What is an RSS Feed?

The abbreviation RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a protocol that allows web users to quickly review headlines or web site entries for new or updated information. "News Reader" or "aggregator" software can display the RSS feeds for a number of different sites. Typically, these applications display only headlines and brief descriptions; a mouse click displays the full story in a web browser window.

Web designers can also use RSS feeds from other web sites to add content to their own. For example, the Connecticut Conference includes headlines from the UCC national web site on its main News page.

The Connecticut Conference offers an RSS feed of News headlines, and one of current Events listings. The current News story list is at right. Local church web designers are welcome to use this feed in their own sites.

The News feed URL is: http://www.ctucc.org/news/rss.php; the feed for Events is: http://www.ctucc.org/events/rss.php. To use this in an RSS aggregator, right-click the link, select Copy Link, and paste it into your RSS application. Simply clicking this link will bring you to the raw feed, which doesn't look very attractive in a web browser.

Full information about RSS, including guidance for users, web designers, and content providers, is available at RSS at Harvard Law, which oversees the specifications for the protocol.