5 ms·

> No. That’s the opposite of why people are again pushing RSS. Maybe the opposite of why users are pushing for RSS, but without analytics content producers hav

by catach 9y ago

> No. That’s the opposite of why people are again pushing RSS. Maybe the opposite of why users are pushing for RSS, but without analytics content producers have reasonable justification for being hostile instead.

jsmeaton 9y ago
Which is why I suggested the middle ground of a pingback URL that clients or services can hit to give the publishers certain stats like aggregated counts. If certain publishers are not ok with those limitations there will still be a bunch of people writing blog posts that are not so concerned.
- catach 9y ago
  > there will still be a bunch of people writing blog posts that are not so concerned. I assume that 80-90% of blogs already have RSS, just due to default configurations. Seems to me the context here is about pushing adoption and design significantly beyond that, both in terms of consumers and producers. I can't say for certain that a pingback URL system would be acceptable, but I strongly suspect a dramatic comeback requires drastic measures.
- jasonkostempski 9y ago
  Clients are supposed to be user agents, they shouldn't be doing anything in the interest of the publishers especially when it's hostile to the user. It's a shame browsers have lost site of that, let's not let RSS readers forget as well, that would be the real death of RSS.
pjc50 9y ago
Analytics are a hell of a drug. Analytics gave us A/B tested clickbait and listicles. I appreciate it's hard to go cold turkey, but maybe it's even harder to have an analytics system and use it responsibly?
- catach 9y ago
  > but maybe it's even harder to have an analytics system and use it responsibly? I'd say it absolutely is harder--on the one hand, you have an opportunity for more money. On the other hand, you have the mass of users that have proven that they don't care enough to react against irresponsible use in any meaningful way. Simple decision in a business context.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    > react against irresponsible use in any meaningful way. Not all reaction is direct. It's a bit like other polluting industries; you can keep doing it right up to the point where public opinion turns on the industry as a whole, and onerous regulations get imposed. I think GDPR is a taste of this.
    - catach 9y ago
      I think that under-simplifies the dynamic: public opinion is changed slowly and painfully through consistent advocacy efforts that publicize abuses, while the abusing industries fight back and regain ground at least some of the time. But yeah, more GDPR-like moves would be fantastic.
- thanatropism 9y ago
  Pandora's box. Can't put things back. I just try to avoid screens and spend time with books in my free time. I still succumb to the infinite scroll thing with the reddit mobile app -- until just this weekend I didn't actually have the adequate lighting fixtures in every place in my home where I lay back to relax. (Books. Not "ebooks".) Facebook and RSS will both die before books do.

by catach 9y ago

jsmeaton 9y ago

Which is why I suggested the middle ground of a pingback URL that clients or services can hit to give the publishers certain stats like aggregated counts. If certain publishers are not ok with those limitations there will still be a bunch of people writing blog posts that are not so concerned.

catach 9y ago
> there will still be a bunch of people writing blog posts that are not so concerned. I assume that 80-90% of blogs already have RSS, just due to default configurations. Seems to me the context here is about pushing adoption and design significantly beyond that, both in terms of consumers and producers. I can't say for certain that a pingback URL system would be acceptable, but I strongly suspect a dramatic comeback requires drastic measures.
jasonkostempski 9y ago
Clients are supposed to be user agents, they shouldn't be doing anything in the interest of the publishers especially when it's hostile to the user. It's a shame browsers have lost site of that, let's not let RSS readers forget as well, that would be the real death of RSS.

pjc50 9y ago

Analytics are a hell of a drug. Analytics gave us A/B tested clickbait and listicles. I appreciate it's hard to go cold turkey, but maybe it's even harder to have an analytics system and use it responsibly?

catach 9y ago
> but maybe it's even harder to have an analytics system and use it responsibly? I'd say it absolutely is harder--on the one hand, you have an opportunity for more money. On the other hand, you have the mass of users that have proven that they don't care enough to react against irresponsible use in any meaningful way. Simple decision in a business context.
- pjc50 9y ago
  > react against irresponsible use in any meaningful way. Not all reaction is direct. It's a bit like other polluting industries; you can keep doing it right up to the point where public opinion turns on the industry as a whole, and onerous regulations get imposed. I think GDPR is a taste of this.
  - catach 9y ago
    I think that under-simplifies the dynamic: public opinion is changed slowly and painfully through consistent advocacy efforts that publicize abuses, while the abusing industries fight back and regain ground at least some of the time. But yeah, more GDPR-like moves would be fantastic.
thanatropism 9y ago
Pandora's box. Can't put things back. I just try to avoid screens and spend time with books in my free time. I still succumb to the infinite scroll thing with the reddit mobile app -- until just this weekend I didn't actually have the adequate lighting fixtures in every place in my home where I lay back to relax. (Books. Not "ebooks".) Facebook and RSS will both die before books do.