RSS at Dressage New Brunswick
What is RSS?
RSS (or Really Simple Syndication) allows users to access web content from multiple sites simultaneously without actually having to visit the web site. RSS (aka. Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary) is an XML-based format primarily used for the distribution of syndicated web content, allowing distribution directly to the user's desktop via a newsreader, news aggregator, ticker, web browser or other RSS software. The content may be called an RSS feed, stream or channel and generally contains story headlines, summaries and links back to the full-text of stories or even, in the case of podcasting, links to audio segements.
What software do I need?
Most current web browsers, will now allow some sort of instant access to newsfeeds and most now contains features for viewing and streaming of multiple RSS feeds as part of their standard package. Just look for this symbol on the page.
If you are accessing a lot of RSS feeds you may want to consider the use of a dedicated newsreader or news aggregator application, such as FeedDemon, SharpReader or AmphetaDesk. There are also web-based readers such as Bloglines or applications that integrate with email clients like NewsGator for Outlook. Some RSS software requires payment but a great deal of it is free.
Additionally, if you are using Firefox, there is an excellent built-in feature that allows you to make live bookmarks out of RSS feeds. The orange icon will appear to the right of the address bar if the site publishes an RSS feed. Clicking on the icon will allow you to select from available feeds and to create a live bookmark. The bookmark presents itself as a dynamically updated list of titles and links to the original story. Other browsers are also developing feed reader capabilities within their browsers.
We do not warranty or recommend any specific software. Users should review and select software that best fits their needs and resources.
How do I access RSS feeds?
To get the Dressage New Brunswick news feed into your feed reader, simply right-click on the desired content link in the sidebar to the right and choose copy shortcut, link location or something similar. Then follow the instructions in your feedreader and paste the URL into the appropriate location in a new feed. While you need to "subscribe" to newsfeeds, it rarely ever means there is a fee. Instead the process refers to establishing a request for regular content updates.
Firefox users will find an icon to the right of the address bar allowing them to create a "live bookmark" for our feed.
Dedicated newsreaders come preloaded with dozens of more common or popular feeds. You can find literally thousands of feeds/channels on two very extensive RSS aggregation sites are Syndic8 (www.syndic8.com) and NewsIsFree (www.newsisfree.com).
Why use RSS?
RSS allows you to focus quickly on topics and articles that are most interesting to you. Reading summaries of articles allows you efficiently browse for content that is relevant or important to you before deciding whether to bother clicking through to the full article. RSS feed readers alert you to new content available on RSS feeds to which you've subscribed, similar to the way your email client notifies you when new messages arrive. Almost every major paper or news source provides an RSS feed.
