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What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (or Rich Site Summary, or other things depending which geek you ask). Put simply, it is a way to monitor news and information on a specific topic without having to search for it or sign up for email alerts that ask for personal information and clog your inbox. Put another way, it's like anything else you might subscribe to, like a magazine or newspaper, only it's free and comes right to your computer the instant it's updated.
How does it work?
RSS is like having your own personal research assistant on call 24/7. When you subscribe to an RSS feed, it automatically updates the type of content you specify as it is added to the source sites it monitors. For example, if you are an avid golfer, you can subscribe to an RSS for golf-related news posted to Google News, Yahoo! News, etc. Each time you check your RSS feed, it will have compiled up-to-the-minute golf headlines for you.
Most current Web browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Safari, and Opera have integrated support for RSS feeds. Click the links below to learn how to use RSS within your browser:
Older browsers require that you download an aggregator or reader such as FeedReader or NewsGator (Windows), or Shrook (Mac) to receive RSS feeds. Many people prefer standalone readers to those integrated into their browsers anyway.
What does this have to do with Ripon College?
Ripon College regularly posts news releases and other stories in the News pages of www.ripon.edu. If you'd prefer to check the News section every day for updates, feel free. If you’re more of the instant-gratification type and hate to be out of the loop for a single minute, read on.
I’m sold, Daddy-O! Now what?
Ripon's News RSS Feed is located at http://www.ripon.edu/news/RCNewsfeed.xml. Your browser will read it, but it will look like a bunch of garbage, likely preceded by the phrase, "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below."
Don't panic -- it's a feed, not a Web page like you're used to.
Use your reader's documentation (usually under the "Help" menu) on how to add and remove feeds.
Fascinating. How do I learn more?
Wikipedia has all the RSS information you could possibly desire, including links to articles and more resources. For help using the Ripon College RSS feed, contact Cody Pinkston, director of media and public relations, at pinkstonc@ripon.edu.
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