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Why Everyone Should Still Use an RSS Reader in 2024

Whatever the linguistic details, one of the main roles of RSS is to supply directly to you a steady stream of updates from a website. Every new article published on that site is served up in a list that can be interpreted by an RSS reader.

Unfortunately, RSS is no longer how most of us consume "content." (Google famously killed its beloved Google Reader more than a decade ago.) It's now the norm to check social media or the front pages of many different sites to see what's new. But I think RSS still has a place in your life: Especially for those who don't want to miss anything or have algorithms choosing what they read, it remains one of the best ways to navigate the internet. Here's a primer on what RSS can (still!) do for you, and how to get started with it, even in this late era of online existence.

toofpic ,

Google Reader shutdown has completely changed the way I was ingesting information. It was so convenient, I always had 2-3 days worth of articles, web comics and news for reading.
Another problem was that many sites shifted to providing only parts of articles instead of full versions, and it was still the time when I wasn't always online to finish reading.

vinniep ,

The Google Reader shutdown hit me hard also. They offered all of the features in a really great app and many of the competitors shut down in their wake, so when they exited the scene, it left a huge hole.

SlopppyEngineer ,

I jumped to Feedly and have been using that ever since. After they killed reader, I've been very hesitant of using any new Google product, expecting and seeing them all inevitably die.

AtariDump ,

Seconded. Back when Feedly had a “pay one price” special for Google reader refugees.

kubica ,
@kubica@kbin.social avatar

Sigh, that was my wake up call to not rely on google products.

kratoz29 ,

Another problem was that many sites shifted to providing only parts of articles instead of full versions

That annoys me so much, that is the number one reason why I use Feeder more than Feedly nowadays (I manually keep them synced, Feedly is multiplatform and Feeder sadly isn't) as it has a feature to download the page and use their native app view, so much better than going to the site (even with Ublock I'd rather not go unless I want to comment or see comments, which sadly isn't a thing for most of the sites nowadays).

toofpic ,

Oh, cool, thank you, I'll check Feeder out. I want my stuff to be on my phone. I'm going to the airport right now, and spending 8,5 hours without internet. It's funny that I wouldn't have a problem with that in 2008, but I have now :)

brisk ,

Is that the OSS F_Droid feeder or the other one?

pedroapero ,

I stopped following sites with dubious commercial tactics like the one you mention. After all, information is not so rare these days.

nutsack ,

people don't do RSS anymore because websites don't do posts. everything is on some shitty proprietary social media shithole

cashews_best_nut ,
@cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world avatar

I have a really intense desire to nibble an attractive mans toes.

Even stranger I have a need to tell someone about it.

Congratulations to you, I guess?

0xD ,

Hope you find something to fulfill your wish!

nutsack ,

I don't know why you're being downloaded I think this is an important post

cashews_best_nut ,
@cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world avatar

Thank you! At least someone understands.

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

I'm confused if you're mocking op or this is actually some challenge you're doing

cashews_best_nut ,
@cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world avatar

I live a life of whimsical nonsense and was probably horny for a moment so just blurted out what was on my mind. I find it amusing the number of downvotes I got.

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

I'm guessing most people thought you were mocking OP. Especially that last sentence would be sarcastic-mean, if it made any sense

FauxPseudo ,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

When I left Reddit I fired up Feedly and did some house cleaning. Still looking for more decent feeds.

Here are some of mine:
XKCD,
Nature,
Slashdot,
New Scientist,
FactCheck,
Neurologica,
Science Based Medicine

What else you got?

thru_dangers_untold ,

All youtube channels have their own feeds, but they're not obvious to find. The first part of the URL looks like this:

https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=

Go to the channel's home page and search the page source for "channel_id=" (with a long string of numbers and letters after it, often starting with a "U") then paste the ID after the equal sign. The channel id looks something like this: UCtwKon9qMt5YLVgQt1tvJKg

FauxPseudo , (edited )
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

You wouldn't need that if YouTube actually sent notifications like it's supposed to. So this will come in handy.

AgnosticMammal ,
@AgnosticMammal@lemmy.zip avatar

This might be useful for their community posts - is there a seperate feed for them or are they included in the videos feed?

I never see the community posts anywhere except for the home page & on the creator's page. Which makes it frustrating because I only stay in the subscriptions page - so I only get updates if they upload a video.

thru_dangers_untold , (edited )

Yeah, this doesn't include community posts. I haven't tried finding one tho

Plopp ,

Hang on, do you or anyone else know if it's possible to add playlists to RSS in this way? There are channels that I overall don't want to watch but that have a specific playlist I want to follow.

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

Vivaldi detects these automatically so you can in a couple of clicks. It's great

panicnow ,

arstechnica has a premium RSS for $3 a month that has no ads. I love it.

Bangs42 ,
@Bangs42@lemmy.world avatar

And full text!

Godric ,

Got Feeder to try RSS on my PC based on this post, added a bunch of cool sites, was enjoying it, and then quickly got smacked in the face with "upgrade to view more posts".

Anyone recommend an RSS reader that doesn't have stupid "fuck you, pay me" limitations?

eluvatar ,

https://www.inoreader.com/ used it for years it's great!

helpImTrappedOnline ,

I use Thunderbird for RSS...however I should also admit I only have two things - xkcd and another comic that hasn't been posted in so long I think it might be dead.

f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4 , (edited )

Oof. The real Feeder is a FOSS Android app, get it on F-Droid.

On PC, there are two Firefox plugins, one to bring back "live bookmarks" (RSS feeds), and one to bring back the radio-waves-like icon in the address bar of sites with RSS feeds available. Let me check...

Edit: It's just one plugin, Livemarks. If you put the bookmark it creates into the bookmarks toolbar, then it becomes a drop-down menu of the headlines/RSS items. 👍

Godric ,

Thanks, I'm trying that

books ,

What's the cost?

I downloaded Feedly and they want 8 bucks a month, which seems high considering they don't actually create the content. I'm all for paying developers but that's more than I pay fo other actual new sources

morrowind ,
@morrowind@lemmy.ml avatar

It's for the service. It's not a local rss reader, it works like email. Local/offline ones are usually cheap/free

spaduf ,
@spaduf@slrpnk.net avatar

Does anybody have any recommendations for FOSS RSS readers with actual content surfacing features? So many RSS feeds are full of junk (this is particularly a problem with feeds with wildly disparate posting frequencies) and I've always felt they'd be a lot more useful if people were putting more effort into a modern way to sort through extremely dense feeds.

Artisian ,
@Artisian@lemmy.world avatar

Not FOSS, but ad free and its been able to find the hidden RSS feeds for things OK. FeedDemon at: http://bradsoft.com/

Probably not what you are after, but maybe someone with a similar question.

BalpeenHammer ,

If RSS is so great why aren't people using it? Why isn't there a dozen readers on the market?

maybe it's just not that useful and that's why nobody is using it.

anarchy79 ,
@anarchy79@lemmy.world avatar

This is a common logical fallacy known as "argumentum ad populum" (appeal to popularity). You equate the popularity of the idea as a basis for determining its validity.

Compare, "if cars are so great, why is everyone still riding horses?"

Lifter ,

But it actually makes sense with technology. If you need help, you want there to be a large community and corpus of knowledge to draw from.

Ilflish ,

Not really. In fact technology is often a great example of good demand but little effort put in to meet it. Open source software is riddled with issues that people are too eager enough to report but not eager enough to fix for everyone . We have an example of Palworld finally filling a niche described in the market for almost 2 decades.

Sheeple ,
@Sheeple@lemmy.world avatar

Cassette Beasts? TemTem? Digimon? Saying no attempts to fill it were made is disgenuine

Ilflish ,

Should have been more clear, I'm talking about a 3D open world Pokemon. So the closest one to that is Digimon, which doesn't have captures. It took until Pokémon themselves created a poor version of what people asked for in this instance for another one to appear.

Sheeple ,
@Sheeple@lemmy.world avatar

oh I was never really desiring 3D pokémon in the first place so I suppose that coincides with my misunderstanding

anarchy79 ,
@anarchy79@lemmy.world avatar

I would argue that you can't do better for help and support than for old niche technologies and frameworks, because things like that always have a vibrant community of enthusiasts ready and eager to help.

Compare eMacs. Why isn't everyone using eMacs? It's basically superpowers for any client you install it on, and it installs on everything. Ridiculously hardcore fanbase, we're talking original flame wars on Usenet levels supporters.

Usenet, apropos, is quite topical on this matter. You should look it up. Fuck it here's the robot for ya:

Usenet is a global discussion system where users can post messages and read responses in subject-based forums called newsgroups. It's decentralized, meaning there's no central server or authority, and it operates across many different servers worldwide. Users can participate in a wide range of discussions, from technology and science to hobbies and arts. It's text-based and functions somewhat like a precursor to modern internet forums and social media, but with a more straightforward, less graphical interface.

Original RSS, from back in the day. Still active.

If you're interested: https://techjury.net/blog/what-is-usenet

BalpeenHammer ,

But everybody isn't riding horses. In order for your analogy to work it would have to like this. "If horses are so great why isn't everybody riding horses to work"

SuspiciousUser ,

The irony is saying that on a platform like Lemmy.

BalpeenHammer ,

I don't see it. What is the irony? How wildly popular is lemmy?

MNByChoice ,

RSS is great. Podcasts and webcomics are easier to follow with RSS.

dependencyinjection ,

How do you set it up for podcasts
? Say The Darknet Diaries for instance.

Evkob ,
@Evkob@lemmy.ca avatar

The easiest way is to use RSS for podcasts is to use a dedicated app. AntennaPod is what I use (Android) and I can't recommend it enough, it has a search feature to find the RSS feeds for whatever podcast you like and add them to your subscriptions.

dependencyinjection ,

I’ll see what iOS equivalent I can find. Thanks for the pointers.

poppy ,
@poppy@lemm.ee avatar

Overcast lets you import from RSS

kratoz29 ,

Yeah I don't get what he says about using a RSS feed/reader for podcasts.

MNByChoice ,

I use AntennaPod as my client, but you can use anything.

One can do an Internet search for the podcast name and rss to find the RSS feed.

dependencyinjection ,

Thanks. This is second mention for that. I’ll see if the iOS version exists.

pacmondo ,

Podcasts are actually typically primarily served by RSS, whatever podcast app you are using just indexes them and manages downloads. So typically you can go to the website of the podcast, e.g https://darknetdiaries.com/subscribe/ and if you scroll down on the subscribe page you'll see a link to their rss feed. Just copy the link from the feed into whatever reader you use and you'll be updated in your reader app when new episodes are released.

dependencyinjection ,

Awesome thanks. I’ll start doing this as it seems easier to manage.

Dehydrated ,

A podcast client already uses RSS under the hood to get updates for your podcast subscription. I recommend AntennaPod if you use Android. Love Darknet Diaries btw!

Chocrates ,

Anyone got a favourite open source rss reader? So far I am mostly finding stuff with subscriptions. Even though many have a free plan i'd like to try to find an open one first

Evkob ,
@Evkob@lemmy.ca avatar

I've recommended these a couple of times in this thread, but I use Fluent Reader on desktop (cross-platform) and Feeder on Android. Both are FOSS and load articles locally, so no account/subscription required.

AdmiralShat ,

I cannot tell you how much better it feels to click a link to an android app and it opens github and not the play store.

littlewonder ,

FYI, Fluent Reader appears to have an Android .apk now: https://github.com/yang991178/fluent-reader-lite/releases/tag/v1.0.4%2B11

AllYourSmurf ,

Check out FreshRSS. You can self host, so if you have a home server, this will do the trick. Use your favorite reader app that can connect to it.

I get the subscription fatigue. I’m currently paying for Inoreader because I haven’t fully cut over to FreshRSS. It has good tools that are worth it for many, but all those subscriptions add up fast.

Dehydrated ,

FreshRSS is awesome, I use it with Read You on Android and I love it

pelotron ,

When Google Reader shut down, Feedly had an "import from Google" feature on their sign up page. Been using it for free ever since.

dylanmorgan ,

Thunderbird will do RSS.

FauxPseudo ,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

Feedly

RIP_Apollo ,

Are you sure that Feedly is open source? I can’t find any mention of it on their website.

FauxPseudo ,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

Sorry didn't parse that part.

RIP_Apollo ,

OK, no worries.

(Also, I didn’t downvote your comment btw)

FauxPseudo ,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

It would have been justified.

2xsaiko ,
@2xsaiko@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

NetNewsWire for Apple devices.

Dehydrated ,

Never realized that it's open source. That's great.

bushparty ,

RSS has always been great! Thankfully I never relied on Google Reader and have been using Newsify for 5+ years. Great app with a great newspaper view as well as an identical web version. Keept me off of Google and don't have to rely on Feedly either.

Newsify also supports Feedly accounts though I've never needed to consider migrating. I think I've had a couple full text issues with certain items but it's been amazing great and I've really enjoyed their product and price point for subscription ($50CAD/yr, I believe)

usyless ,
@usyless@lemmy.world avatar

What did you try to mean by, whatever the linguistic details. What are you talking about when you say linguistic details?

OfficerBribe ,

Read the whole article, it is weirdly quoted here.

Bishma ,
@Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I've never left RSS. Went to Feedly like a lot of people. These days I'm using a self-hosted instance of miniflux because I got sick of Feedly making "enhanced" feeds and then not letting me get to the real RSS feed anymore.

Boiglenoight ,

I need this miniflux in my life. I’ve been just putting up with Feedly. I understand they have to make money, but I don’t want to pay for RSS. Especially if I can DIY.

becausechemistry ,

I went with a self-hosted FreshRSS instance, it has its issues but it works well with the client apps I use.

lambchop ,

Which client apps do you use?

becausechemistry ,

NetNewsWire on iOS and the Mac. Pretty great, and it’s FOSS to boot. Still working on a decent front end on other OSes, the web client is okay-fine but could be better.

lambchop ,

I've got Readrops (android) which has freshrss support for when I get my instance up.

kratoz29 ,

What is this enhanced feed feature of Feedly that I have never heard of? Is it a premium feature of something?

Bishma , (edited )
@Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

I ran into a couple of them but the most notable was reddit (before the APIpocolypse). If you try to subscribe to the RSS feed of a sub it will ignore your request and ask you to sign in to Reddit instead. It then uses the API instead of the RSS feed and reports your reading habits back to Reddit.

AgnosticMammal ,
@AgnosticMammal@lemmy.zip avatar

Oh lol. I wonder how that's going - especially when they had to drop their enhanced feeds for Twitter.

SuperSpruce ,

Downloaded Feeder. It seems like a really good way to read the articles, but I also like looking at the comments, as they often mimic the threads here on Lemmy, and can add information missing in the articles, auxillary information, and cool anecdotes. I'll see if this becomes the way I look at the articles.

jagoan ,

Reddit and Twitter were my RSS reader replacement. But then they shot themselves in the foot. Mastodon is not there yet. Lemmy is almost there, but still missing the non techy communities.

realitista ,
@realitista@lemmy.world avatar

Yes RSS came back strong in my life after Reddit and Twitter shit the bed.

AtariDump ,

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/f9bb488d-cd29-4188-a69f-14c514d2459a.jpeg

kratoz29 ,

Lemmy is almost there, but still missing the non techy communities

Thank god, have you seen how the world is out there? Crazy shit /s

Turun ,

I'm reading some /r/hfy stories. Since I no longer get notifications for reddit pm, I have replaced it with the RSS Feed for "posts by user xxx". RSS also works like a subscription on royal roads, the alternative that a lot of writers switched to.

Works perfectly well, I'm very happy with it.

webjukebox ,
@webjukebox@lemmy.world avatar

Friendica has the RSS feature and it is compatible with most Activity Pub services.

CybranM ,

I want to get into RSS but all the apps I've tried have been lacking. I want to subscribe to the Factorio blog and be able to see their GIFs/videos directly but so far no app has been able to do that.
Either they don't load any images (wtf?) or they just load a static preview that I then have to click to actually play.
Does anyone know of an RSS app that can load GIFs/videos automatically?

anarchy79 ,
@anarchy79@lemmy.world avatar

I find RSS is always either too little or too much. It is almost impossible to get it "just right", at least for me, especially taken into account the time and labor it would need to set up "just right".

indomara ,

Have you tried imagus, hoverzoom or thumbnail zoom? It has changed the way I internet. Hover your mouse over almost any image, video, or gif and it automatically opens and shows the full size. I have been using imagus on firefox for ages and quite like it. It doesn't work with some websites or apps, and probably wouldn't work with an installed app, but should work for one of the rss web apps?

Please disregard if this is a silly suggestion, I have always been curious about rss feeds, but have never actually used one.

Katana314 ,

I mean, I’m all for it, but I thought the problem was that so many sites stopped offering RSS output options.

nadir ,

Or if they do, it's not the full article. Which I get, them being in the business of selling ads and all.

harsh3466 ,

This is why I stopped using rss. I fucking hate seeing an headline I’m interested in, clicking to expand and then having to click through to the site to read the article, dismiss the goddam email list overlay, fight with the stupid paywall, and then close the tab out of frustration.

I miss the days of actually reading articles in my rss feed reader.

CurlyMoustache ,
@CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world avatar

Perhaps I'm just an old 40 year old fart, but the Internet was better before. I miss the 00s and the 10s. Now it's just paywalls, LLM generated bullshit, and search results from SEO orgies

Ephera ,

I'm still finding rather many RSS feeds, though there's few buttons these days. Ideally, you want something that auto-discovers feeds on a webpage.

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