RSS Tutorial

What is RSS?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication", and is a simple XML-based system that allows users to subscribe to their favorite websites. Using RSS, webmasters can put their content into a standardized format, which can be viewed and organized through RSS-aware software or automatically conveyed as new content on another website. Programs known as a feed readers or aggregators can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that they find. It is common to find web feeds on major websites and many smaller ones.

On Web pages, web feeds are typically linked with the word "Subscribe", an orange rectangle (), or with the letters XML () or RSS ().

There are many different feed aggregators, but some of the most common, and most useful are:

• Firefox Live Bookmarks
• Thunderbird
• myUMM
• FeedReader
• Windows Vista Desktop Sidebar

You can click on one of the links to get a detailed description on how to set up your own RSS subscriptions using these programs.