FW: RFC: myPublicFeeds.opml

["Downes, Stephen" <Stephen.Downes@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca>]

Hiya,
 
For what it's worth...
 
1. I would prefer not to place OPML files at a standard URL. 
   Using a standard URL:
       - makes it more difficult to find OPML files for 
         subsites, which may have a home page in a directory
       - makes it more difficult to generate OPML files using 
         a script or process
       - it denotes a specific outline markup format (OPML) 
         when the site owner may have decided to use a 
         (perhaps not yet existing) alternative.
       - does not allow an owner of one site to point, for 
         the sake of convenience, to an OPML on another site
 
  All servers designate a default page (usually, but not 
  always, index.htm) to serve when only a directory if 
  specified. This page is a logical location for a pointer
  to a site OPML page (it would also have been a logical 
  place for a pointer to a robots page as well).
 
  This is essentially the practice that has been used with 
  great success for such things as CSS, remote Javascript, 
  images, objects, and the like. Services and related files 
  should, in general, be pointed to rather than assumed to 
  be in a specific place.
 
 2. Without commenting on the specifics of OPML, it will be 
  important for my own purposes that any such file be 
  extensible. This may or may not involve the use of 
  namespaces, though in order to avoid confusion of 
  vocabulary, I prefer to be able to point to a schema.
 
  I have been involved in work using RSS files for the 
  distribution of educational content. My experience has 
  been that it is useful to extend RSS vocabularies to 
  include education-specific information. This will be 
  the case for OPML files as well. 
 
 3. 'Type' should allow for a variety of types. I would prefer 
  to see something like "xml/rss 0.91" or "xml/dc" allowed; 
  this allows me to preselect my parser. It also allows for 
  the development of post-RSS syndication formats.
    
 Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.
 
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 Stephen Downes ~ E-Learning Group ~ National Research Council Canada
           stephen@downes.ca -~- http://www.downes.ca
 For free daily news and information about e-learning and 
 related technology, visit OLDaily at http://www.downes.ca/news
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