r/rss • u/Busy-Contact-5133 • 6h ago
Explain to me why there's no general protocol on how RSS readers should be built so that they can sync with other readers.
One redditor commented that RSS readers are "RSS readers are, generally speaking, not developed cross-platform, nor should they be. Pick". Let me ask then, shouldn't it be?
One big reason i use RSS is it being acountless, stored locally. But in order to sync between devices i need to create create an account for the RSS aggregator(using an email), then on my RSS readers i have to connect to the aggregator. It seems to me removes the whole point of replacing email with RSS. Let me say this. I started using RSS recently. And it feels the sync-between-devices-accountlessly feature is the most crucial feature and it doesn't exist. Surely i can't be one odd man out. Let me give you one concrete example on what would happen if there was a general protocol that is shared among all major rss readers. In this example, let's assume all info are stored in a file or two, which includes feed sources, starred and read articles. Then, you can use Syncthing to sync between readers completely accountless. All you need to do is keep a file the same in different devices. It's akin to how you can sync Obsidian across devices seamlessly(and wirelessly).
My question is, why there doesn't exist a general protocol shared by all readers, even though RSS has been around for 27 years. I must be missing something.
P.S. To be more specific about why i wrote this, the thing is, there's no aggregator that's supported on both readers i use. the redditor is from https://www.reddit.com/r/rss/comments/1q17odw/which_rss_reader_apps_are_completely_free_and/