Atom is better than RSS, in ways that matter
The author argues that the Atom syndication format is technically superior to RSS and should be the standard for web feeds. The piece details specific technical limitations of RSS, such as inconsistent character encoding and naming conflicts, that make Atom a more reliable choice for developers.
Why it matters
Standardization of web feed formats affects how information is distributed and consumed across the internet, impacting interoperability.
Atom is better than RSS, in ways that matter — Chris Morgan
Atom is better than RSS, in ways that matter
My feeds are Atom feeds. Everyone with knowledge agrees that Atom is technically superior to RSS. Everything should have switched to it twenty years ago. All feed readers support Atom just fine ( except in podcasts , for no good reason). Unfortunately, many people continued to write and choose RSS, whether from ignorance of Atom (please stop calling feeds “RSS”!), or from figuring it doesn’t really matter in the end. Most of the differences are surface-level, or in practice not a problem:
RSS uses a stupid date format? Doesn’t really affect people much. RSS doesn’t specify content encoding, so it’s ambiguous as to whether
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