Comments on RSS 2.0 at the W3C

Posted by Dave Winer, 6/4/04 at 11:31:14 AM.

I asked people to send emails saying what they think of the idea of the RSS at the W3C. Here are the responses I got, in reverse-chronologic order.

Eric Sink 

I want to never implement Atom. We already implemented RSS, and it works. Why do *we* have to implement Atom just because its designers couldn't find a cheaper way to annoy Dave Winer?

I want RSS to stay and Atom to disappear. Getting RSS into the W3C sounds like a step toward that goal.

Ray Daly 

I would like to see W3C help RSS. I'm a developer of web tools and my two current projects both use RSS. One is a content management system (HEMS) and another is a email newsletter/RSS tool (bletter). Whatever can be done to strengthen the spec will make it easier to get these types of tools better. I'd rather spend more time adding features or usability than supporting a wide variety of specs.

Colin Faulkingham 

Don't fall into this trap of W3C approval for RSS. The market has already decided which flavor they prefer. Remember the W3C is not about independent developers, it's about corporations.

Do you honestly believe that the W3C will be a better advocate then the current RSS advisory board? RSS has succeed because of your tireless advocacy to independent developers about the platform. I don't think the W3C cares, about these things. In addition IMHO RSS doesn't need anymore technical mutilation, it's had enough.

Steve Zellers 

Aside from the honor, what good can come of sending RSS to W3C? Isn't RSS "done"? Sending it there will only encourage change of the sort that makes things like SOAP so unbearable.

Fundamentally, I don't really understand the need to subject RSS to this type of assault.

Olav Anderson 

wURLdBook Research is a tool and RSS aggregator developer. We have developed a web based tool that not only aggregates RSS news feeds but also allows you to publish RSS 2.0 feeds to facilitate collaboration and sharing of web based information and documents which includes publishing attachments for general consumption. We find RSS 2.0 to be the best format/technology to allow us to accomplish the job.

Fred Sampson 

Yes, I want the W3C to support RSS.

I am a technical writer for a large enterprise software company; I'm active with the Society for Technical Communication and with SIGCHI; I am a blogger; I use RSS daily to aggregate feeds from selected weblogs using both Radio and NetNewsWire Lite. While I am technically savvy, I am not an innovator/early-adopter -- I like standards, I like easy-to-use tools, and once I'm comfortable with a tool or technology, I tend to stick with it. I'm not interested in moving to Atom when RSS is doing what I need.

Hope this helps. . .

Mike Kaltschnee 

I want the W3C to publish RSS. I think that Atom is a distraction and waste of time.

As a blogger I fully support your efforts to open RSS up to a standards committee.

Joseph Palmer 

I would like to see RSS 2.0 (or 2.0.x or whatever) become a W3C standard.

I have coded my own backend to create an RSS feed, and found that the simplicity and flexibility (Specifically because HTML markup is permitted in RSS 2.0) to be a good match for my feed.

I feel that the work the W3C did to stabilize HTML (and XHTML) was invaluable to interoperability, and I would like to see that same stability under RSS.

Jean Francois-Nadeau 

I want the W3C to help RSS. I'm the author of ClickTheNews. RSS works well and is everywhere.

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