What is an RSS feed and how do I read it?
To make content more readily available and to save you time we have now RSS enabled certain sections of our sites. These pages denoted with the RSS icon at the left side of the page.
An RSS feed (also referred to as, a feed) is simply a subscription to updates from a Web site or Web page. Through RSS, you can be automatically notified as soon as updates are made. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Technically, a feed is an XML file on each of these Web sites that is specially coded to list the latest news and updates in a machine-readable format.
To read RSS feeds, you will need some software on your computer (an RSS reader client) or access to a Web site that offers the same functionality. To "subscribe" to feed, simply right-click the related RSS icon and click Copy Link Location or Copy Shortcut, then paste it into your RSS reader.
What clients are available?
There are two main types of clients available, some free, some available for purchase. These are:
- Desktop aggregators are installed on your computer and are available for Windows, Linux, and just about every other platform.
- Web-based or online clients are special Web sites where you set up an account and then subscribe and read all your RSS feeds from the one location.
The desktop-based ones have the advantage of letting you read the news articles offline and being as fast as your computer. The online ones have the advantage of letting you view your feeds from anywhere you have an Internet connection and Web browser.
Wikipedia has a good list of all types of clients at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator.
How do I add a feed to my client?
The exact procedure depends very much on the capabilities of your RSS reader software, but basically it is as follows:
- Using your Web browser, go to the site of the organization you want to follow and look for the RSS icon
- Right-click the icon and click Copy Shortcut (Internet Explorer) or Copy Link Location (Firefox), or the equivalent for your browser.
- Start your RSS reader software.
- Look for the button, link, or menu that says Add a Feed or similar.
- Paste in the URL you copied in step 2 (either right-click in the field and click Paste, or click the field and press Ctrl+V).
- Click OK or Add to add the feed.
The feed should now be added to your list of feeds.
Using BP RSS feeds on your site