RE: [syndication] locating syndication feeds

["Jeff Barr" <jeff@vertexdev.com>]

My comments:

0. Thanks for doing this. We definitely need a solution to this 
   problem.

1. OCS has worked well for this purpose so far, but its structure 
   is complex and small sites are going to be afraid to use it. As
   others have noted, OCS is complex. I just took a look at my OCS
   reading code in Headline Viewer, and I was surprised to see just
   how tangled it was.

2. The channel list provides the information needed to build a good 
   solution to the "aliasing problem" where multiple URLs point to the
   same info under different formats.

3. I would prefer a site-level file containing multiple channel items:

   <?xml version="1.0"?>
   <channels xmlns="http://www.purl.org/syndicationlist/1.0";
             xmlns:rss1="http://www.purl.org/rss/1.0";
             xmlns:rss092="http://www.scripting.com/rss0.92";
   >
      <channel>
 
<rss092:channel>http://www.example.com/news.rss</rss092:channel>
         <rss1:channel>http://www.example.com/news.rdf</rss1:channel>
      </channel>

      <channel>
 
<rss092:channel>http://www.example.com/uploads.rss</rss092:channel>
         <rss1:channel>http://www.example.com/uploads.rdf</rss1:channel>
      </channel>

   </channels>

   This would work better for large complex sites. The LINK structure
   in the proposal will work fine -- all pages on the site can point to
the
   site-level file.

4. Note that NewsIsFree (www.newsisfree.com) is now using a blue variant
   of the orange XML icon to flag a synthetic feed. I like this.

5. I still believe that we need to form a "scavenging team" to knock on
   doors (via email) asking sites to syndicate. I do as much of this as
   time allows, but I do have a long list and it would be nice to knock
   and say "I'm from the International Syndication Assocation"
(whatever)
   and we want your headlines.

That's about all.

Jeff;  

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Nottingham [mailto:mnot@mnot.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2001 10:12 PM
To: syndication@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [syndication] locating syndication feeds



Please find attached a draft of a proposal. Thoughts?


On Thu, Jul 05, 2001 at 08:39:43PM -0700, Mark Nottingham wrote:
> 
> As many have noticed, one of the biggest problems with syndication is 
> locating feeds. Often, you'll find a resource you'd like to obtain a 
> feed for, only to spend minutes (or hours!) scanning the HTML source, 
> "about" section of the site, and the top and bottom of every page.
> 
> This problem has been discussed before. I'd like to propose a 
> solution, and try to move something forward.
> 
> To start, here are what I believe should be the core requirements for 
> such a mechanism:
> 
> * It should be syndication format-agnostic
> 
> * Futhermore, it should support the communication of multiple,
>   alternate feed formats for a particular resource
> 
> * It should support discovery by both people who are browsing the
>   site (the 'find the feed for this page' scenario) and automated
>   processes (the 'syndication spider' and 'browser automatic feed
>   location' scenarios)
> 
> * It should allow feeds to be sent to aggregators both on the client
>   machine, or located at an arbitrary URI on the network
> 
> * It should be easy to integrate the mechanism into already deployed
>   web browsers
> 
> * It should have a path to integration into next-generation web
>   browsers
> 
> * It should not require the storage of state or preferences in a
>   centralized registry or location; the only participants in
>   interactions should be the server where the channel is hosted, the
>   browser, and the target aggregator (on the client or on the
>   network)
> 
> Thoughts? I think I have a candidate for how to do this, but I want to

> get feedback on the premises first...
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> 
> --
> Mark Nottingham
> http://www.mnot.net/
> 
>  
> 
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> 
> 

-- 
Mark Nottingham
http://www.mnot.net/

 

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