OPML Import

[dshanske]

Support importing of legacy OPML format for feeds. Allow individuals to 'upgrade' from RSS to HTML.

[kylewm]

Thanks for the suggestion! I want to push some more on the idea they implemented in https://github.com/benwerd/indiereader where everyone hosts their own subscription list, so ideally you could move between readers without dealing with OPML, but this would be useful for onboarding and/or a stopgap until we have hosted lists.

[scripting]

You can do both by supporting the "include" nodetype in OPML.

I wrote a howto for this for River5 users, but the same technique would apply to any feed reader that handled OPML includes (as River5 does).

https://github.com/scripting/river5/blob/master/docs/DROPBOXSUBSCRIPTIONLISTS.md

Let's interop every way possible. ;-)

Dave

[chrisaldrich]

A few days ago, in part based on something that Richard MacManus wrote (and which may have prompted @scripting's response), I noticed that Inoreader differentiates between importing an OPML and subscribing to an OPML.

Importing an OPML

If you import an OPML file in your RSS reader, you are creating a static copy of the reading list. If the owner of the original list updates the list, this change will not be shown in your feed collection.

Subscribing to an OPML

An OPML subscription, however, creates a live connection between the original source and your feed folder. Whenever a feed is added or deleted from the original list, the change will be reflected in your subscriptions. The notification system in Inoreader will notify you that new feeds were imported or existing feeds were removed.

Ideally, if a site had a blogroll or other mechanism by which they maintained and publicly published their own OPML list, then the user could plug that into the reader to subscribe to the list which could update dynamically. One could also subscribe to others' OPML lists (or subsets of them?) as well without needing to pay attention to them. In total, this sounds like what Ben's reader (and Known's subscription list) were doing, but by using a pre-existing standard that's broadly supported. (As an example WordPress sites with the Links module enabled publish their OPML files at example.com/wp-links-opml.php).

[scripting]

I'm glad people are tuning into this. The idea has been out there since the very early days of RSS readers. I did a quick search and found this techcrunch piece from 2005:

https://techcrunch.com/2005/10/16/my-thoughts-on-reading-lists/

We called them "reading lists." The idea goes even further, OPML has the idea of inclusion so you can create lists of lists. River5 my current reader software supports this.

I'll write it up on my blog later today with more links.

On Monday, June 26, 2017, Chris Aldrich notifications@github.com wrote:

https://github.com/kylewm/woodwind/issues/7A few days ago, in part based on something that Richard MacManus wrote https://richardmacmanus.com/2017/06/22/openness-rivers-indieweb/ (and which may have prompted @scripting https://github.com/scripting's response), I noticed that Inoreader differentiates between importing an OPML and subscribing to an OPML.

Importing an OPML

If you import an OPML file in your RSS reader, you are creating a static copy of the reading list. If the owner of the original list updates the list, this change will not be shown in your feed collection. Subscribing to an OPML

An OPML subscription, however, creates a live connection between the original source and your feed folder. Whenever a feed is added or deleted from the original list, the change will be reflected in your subscriptions. The notification system in Inoreader will notify you that new feeds were imported or existing feeds were removed.

Ideally, if a site had a blogroll or other mechanism by which they maintained and publicly published their own OPML list, then the user could plug that into the reader to subscribe to the list which could update dynamically. One could also subscribe to others' OPML lists (or subsets of them?) as well without needing to pay attention to them. In total, this sounds like what Ben's reader (and Known's subscription list) were doing, but by using a pre-existing standard that's broadly supported. (As an example WordPress sites with the Links module enabled publish their OPML files at example.com/wp-links-opml.php).

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/kylewm/woodwind/issues/7#issuecomment-311000922, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABm9O2WIOEkYThhJCtQAgy_DSEVxnq4Wks5sH3F4gaJpZM4Dd8L- .

-- Typed on an iPad with fat fingers.

[scripting]

Here's the blog post.

http://scripting.com/2017/06/26.html#a080636

Dave