What is rss?

Why somtimes you click on the rss sign and it has a bunch of mashed up letters and other times it's a way to subscribe to something?

What is rss?
RSS (formally "RDF Site Summary", known colloquially as "Really Simple Syndication") is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel", contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.





RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader" or an "aggregator". The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.





The initials "RSS" are used to refer to the following formats:





* Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)


* RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)


* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)





RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats.





Ron
Reply:RSS is a standard format for syndicating content on the Internet. The content can be anything! Often information contained in an RSS feed is syndicated on other sites which expands its reach.





Website visitors love RSS because they choose which feeds they wish to subscribe to, if at any point they are unhapy with the content contained in the RSS feed they simply unsubscribe and no longer receive notification of feed updates.





RSS is really a win, win for both subscribers and publishers.





In order to get a better understanding of how RSS works download an RSS reader or use a web aggregator and subscribe to an RSS feed (they are usually indicated by a small orange icon).





In order to read an RSS feed you will need to use an RSS reader (that way you can view the content not just the mark up language - sort of like a web browser "interprets" the HTML of a web page.)