41–50 of 88 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do the same. Case in point: I started to follow someone's blog because of their technical achievements, then I realized I don't like their political views _at all_, but I keep them on the list mostly to keep myself on my toes.
Jonathan Blow perchance?
https://andregarzia.com/2025/04/rss-doesnt-necessarily-means...
You can have feed readers that provide a calmer UX. My own feed reader, BlogCat, lets you configure how many posts per website you want to see in the reader page and how often to fetch each site (with the default being daily). Without notifications or background fetching, you're in control of how often and when you want to see the posts from a website.
> And that's also where the magic lies because it's that very process of engaging with content and deciding whether or not it has value to you that makes using an RSS reader a better experience and one where you own your attention. Back when RSS was more popular, the tyranny of never-ending backlogs was a topic that was discussed somewhat regularly, but it gets glossed over a little these days since RSS talk is natur…
There are a couple readers that avoid that by providing a calmer experience without a firehose and without background fetching. https://blogcat.org (I made this one) https://fraidyc.at (this is the inspiration for many calm readers) https://cblgh.itch.io/rad-reader (multiplatform and super calm)
Now... if anyone knows of an iOS equivalent, that'd be awesome.
People here seem to fall into two camps: (A) Studiously prune your feeds like a bonsai. As the author suggest, follow the chain of trust to a small number of voices (for me, something like Stratechery, Simon Willison, Inner Ring). (B) Realise that RSS is another form of 'tyranny', this time at the hands of the publisher instead of the platform, where the composition of your feeds, and therefore what uses your attenti…
This is the same reason why AI generated music is soulless and isn’t liked. If music can be made especially for you in milliseconds to soothe your mood or to suit your situation it isn’t art, it’s entertainment slop you’re consuming. Art and things created by other people doesn’t have to pander to you, it expresses something they made and you are allowed to observe or interact with it. What caused the creator to create it is what gives it meaning, when you start having to arbitrage your creations with the consumer (to become more appealing for more people) that’s when you start losing credibility and the start of selling out.
A few of the most heinous examples of people selling their dignity for ‘the algorithm’ to recommend their stuff to more consumers are those who impact their content for retention. An easy one is Mr. Beast, entire videos are focused solely around retention. If the team behind that channel finds something that gets them more appeal to their consumerbase they will implement or pivot towards it like there is no tomorrow.
Another scathing example is Jay Z, who - in Moment of Clarity - rapped
“ I dumb down for my audience and double my dollars They criticize me for it, yet they all yell "holla" If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be lyrically Talib Kweli Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense But I did 5 mill' – I ain't been rhyming like Common since (Woo!)”
admitting he has compromised his lyrical integrity for money and influence long before “the algorithm” was the all influential thing.
I guess when it comes down to it, it’s easier to make it in the world without integrity, but that definition of making it is more hollow.
People here seem to fall into two camps: (A) Studiously prune your feeds like a bonsai. As the author suggest, follow the chain of trust to a small number of voices (for me, something like Stratechery, Simon Willison, Inner Ring). (B) Realise that RSS is another form of 'tyranny', this time at the hands of the publisher instead of the platform, where the composition of your feeds, and therefore what uses your attenti…
(I think) the thing is that you are not meant to get served content that is specifically for you. (insert this hole was made for me img) [1]) You get someone’s stream of content and you have to decide whether you are okay with the friction between what they are serving and yourself or if you are not and then unsubscribing. This is the same reason why AI generated music is soulless and isn’t liked. If music can be mad…
And that's why you need to curate as it's an expression of your choice. Both by choosing which feeds to follow and which articles to read. Social media is like being in a public square alone while everyone is shouting at you while feeds are more like being in a gathering. In the latter, everyone is already vetted so you just skip from one interesting conversation to another while recognizing keeping track of everything is pointless.
This is perfectly reasonable, but I think it is a bit general. The notion of a chain of trust leading to a curated feed can equally apply to YouTube if you stick to the subscribed channels view. There are also specific skills I've picked up from being subscribed to the Hacker News "top" RSS feed. Namely judicious use of the "mark all as read" button.
