Small tip for anyone using Thunderbird as a mail client, it supports RSS feeds! And you can import/export them too.
title could be worded better… i was confused at first that there was some algorithm for rss he was no longer using. it should be something like ’ i ditched the website algorithm feed and utilize the rss instead’
Is there a recommended, shiny RSS reader for Linux and Android? Which I want to try?
I have been pretty happy with Read You
I use quiterss on my linux desktop. Its already in the repos on debian and works great for me. I have extremely minimalistic requirements tho, so might not be for you if you want a shiny UI. It has tagging, custom keyword filtering, folders, notifications. All i need.
I use feeder installed via Fdroid. It sends me notifications that send me straight to the content. I rarely have to actually open the app. No complaints!
+1 for feeder
I use NewsBoat on Linux, but it’s a terminal app and not for everybody. On Android I use CapyReader, and IMHO its quite nice.
I use Newsblur, it’s a web site and will fetch feeds even if my computer is offline.
I use Thunderbird and Read You
I built https://startyparty.dev for just this reason
Looks sick, bookmarked!
Very cool! Thanks for making this and sharing.
Algorithms done right are useful. Make sure things that are likely important to be bubble to the top. I don’t have time to read/watch it all, so prioritize the important things for me.
Done right is the hard part. It is too easy to prioritize memes that make people angry even though if you really investigate you discover that while there is a little truth it is grossly exaggerated and whoever is being mocked isn’t that stupid - because things that make people mad tend to get attention.
The algorithm really needs a “there is plenty more but you have seen all the important stuff - go outside and do something” after I’ve seen what is important. Of course it then needs a “but I’m currently confined to a hospital bed so just show me something so I’m not bored out of my mind”. The likes of facebook of course cannot allow such a thing as once you stop scrolling their ad revenue is gone. However that is what the world needs.
I don’t personally have any issue with algorithms - they work quite well for me, though it does require some active management. For example, if I watch one or two 30-second videos on YouTube, it quickly starts recommending more, which quickly floods my feed. However, when I start ignoring those recommendations, despite the temptation to click, the algorithm eventually stops pushing them and shifts back to suggesting accurately tailored, long-form content that genuinely interests me. The same goes for using the “not interested” button. This aligns with my experience on platforms like Twitter and Instagram as well, though the latter I no longer use.
Algorithms obviously don’t care whether the content they show you makes you glad that you saw it. They simply serve what captures your attention. If it’s outrage, then that’s exactly what you’ll get. The algorithm knows plenty of other users engage with that kind of content, so it rationally assumes the same will apply to you.
If it’s outrage, then that’s exactly what you’ll get
I don’t know how fix this, but this is one of the things a good algorithm needs to prevent. Outrage does get my attention - but it isn’t where I want my attention.
The companies deploying the algorithms aren’t taking any of what you said into consideration though. They only want to feed you what has the most interaction as that can garner the most money from ad revenue.
Would be nice if open-source aggregators like Lemmy allowed users to “Subscribe” to community developed algorithms.
I’d love to (attempt) to build an “ethical” algorithm for content sorting, have it be open-source, and be able to have clients use it without having to actually modify the client itself.
There’s nothing preventing you from forking a Lemmy client or server to prototype this. Depending on how you implement the activitypub backend, you might be able to make it transparent to a user if you present an algorithm as an array of cross posts via a /c/ of a server.
Anything more might require forking a client, which might be easier to implement but may be harder to convince a large userbase to migrate to.
The problem isn’t the algorithm just because it’s an algorithm, even chronological sort is technically an algoritim.
The problem is closed source algorithms with no user choice that implement dark patterns and other addictive and psychologically abusive tactics to make users engage with their app as much as possible
I had the same idea two years ago, this seems like a more involved and detailed take
I’ve greatly enjoyed FeedFlow ( github or the official site ) as my reader since it’s minimalistic and just looks so polished. Almost fully cross platform as well.
Thanks! I like it a lot.
Algorithms have the advantage of finding stuff for me that i wouldn’t have even thought to look for. Is there any thing with RSS that sufficiently mimicks this?
No. They’re two different tools. the article misses the point
I mean you have to subscribe to a feed to be able to see it and I don’t see how RSS could sync a feed you don’t even know about. I suppose if someone started a platform that everyone used to sync their feeds then people could uncover content from the RSS feeds of other users but that seems to take the really simple out of really simple sync (RSS)
I miss Firefox’s Live Bookmarks feature.
Thunderbird has RSS channels you can use and set-up (if you use the e-mail client, it is convenient).
Great post, thanks!
this is by far my favorite way of browsing the internet nowadays. if they find a way to monetize or kill RRS, i’m getting off the internet
I think it would be hard to re-invent RSS for money, it’s part of why it’s so simple.
RSS as a service makes sense for backend, not front end where most of the money would be made.
And killing RSS is… Kinda here? It’s difficult to get a RSS feed on most websites, unless you can scrape it or find someone who’s done it for you.
Man I should use RSS more…
I get that the idea of rss is sort of a universal protocol for publishing articles, which is really cool, but damnit if you make me parse XML in 2025. As a developer, I would be ok if they modernized RSS feeds.
There’s very robust libraries for most every language that can parse rss for you easily.
But a lot of languages have native support for parsing JSON without the need for a library. When it’s handled by the language, it’s more likely to be done to spec, doesn’t increase bundle size (if that matters to you), and will be considered as updates to the language are made.
I can speak to go, ruby, and PHP: Their libraries for support is per-spec.
Json is pretty great, and sure, if someone wants to make RSS2, using JSON, that’d be fine. But, RSS came long before JSON was even an idea, and XML was the only way we figured out.
RSS’s format is, in fact, so old, there’s been a huge amount of time refining those language’s libs to support RSS just dandy. You never even need to look at the XML.
Is there a project to quickly scrape and rssify and website?
Almost all podcasts use RSS so seems pretty alive to me
I used Feedly since Google Reader was shut down. Then 1.5 years ago, as Feedly was getting more paywalls and AI-crap, I switched to Newsblur, and have been a happy user ever since. I love its Intelligence Trainer that lets me hide posts with certain tags/authors/keywords.
The hardest part is when you have to curate yourself. To me RSS feels like a lot of work upfront. Is there a tool to help discover items to add to your feed aligned with your interest?
This is where I’ve struggled. I’ve gone and tried once or twice and just kinda got confused and lost and came back to reddit, at that time.
Feedly does a great job of that.
You start with vlogs you like.
Then see who they have in their blog roll.
More seriousl, I have literally used RSS regular since like 2006 or so. And I will NEVER forgive Google for killing Reader.
Anyway, what I mean to say is, its just a growing process. Someone links an article and you say, “Well, this sote seems interesting” and you stick it in your RSS reader.
Next thing you know you are pulling 1000-2000 articles a day, even with limiting filters.
One last bit of advice. Most systems let you export your subs.
DO THIS FROM TIME TO TIME BECAUSE YOU WILL HATE YOUR PAST SELF WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG AND YOU LOSE ALL YOUR SUBS.
I went the Local RSS Reader -> Google Reader -> Feedly -> Self-hosted FreshRSS myself. Kinda went full circle on this.
Sometimes I wonder if we’re all just the same person
Never forget never forgive.
- Look around in your online communities and see what publications get shared.
- Once you find some sites you like, search the web/communities for alternatives with the same topic/vibe.
- If you find journalists you like, see where else they publish their works, or what publications they used to work at. For bloggers / content creators, see who they collaborate with.
Hey, Joey, don’t say that shit out loud. Once they realize that there is a way to access content that isn’t sufficiently monetized, they will block it. Keep it secret!
The content creators should be shouting about RSS from the rooftops. The only people that lose out are social networks, and startups. It would be more difficult for a new person to get a foothold, but at least we decide what we want to read on our own.
I remember youtube creators recommending other creators small channels and stuff like that. I want that back.
Hard agree. I’ve had Gamers Nexus introduce me to a few channels but none have been small. I entirely skipped YouTube for most of my life so I missed the small town feel.
