i think though, the code needs to be clean in itself, otherwise you get the errors you are on about. so you may have to get on to the actual web coders.
not that i know a great deal about it like...
 
J

jimbob23

Official 1000th poster
dirtybobby said:
i don't get this whole RSS malarky.. despite being a bona fide computer geek, i don't even have a reader (or aggregator or whatever) installed..

so, yeah, sorry - no help at all lol..
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It's actually quite a useful tool. If you've got Firefox you can install it as an extension, so you don't need a separate reader. I use Sage within Firefox. Readers in Firefox ain't great though, so I've got Feedreader as an external aggregator, too.
 
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db

#chaplife
jimbob23 said:
It's actually quite a useful tool. If you've got Firefox you can install it as an extension, so you don't need a separate reader. I use Sage within Firefox. Readers in Firefox ain't great though, so I've got Feedreader as an external aggregator, too.
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what would one use it for, though? i'm not trolling here, i'm genuinely interested.. RSS seems to be such a massive phenomenon and i feel like i'm missing out!

i briefly installed a reader a while ago, and stuck some feed in from one of the darknet :ninja: torrent forums i read, but got fed up with it beeping every 10 minutes and bringing up a message.. is it literally just for "pushing" messages and news stories onto your desktop? if so, i can't really think why i'd want it or why it's touted as such a big step in content delivery :?:
 
R

rich upsetter

Cuffy is the new skill
basically its because people can subscribe to the rss feed and they receive updates once the site is updated. works for me because i update my site every day. not many people do this but also search engines look favourably on it as it as another way the search robots can pick up new content, thus ranking the site better within the results.
 
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db

#chaplife
doesn't really answer my question, though.. could you give examples of how/why an average computer user would use it?

it reminds me of usenet, except messages/updates are pushed through to you individually, rather than batch downloading them on command..
 
db

db

#chaplife
TENSHON said:
this is without doubt the most boring thread on the forum.
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you're kidding, didn't you read that football one yesterday?? it killed the forum dead - no-one else posted for hours lol..
 
J

jimbob23

Official 1000th poster
It also means that you're only targeting people who have voluntarily requested to see the info, so:

a) you can send them up to date stuff without randomly spamming everyone
b) the subscriber doesn't have to trawl the site looking for pertinent info

It has potential to be vastly over used, and it has its limits, but it is really good for things like job searches, or like Rich having new products on his site.

The way we want to start using it at Defra is initially for Customer Information Notes so that an international trader of sheep's brains, for example, won't have to keep checking the site daily to see if his business might be affected by somebody injecting anthrax into cans of sheep's brains in Iran.

Or something.
 
R

rich upsetter

Cuffy is the new skill
TENSHON said:
this is without doubt the most boring thread on the forum.
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dont post then you knobs! for geeks only...

in answer to you question....they wouldnt unless they were a) computer geeks b) so geeky about a subject they wouldnt want to miss a single update.
which is why i say no one subscribes to it.


in terms of where james is coming from i imagine someone up top has heard the hype and wnat to apply it to people like vets etc... who need to be aware of changes in policy, updating of records etc..

the average joe wouldnt have a clue, or be that arsed.

i have it purely for SEO purposes.
 
db

db

#chaplife
ah right.. i mean, i fully understood the concept and the underlying technology, i just wasn't sure why your average Joe Peecee would need it.. it would seem they don't, like you say.. jimbob's example seems like a sensible application..

it's just that everyone (IT press, etc.) and their dog is banging on about it, making out like it is an indispensible part of IT life and we'll all go to hell if we don't all start making use of it..

good luck with the project anyway, jimbob..
 
A

Augustus Gloop

Well-Known Forumite
No need for the asterix surely? We're all adults.

Your RSS problem could be solved tomorrow if it can wait until them. The lads in the office next to me update the DoH/SHA website for the Midlands. They use things like that.

Now wind your neck in. ;)
 
Admin

Admin

You there; behave!
Staff member
Augustus Gloop said:
No need for the asterix surely? We're all adults.
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This is a forum for everyone.. Whilst I'm not going to start censoring language, I certainly wouldn't be against a certain amount of tactful self-censorship.. Bear in mind that within a few months we could have a very diverse readership, with people of all ages :)
 
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