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“Rich Site Summary” is one historical expansion of RSS, associated with RSS 0.91. It is not the only correct expansion: RSS 1.0 stands for “RDF Site Summary,” while RSS 2.0 uses “Really Simple Syndication.” Today, RSS is best understood as a web content syndication format that lets reader software collect updates from websites.

What is RSS?

The RSS Advisory Board defines RSS as “a Web content syndication format.” RSS 2.0 is an XML dialect: a website publishes a structured feed, and an RSS reader or aggregator retrieves and displays its entries. The feed is the content format; the reader is the software used to follow it. RSS 2.0.11 specification

What an RSS feed contains

An RSS 2.0 document has an <rss> root element containing one <channel>. The channel holds feed metadata and items. An item can represent a story, with a description summarizing it and a link pointing to the full article. RSS 2.0 documents must conform to XML 1.0.

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What does RSS stand for?

The expansion depends on the version. “Rich Site Summary” is recorded for RSS 0.91, “RDF Site Summary” names RSS 1.0, and “Really Simple Syndication” is the expansion used for RSS 2.0. The W3C Feed Validator documents the RSS 0.91 and 1.0 names; the RSS Advisory Board uses “Really Simple Syndication” for RSS 2.0. W3C Feed Validator: RSS 1.0 · RSS 2.0.11 specification

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These names reflect separate stages and strands in RSS’s development, so no single expansion should be treated as the only historically valid answer.

How are RSS 1.0 and RSS 2.0 different?

RSS 1.0 is based on RDF, the Resource Description Framework; RSS 2.0 is not. The W3C’s RDF Primer explains RDF, while the RSS 2.0 specification describes its own XML format and allows extensions through elements defined in XML namespaces. W3C RDF Primer · RSS 2.0.11 specification

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My RSS Reader
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How do people use RSS feeds?

A reader subscribes to feeds and brings updates from multiple sites into one place. A feed can provide an article’s title, summary, and URL, allowing subscribers to see what is new and follow a link to the full story. Le Monde’s guide to its feeds, dated March 27, 2026, names Feedly, Netvibes, Inoreader, and NewsBlur as reader or aggregator options. Le Monde RSS feeds

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When choosing a reader, consider whether you want web or mobile access, how it organizes multiple feeds, and whether its current features and terms suit you. Le Monde’s guide names services but does not compare their features. Its feed-use terms reserve access for strictly personal, non-professional, non-collective use unless authorized and paid for; check the terms that apply to any feed you use.

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Is RSS still updated?

The RSS Advisory Board’s current specification is version 2.0.11, published March 30, 2009. It says RSS is “for all practical purposes, frozen at version 2.0.1”: updates within the 2.0 line are intended to clarify the format rather than add features. The specification points to modules and XML namespaces for extensions, or to new formats under new names for future syndication work. Its history records RSS 2.0.1 as published July 15, 2003 by Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and authored by Dave Winer. RSS 2.0.11 specification · RSS history

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RSS Reader
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My RSS Reader
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RSS; reader; news; articles
Bestseller No. 3
RSS News Reader
RSS News Reader
Fetches news using standard RSS feeds; Beautiful card-style layout for each article; Built-in WebView to read full articles without leaving the app
Bestseller No. 4
gReader | Feedly | The Old Reader | RSS | News
gReader | Feedly | The Old Reader | RSS | News
FEATURES:; Auto synchronization; User Interface: Simple, fast and intuitive; Tablet optimized: Read your news more comfortable on a tablet
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gReader | Feedly | The Old Reader | RSS | News
  • FEATURES:
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  • Auto synchronization
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