What is RSS?
RSS is short for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary.” It is a handy way to obtain information that changes regularly on the Internet. Many news site, online publishers, and blogs syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to anyone who wants to subscribe. You can subscribe to most RSS feeds free of charge.
Why use RSS?
RSS allows you to stay informed quickly and easily by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time because you don’t have to visit each site individually. You maintain your privacy because you don’t need to join each site's email newsletter. The number of sites offering RSS feeds is growing rapidly including big names like Yahoo News.
How does RSS work?
There are several ways to obtain RSS feeds: in your browser, a feed reader or by Email. Browsers and feed readers regularly check websites and blogs for new content. You can specify how often each website or blog is checked for new content: every 15 minutes; every hour, once a day. RSS feeds to Email will have different delivery times, depending on the type of service used. Many RSS to Email services deliver a daily digest of new content. Some services deliver Emails within a couple of hours after new content is posted.
How can you tell if RSS feeds are available?
This is the universal RSS feed icon. When the icon is orange, RSS feeds are probably available on the site. When it’s gray, feeds are probably not available.
If you’re using Internet Explorer 7.0 as your browser, you’ll find the RSS feed icon at the top to the right as shown below.
How do you subscribe to an RSS feed?
You can receive RSS feeds in two different ways: (1) by Email; and (2) in a feed reader.
Email: To obtain RSS feeds by Email, look for a box that allows you to submit your Email address like the one below.
Email verification: Some Email subscription services will require you to “verify” your Email address before sending you RSS feeds. These services will send you an Email with the verification request. You will be instructed to click on a link in the Email. The link is automatically generated by the system so it can’t be easily regenerated and resent. The system generates a link that is specific to your Email address. When you click on the link, your Email address is verified and you will begin receiving the RSS feed to which you subscribed. This extra step may seem annoying but it is an effective to keep spammers away from legitimate mass Email systems.
Feed reader:
If you are using Internet Explorer 7.0 as your browser, you won’t need a feed reader. Internet Explorer 7.0 lets you subscribe to RSS feeds in your browser.
If you’re using an older version of Internet Explorer, you can download the 7.0 version free of charge from this site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/rss/default.mspx
If you are not using Internet Explorer as your browser, a variety of RSS feed readers are available for different platforms. Some popular feed readers include Amphetadesk (Windows, Linux, Mac), FeedReader (Windows), and NewsGator (Windows - integrates with Outlook). Web-based feed readers are also available; My Yahoo, Bloglines, and Google Reader are a few of the popular web-based feed readers.
Will I get more spam if I sign up to get RSS feeds by Email?
CAHU is using a commercial, rather than free, vendor to deliver RSS to your Email. We maintain complete control over the Email subscription list so you will not get spam if you subscribe to CAHU’s blogs or website content. This may not be the case if you subscribe to content from other online sources. You do need to set your spam filter so Emails from the domain @aweber.com are allowed.
How do I “unsubscribe” if I want to stop getting RSS feeds by Email?
Every Email you receive with content from CAHU contains an “unsubscribe” option at the end of the Email. Click on the “unsubscribe” link and your subscription will automatically end.
Can I subscribe to get RSS feeds by Email using multiple Email addresses?
Yes. You can subscribe using as many different Email addresses as you want. You will need to respond to the verification Email by clicking on the link for each Email address you submit.
If I subscribe twice by mistake, will I get duplicate Emails?
No. The system we’re using won’t allow you to subscribe with the same Email address more than once.
Why aren’t I getting Emails with new content after I subscribed?
You probably didn’t verify your Email address. When you subscribed, you were sent an Email with a verification request. The verification Email instructed you to click on the link contained in the Email. The link was automatically generated by the system specifically for your Email address. By clicking on the link, your Email address is verified so you can then begin receiving the RSS feed to which you subscribed.
If you’re not familiar with verification Emails, you may have deleted the one our system sent. Check your deleted folder or your spam filter. If you still can’t find your verification Email, send us an Email so we can try to regenerate and resend the verification Email.
Another possibility is that our Emails are being screened out by your spam filter. Make sure your spam filer is allowing all Emails from the domain @aweber.com to get through.
Why are CAHU Emails coming from @aweber.com instead of from @cahu.org?
CAHU carefully evaluated the many options and alternatives for delivering RSS feeds to Email. Without going into the technical jargon, the Aweber.com system was the most powerful and reliable. It gave CAHU functionality that just isn’t available with the CAHU domain name. There may come a time when RSS feeds to Email can be sent out from @cahu.org. Until then, RSS feeds to Email will come from @aweber.com because this system is the best option we could find.How do I subscribe to an RSS feed in Internet Explorer 7.0?
CAHU is using a commercial, rather than free, vendor to deliver RSS to your
Follow these simple instructions to subscribe to an RSS feed from Capitol Rap with Internet Explorer 7.0.
- Go to Capitol Rap at http://cahucapitolrap.blogspot.com/
- Click on the orange universal RSS feed icon at the top of the screen on the right. Select CAHU Capitol Rap - RSS
- Click on the “subscribe to this feed” link. Then, click on the “subscribe” button.
RSS feeds really couldn't be simpler.
- New content from Capitol Rap will now be fed into your browser. You can access the content in your browser at any time as shown below.
