RSS FAQ


What Is RSS And How Do I Use It?
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. It is a great way for notifying individuals about news or updates that have been recently posted to a website.

Why Is This Helpful?
A person may wish to keep current on news and information from a wide variety websites, but may not have the time to go directly to each website and search for new information. RSS is a helpful tool because it will constantly search your selected websites for recently posted news and information and then will notify you of the information as is it posted. These notices (often called “RSS Feeds”) include the title of the news article, a short synopsis, and a link to that news article.

How Do I Use RSS?
To use RSS you need an RSS reader (sometimes called an “RSS News Aggregator”). The RSS reader is somewhat like a web browser for RSS information. Once you have an RSS reader, you simple added the website’s address (url) of it’s RSS feed to your RSS reader. For example, to add the RSS feed for the Roanoke – Benson Band Department, enter www.rb60.com/bandRBBandFeed.xml to the “add feed” box of the RSS reader. (It is as simple as copy and paste!)

Where Do I Get An RSS Reader?
Basically a person has three options. First, a person could download a “stand-alone” program that will work on that one particular computer. Second, a person could use an extension of an existing computer program that they have (Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows; Safri for Apples). Third, a person could use a web-based reader that makes the feed available on any computer with web access.

What Does An RSS Reader Cost?
Some are free some are not. Use a free one, they work just as well.

How Do I Find Out If A Website Has An RSS Feed?
It is getting more common for websites to have RSS feeds. Websites will often display an orange button with “RSS” or “XML” letters to let you know that it offers an RSS feed.

What RSS Reader Do You Recommend?
Roanoke-Benson CUSD #60 does not recommend or endorse any one particular RSS Reader. Personally, I prefer Pageflakes. It is a web-based RSS reader that enables me to check my RSS feeds from any computer with web access. It is free to use. You can also use Pageflakes to read your email.

Email me if you have any questions or need some help in getting our feed.