View Full Version : RSS Feeds?
AbeHikes
01-24-2005, 21:11
I looked at the FAQ, but the syntax examples provided for whiteblaze.net (they're pretty standard for vBulletin products) don't seem to work (no RSS page found). Is RSS actually enabled for whiteblaze.net in any other syntax? Thanks.
AbeHikes
01-26-2005, 11:14
...crickets chirping. :rolleyes:
LOL - ya using Firefox, dchastain? I LOVE love the new Firefox, RSS or not!
I don't believe RSS is enabled for WB, but then again I have had problems getting my live feeds to work at all for FF, so it might just be me (AND you lol!)
tlbj6142
01-26-2005, 11:37
Send a message to ATTroll. He'll know if RSS feeds have been enabled. Probably not.
The Cheat
01-26-2005, 11:38
...crickets chirping. :rolleyes:
Maybe it wasn't enabled, because rss and rss2 both look blank.
SGT Rock
01-26-2005, 11:58
OK, I am clueless, what are ya'll talking about?
The Cheat
01-26-2005, 12:07
OK, I am clueless, what are ya'll talking about?
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/faq.php?faq=vb_board_usage#faq_vb_rss_syndication
SGT Rock
01-26-2005, 12:16
It is off. I don't think we ever discussed this. What is the benifit?
The Cheat
01-27-2005, 09:19
It is off. I don't think we ever discussed this. What is the benifit?
It allows you to view the publicly accessible forums in your own format. For example, I could read whiteblaze at work and make it look like work. :cool:
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 09:37
I could turn it on and see what happens, I think Troll and I will discuss it.
BTW, how are you intending to change the format? Is this some sort of software that reads our SQL database or something?
MadAussieInLondon
01-27-2005, 09:46
its part of your browser or whats known as an RSS reader / aggregators.
RSS is a 'news syndication' format, and readers will take RSS feeds from your fav sites, eg; I can read the BBC news, ESPN and some tech news sites, my friends journals all at once without going to their websites one at a time.
each story has a link, so if you click the link it takes you to the post on its original website.
its a very simple concept thats easy to see when you use it but hard to explain...
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 10:30
I was trying to set up the RSS URL syntax for whiteblaze.net through My Yahoo, because I thought that would be easy to do and I would be able to access it from any PC instead of where I had a client installed. It's great for those that like to aggregate.
Here's an article from XML.com that explains a great deal about it. http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html
Also here's a Google search laying out the RSS Readers available. http://www.google.com/search?q=rss+reader&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&cat=gwd%2FTop
Thanks for all the responses, everyone and thanks for considering enabling it, Sgt Rock.
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 10:49
I turned it on, we will see how that works for a couple of days. I don't forsee any problems, but I will kill it if it does.
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 11:03
I'll be 37 this year, but I'll say it this way anyway.
So... very... COOL!
Now when my browser opens, I see this:
http://www.geocities.com/davidachastain/whiteblaze_rss.JPG
Thanks, Sgt Rock!
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 11:04
Now that is cool. I was just looking at MyYahoo page to see how to do that. Can you post some instructions?
The Cheat
01-27-2005, 11:39
dchastain,
I wrote my own reader, and it uses feeds with URL syntax similar to these:
http://www.wired.com/news_drop/netcenter/netcenter.rdf
http://www.snopes.com/info/whatsnew.rss
I'm not sure how to use the ones in the FAQ examples:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/external.php?type=rss
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/external.php?type=rss2
Is there a way to use the former syntax, rather than the latter, or am i just missing something here?
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 11:45
Sgt. Rock,
It's all here.
http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/cstore?.opt=rss&.page=p1
Very easy to do. Use this URL to get what I have there.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/external.php?type=rss2
I also edited the module to show 10 items instead of 5 and to show the update time for each thread instead of the whole RSS feed.
Thanks,
David
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 11:47
The Cheat,
I'm assuming that you tried the latter and they didn't work. While I'm an IT guy, I'm still kind of a newbie with RSS and XML. I'm not sure one would work, but not the other. Are you just not getting content or is there and error message?
David
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 11:48
LOL, I figured it out after I asked you that. I now have the feed to my Yahoo home page.
The Cheat
01-27-2005, 11:55
The Cheat,
I'm assuming that you tried the latter and they didn't work. While I'm an IT guy, I'm still kind of a newbie with RSS and XML. I'm not sure one would work, but not the other. Are you just not getting content or is there and error message?
DavidGot it. Thanks. The RSS feeds I'm used to have an <image> element. The Whiteblaze one didn't so it was causing a server 500 error. I removed the <image> xml tags and now all is right with the world. Thanks alot.
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 11:58
The only thing I don't like is that the feed only shows the first post of each thread instead and shows the threads based on creation. I would prefer it to show the most recently updated thread and the most recent post to the thread.
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 11:59
Not sure what I did, but I'm glad you got it working. Now I just have to figure out how to get My Yahoo to refresh RSS feeds more often.
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 12:00
Yeah. That is a bummer. I'm not sure if it's universal, though. I've never used an installled reader, so I don't know if they pull the most recent post. Anyone know? I'll ask one of my employees that's all over this.
AbeHikes
01-27-2005, 12:06
The only thing I don't like is that the feed only shows the first post of each thread instead and shows the threads based on creation. I would prefer it to show the most recently updated thread and the most recent post to the thread.
It does, however, take you to the latest post on whiteblaze.net when you click on the thread name.
And I just noticed that I had the forum area for Site Operations collapsed. I probably should have posted this in the navigation section there. Sorry.
SGT Rock
01-27-2005, 12:09
I think the solution would be to change the php code on the external.php to how it gets the info and displays it. Unfortunatly right now I do not have the time or maybe even the skills to change this. I will look into an already written mod for that.
Well. I was not even aware that we could do this until SGT refered me to this thread. I must have overlooked this somehow. I know that RSS threads can be put on the front page of WhiteBlaze from other sites. I looked into that but could not find any Appalachian Trails sites that did this or were worth doing it to. But I never knew you could set it up this way. Thanks for find the switch and turning it on for everyone SGT Rock.
The Cheat
01-27-2005, 14:37
I think the solution would be to change the php code on the external.php to how it gets the info and displays it. Unfortunatly right now I do not have the time or maybe even the skills to change this. I will look into an already written mod for that.
Well, you could just post the code and see if any resident php'ers have some suggestions.
The Cheat
01-27-2005, 14:46
Actually, if you could turn on the javascript and xml feeds also, maybe one of them would be even better.