Making RSS More Fun

Free Consumption, Creator Support, and AI Parallels

• One line of criticism: wanting “random small creator content” for free and just upvoting resembles AI companies scraping content without compensation.
• Counterpoint: RSS-based tools usually send users to the original site, so creators still get ad revenue, subscriptions, or donations.
• Some argue not every interaction must be monetized; being read and appreciated is a valid goal in itself.

Nostalgia for the Open Web vs Monetized Platforms

• Several comments contrast the 90s “open web” ethos (publish for joy, not money) with today’s YouTube/DRM/social media economy that trains people to expect payment for “content creation.”
• Others insist the 90s spirit still exists alongside monetized publishing; it’s a personal choice.

How RSS “Should” Be Used: Inbox vs Stream

• Split between using RSS like an email inbox (aiming for “inbox zero,” feeling pressure from unread counts) and like a “river of news” to dip into.
• Some say anxiety comes from reader UIs that mimic email; others like the inbox model and carefully limit feeds to read nearly everything.
• Strategies: avoid high-volume news feeds, aggressively unsubscribe, use filters/keywords, or self-host advanced readers with rules.

Algorithmic Curation, TikTok Comparisons, and “Fun”

• Some want TikTok/StumbleUpon-style random, personalized surfacing of RSS items, with up/downvotes and collaborative filtering.
• Others are wary: they use RSS precisely to avoid engagement-driven algorithms and infinite scroll, preferring finite, deliberate reading.
• A middle ground idea: algorithms that compress to a small, periodic selection (e.g., a weekly newsletter) rather than maximize time-on-site.

Tools, Experiments, and Technical Angles

• Mentioned projects: custom ML-based RSS recommenders, local LLM-enhanced readers, on-device summarization, services like Scour, Feeed, YOShInOn, Miniflux, FreshRSS, Inoreader, Elfeed, Karakeep, skimfeed, and ultra-minimal readers.
• Some people run thousands of feeds with clustering, word filters, and classification; others keep fewer than a dozen.
• Discussion of RSS vs Atom vs JSON Feed; JSON Feed praised for simplicity.
• Challenges: many feeds don’t use categories, discovery is hard, and some sites lack feeds entirely (suggested fix: LLM-based extraction).

Social vs Lonely Consumption and Non-Technical Users

• RSS is described as “lonely” compared to Reddit/HN; the absence of a social layer may explain its lower addictiveness.
• Ideas include decentralized recommendation based on shared “starred” items and federation protocols.
• For non-technical family members, email is suggested as a more realistic “RSS-like” channel for updates.