Suzanne — Fri, 23 May 2003 12:44:48 +0000

Really Simple Syndication.

It's an XML subset used for newsfeeds. Many blogs use it. The newsreader (like a browser) collects the news feeds, which contain items. You can click on the items to see the webpage, or on hyperlinks within the items.

Instead of surfing around seeing if there is something new posted, a newsreader does it for you, and you only go if there are new posts -- and if those posts are something you want to read.

Shirley has a great primer for people looking for information on RSS: http://www.brainstormsandraves.com/2003_04_27_archive.shtml#93673384

On the Mac, ranchero.com has a great app called NetNewsWire -- it has a Lite version if you want to test it out.

clubart — Fri, 23 May 2003 04:12:17 +0000

Quote: Originally posted by Suzanne
I have used webrings (still do) but for the most part I find them irksome. They were nice, but RSS is better, and I think it's something to do with the WAY I use the web. Many people still use them, but I don't get hits from them very often anymore. I have Google and bulletin boards and blogs as my main sources of hits.

What is RSS?

Suzanne — Thu, 22 May 2003 12:22:38 +0000

I have used webrings (still do) but for the most part I find them irksome. They were nice, but RSS is better, and I think it's something to do with the WAY I use the web. Many people still use them, but I don't get hits from them very often anymore. I have Google and bulletin boards and blogs as my main sources of hits.

dk01 — Thu, 22 May 2003 09:26:37 +0000

I got fed up with those webrings that force ads and stuff so I tried to start my own but they are ranked so high in the SE that its hard to get anyone to come to the smaller sites.
-dk

andy206uk — Thu, 22 May 2003 08:25:59 +0000

taken from:

http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/gDefinition/0,294236,sid26_gci213351,00.html

A Web ring (or Webring) is a way of interlinking related Web sites so that you can visit each site one after the other, eventually (if you keep going) returning to the first Web site. Typically, users can also elect to go backwards through the ring of sites, skip a certain number at a time, visit sites randomly, or see a list of all the sites on the ring. A ring is managed from one site which includes a common gateway interface (CGI) application that can select random sites and bypass sites that have dropped out or aren't reachable.
The ring idea seems to have caught on as a more dynamic alternative to the list of "favorite sites" that many Web sites offer. The originator of the idea, Sage Weil (now 19 and in college), started the first ring in May, 1995. With several collaborators, Sage has created WebRing, a Web ring management system. As of April, 1998, there were over 40,000 Web rings using the system.

There are Web rings on acrobatics, quilting, mermaids, the macabre, Spanish hotels, the Chevrolet, Dixieland, medieval studies, native American sites, and Winnie the Pooh. The largest number are on computer- and game-related subjects.

clubart — Thu, 22 May 2003 04:23:02 +0000

What is webring?