What is RSS
RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a file format designed for distributing or syndicating information contained in web sites.
RSS files, also known as “RSS feeds” or “RSS channels”, contain a summary of the information which was published on the original website.
An RSS file displays a list of items. Each item shows a title, summary of the text and a link to the original source in the Internet (the web page) where the full text is found. Other information, such as the author’s name, or the date and time of publication may also be available. Any source of information which can be divided into items (messages in forums, for example) can be distributed using RSS.
What are the benefits of using RSS?
Using a website’s RSS feed is a way to receive and stay up to date with the latest information on a website, without having to visit the site itself. Moreover, the RSS file contains a specific link for each item which directs you to the web page itself with the complete text.
RSS is typically used for spreading the latest content or news from a website.
It is also possible, by using RSS files, to automatically include the latest headlines from one or more different sites in a web page.
Web browsers do not interpret RSS files themselves, and what you see at the website is the RSS file in XML code.
In order to view an RSS feed in the correct form, it is necessary to use a special news reader or feed “aggregator”.
What is a reader or feed aggregator?
The terms RSS reader, feed reader, feed aggregator and (in this context) news reader all refer to a program, either independent or based in a web browser, which reads RSS feeds and displays their contents. By including various feeds in the aggregator, it is possible to receive a condensed version of the content of several sites without having to visit each one individually.
The user receives the items automatically when they start up the program, instead of having to go to each of the separate sources which publish it.
Adding a feed or channel to the aggregator is known as “subscribing” to a feed.
Choike offers a page with its own feed aggregator: http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/feedreader/
This page displays RSS channels from other sites, selected by Choike’s editors, which relate to the categories Choike covers.
In the latest versions of the web browser Firefox, in the pages which offer an RSS feed updating service, there is a button showing “RSS”. Clicking on this image allows you to subscribe to the feed, in the same way that you add a web page to your “Favourite Sites” menu.
The latest version of Firefox is available on line at:
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Here you can find an up-to-date list of feed aggregator programs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator
How do I subscribe to a feed?
RSS feeds, just like web pages, have an URL or internet address, like the following http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/rss/index.rss
In order to access or subscribe to a feed, you need to find out the URL of the feed and add this address to the aggregator so that it can find and display its contents.
Normally, websites which have RSS feeds indicate in some way what the URLs of their feeds are.
There are also RSS feed directories, lists of favourites or search engines which can help find RSS feeds.
How do I subscribe to Choike’s feeds?
Select one or more of the themes or categories of interest from the list below.
Following the link associated with each category allows you to access the relevant RSS feed.
Add the internet address of this feed to the feed aggregator which will then automatically collect the information updated in Choike.
For example, someone interest in receiving the latest information from all of Choike’s categories should add the following address to the aggregator: http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/rss/index.rss
|
