---
title: "RSS as a more generalized message queue for people"
date: 2003-01-21T12:23:01-05:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2003/01/21/ooocib/
author: Les Orchard
---

# RSS as a more generalized message queue for people

<blockquote cite="http://www.pipetree.com/qmacro/2003/01/21#ucapi">It seems that beyond carrying syndication information, RSS is a very useful and flexible way to get all sorts of application data pushed to a user over time. In the same way that a web browser is a universal canvas upon which limitless services and information can be painted, so (in an  albeit much smaller way) an RSS reader/aggregator might also find its  place as an inbox for time-related delivery of all sorts of information. </blockquote><div class="credit" align="right"><small>Source:<cite><a href="http://www.pipetree.com/qmacro/2003/01/21#ucapi">DJ's Weblog: The universal canvas and RSS apps </a></cite>.</small></div>
<p>My thoughts exactly.  Not sure if I've posted here about it, but I know during the whole <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RSS">RSS</a> hubbub this fall, I'd babbled something about <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RSS">RSS</a> being a messaging queue from machines to humans.  Or a transport for timely ephemera to people.  Or something like that.  Basically, I'd like to see <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RSS">RSS</a>, or something like it, used beyond just headlines.  This is why I've leaned toward the <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RDF">RDF</a>-in-RSS camp - I want to see lots of things besides titles and excerpts hung off the individual message events, and <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RDF">RDF</a> seems downright nifty to me for this.</p>
<p>But either way, I like the expanded notion of <a href="http://www.decafbad.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/RSS">RSS</a> usage as a timestream-oriented stream of messages targeted at subscribed people.</p>
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shortname=ooocib

<div id="comments" class="comments archived-comments">
            <h3>Archived Comments</h3>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221085419">
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                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://breyten.livejournal.com/"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=aaa4b3548d4f3ed959cdf1828fa683f2&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://breyten.livejournal.com/">Breyten</a>
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                <a href="#comment-221085419" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-01-21T12:45:47">2003-01-21T12:45:47</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">Rss 2.0 modules are also down right for including information besides description and title.</div>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221085420">
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                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.decafbad.com"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=2ac2cffd36ada8c734b90e02a1e5c1ac&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.decafbad.com">l.m.orchard</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221085420" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-01-21T13:09:41">2003-01-21T13:09:41</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content">I really need to circle back to look at RSS 2.0 sometime soon.  I remember thinking that it looked like a nice compromise on flexibility, albeit with still a few kinks to work out.

So far, though, I'm still liking my stay in RDF-land, because once the "tax" is paid, all the data just falls nicely into the same pool and the same format.  Whereas, although the non-RDF formats are simpler, they're not as useful to me.</div>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221085421">
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                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://gulliver.weblogs.com"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=8d03ba772dd6517c99a46eac05c71f53&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://gulliver.weblogs.com">Ehud</a>
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                <a href="#comment-221085421" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-01-21T14:23:49">2003-01-21T14:23:49</time></a>
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            <div class="content">I agree. 
For example, aggregators should be able to show calendars widgets, and syndicate date-based information. One use-case is an RSS feed for a department seminar.

Doing something like this isn't hard, and there are RDF to Outlook convertors etc. 
I wish it would be more widespread.</div>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221085423">
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                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=5a70d939a73fa73603f2a9255ab81d21&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki">BillSeitz</a>
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                <a href="#comment-221085423" class="permalink"><time datetime="2003-01-21T14:34:33">2003-01-21T14:34:33</time></a>
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            <div class="content">I had similar thoughts. I seems like a pretty logical single format for reading...

http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki/UniversalInbox</div>
            
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