Explain RSS Feeds to me please

[Eric]

I understand the concept that you can subscribe to blogs and articles using an RSS feed, but I've never actually done it.  How does it work?

[warfreak2]

An RSS file just contains the most recent content, sometimes it has whole articles, but most sites just have a title, summary and link to the full article; that depends on what the site decides will appear on their feed.

How they work depends on how your RSS reader works. It could be like a notification on your phone or in the system tray so you see a new article (almost) immediately. It could be like an email client where you open it to see what is there since you last looked.

[Eric]

So the part I'm missing (in theory and in practice) is software that acts as the RSS reader?  So I would search out software tailored to how I would like to receive the feed?  Like if I wanted a single daily email with any new posts from MMM, JLCollins, MadFientist, etc., I can make that happen?

[warfreak2]

I don't use an RSS reader so I can't recommend one, but yes, that's certainly something that you could make happen. Google search for RSS email digest gives a few results that look promising.

[arebelspy]

Go to www.feedly.com - Sign in.  Add the rss links from the sites you read.  Then just visit there for new posts, instead of checking a dozen (or more) sites.

I have comics show up there daily, news sites, financial blogs, etc. etc.

RSS is literally my favorite thing on the internet. Forums second.

Feedly will get you started (they also have apps that sync up with it), and then you can explore other readers from there.  But I'd recommend starting with that to get a feel for how they work.

[Thegoblinchief]

Go to www.feedly.com - Sign in.  Add the rss links from the sites you read.  Then just visit there for new posts, instead of checking a dozen (or more) sites.

I have comics show up there daily, news sites, financial blogs, etc. etc.

RSS is literally my favorite thing on the internet. Forums second.

Feedly will get you started (they also have apps that sync up with it), and then you can explore other readers from there.  But I'd recommend starting with that to get a feel for how they work.

+1 to RSS feeds, especially Feedly. By far the best RSS reader since Google killed Reader, at least for the way my brain works. The web version keeps getting better, but the iOS and Android apps are even better.

[arebelspy]

+1 to RSS feeds, especially Feedly. By far the best RSS reader since Google killed Reader, at least for the way my brain works. The web version keeps getting better, but the iOS and Android apps are even better.

I don't like their iOS app, so I use Reeder to sync with it on iOS, but their web version is a lot better than it was when it first debuted.  I used to have a Chrome Extension to skin it to look like Google Reader, but was able to remove that recently.

Either way, it's one of the best free ones that is compatible with lots of apps, that's one big benefit of it, even if you don't care for their direct products, there's probably something else you can use that syncs with it.

Otherwise if you only need a web interface, www.inoreader.com is another good one.

[Freckles]

RSS is literally my favorite thing on the internet. Forums second.

I heard it was LOL cats first, then RSS, then forums.  'Fess up.