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I don't think the trend can be reversed. I don't blame social media, I think RSS is incapable on the supply side as well. Quality content producers are not goin

I don't think the trend can be reversed. I don't blame social media, I think RSS is incapable on the supply side as well. Quality content producers are not going to use RSS because - HTML/CSS/JS allow for much more sophisticated, expressive presentations than simple markup, using video/images/canvases and whatnot. - News is much more frequently updated now than in 2005. With RSS, the update cycle is not in control of the content creator. - RSS is largely incompatible with paywalled subscriptions.

paulryanrogers 5y ago
> - RSS is largely incompatible with paywalled subscriptions. But it doesn't have to be. It really comes down to the clients having so many different ways to authenticate and therefore a complex UI. Consumers and producers also struggle with how to manage so many subscriptions. Full disclosure: just started working for a company trying to streamline paid podcasts.
- mawise 5y ago
  RSS works great with HTTP Basic Auth. This is the approach I'm using with Haven[1] to expose private personal blog content via RSS. In this manner, each user gets a dedicated RSS link of the form: https://name:token@example.com/rss.xml https://name:token@example.com/rss.xml You can even use the same tools to prevent login sharing such as checking how many IPs the URL is fetched from etc. [1]: https://havenweb.org https://havenweb.org
  - Crespyl 5y ago
    I've also seen some private/paid RSS feeds just using tokens in query parameters (I think Patreon and Ars Technica do this), eg 'https://www.patreon.com/rss/foo?auth= https://www.patreon.com/rss/foo?auth=...' I'm not entirely sure what the benefit of one over the other is, unless some RSS readers/podcast apps have issues with Basic Auth or maybe it's just easier to fit into existing code server-side.
streamofdigits 5y ago
On the first point, you only need to include a summary of the resource for notification purposes. The idea is that the user still visits the site to consume the actual content I am not sure what you mean with the second point, the timing of updates is under the full control of the content creator no? The third point is quite relevant. Some sites ask that you subscribe to get updates (via email). Obviously they want to have better visibility of their audience rather than have a large set of passive (lurkers). That is a legitimate choice.
D13Fd 5y ago
You’re missing two big ones: 1. RSS readership can’t be effectively tracked, and regular readers may transition to RSS, so RSS content becomes a black hole of readership. 2. RSS can’t easily be monetized via ads or a paywall (although some sites have managed it, like Ars Technica). It sucks, but most sites have to make money somehow, and RSS just isn’t very conducive to that.

paulryanrogers 5y ago

> - RSS is largely incompatible with paywalled subscriptions. But it doesn't have to be. It really comes down to the clients having so many different ways to authenticate and therefore a complex UI. Consumers and producers also struggle with how to manage so many subscriptions. Full disclosure: just started working for a company trying to streamline paid podcasts.

mawise 5y ago
RSS works great with HTTP Basic Auth. This is the approach I'm using with Haven[1] to expose private personal blog content via RSS. In this manner, each user gets a dedicated RSS link of the form: https://name:token@example.com/rss.xml https://name:token@example.com/rss.xml You can even use the same tools to prevent login sharing such as checking how many IPs the URL is fetched from etc. [1]: https://havenweb.org https://havenweb.org
- Crespyl 5y ago
  I've also seen some private/paid RSS feeds just using tokens in query parameters (I think Patreon and Ars Technica do this), eg 'https://www.patreon.com/rss/foo?auth= https://www.patreon.com/rss/foo?auth=...' I'm not entirely sure what the benefit of one over the other is, unless some RSS readers/podcast apps have issues with Basic Auth or maybe it's just easier to fit into existing code server-side.

streamofdigits 5y ago

On the first point, you only need to include a summary of the resource for notification purposes. The idea is that the user still visits the site to consume the actual content I am not sure what you mean with the second point, the timing of updates is under the full control of the content creator no? The third point is quite relevant. Some sites ask that you subscribe to get updates (via email). Obviously they want to have better visibility of their audience rather than have a large set of passive (lurkers). That is a legitimate choice.

D13Fd 5y ago

You’re missing two big ones: 1. RSS readership can’t be effectively tracked, and regular readers may transition to RSS, so RSS content becomes a black hole of readership. 2. RSS can’t easily be monetized via ads or a paywall (although some sites have managed it, like Ars Technica). It sucks, but most sites have to make money somehow, and RSS just isn’t very conducive to that.