Are There Any Negative Aspects of RSS Feeds?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which basically means that the information passed through the feed may or may not be directly accessed from the originating website. Joe's website might send a feed they acquired from Fred's site, and vice verse.

RSS is a great way to get the latest, up to the minute information on almost any subject available. If you are a news hound, enrolled in additional education, or are trying to find out the American Idol results as they come in, RSS feeds might benefit you. The feeds often eliminate or reduce the need for web surfing, especially if you are a limited surfer and are connected to your interests and needs through the feeds.

As awesome as many online communities believe the RSS feed is, there are a few drawbacks and negative aspects to relying completely on the feed to communicate. While technological advancement is likely to address most of the issues related to the negative aspects of the RSS feed, it will take some time before all the issues are addressed.

RSS feeds do not clearly identify the source. Especially for those who use script protection and identifying software as standard protection on their computers, feeds can be anonymous and lead to confusion for those with heavy security on their computers.

The graphics, photos, and other visually stimulating elements of web pages do not come through with any real resolution. Some people find themselves visiting the website regularly because they can not see the images on their feeds at all.

Servers can become overloaded. There is a high demand right now for RSS feeds that the servers were simply not prepared for. It is thought that no one really expected there to be such a surge of popularity among the feeds and thus the servers were not built accordingly.

There is no way for advertisers or publishers to track their subscription base. Therefore, the feedback that is often available through websites and thus advertisers and providers have no way of evaluate the quality of their product or service through the public's eyes.

General technical support is fairly poor. New technology that isn't carried across the board can have limited access to any kind of support services.

RSS feeds are continuing to grow in popularity and thus many of the negative aspects may be taken care of within the next few years. Of course, this may produce a whole new set of issues, but dedicated RSS users feel it is worth the wait, and the issues.