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RSS Feed Improvements


Anonymous IPB User

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Posted

I have been using the RSS feed tool on all my forums for a long time. I usually set it to import a set number of feeds based on the size of the community. I use it to add a little discussion to the site as well as to add some revenue generating posts.  I see the ability to explicitly limit RSS imports has been removed from the latest version of IPB. Now my small forums are overrun if I use the RSS import feature. I had a member complaining on this small forum that he can no longer use the site because all he sees is RSS posts.

Is there any possibility of bringing back the ability to limit the number and how many times a day the RSS feed feature runs? It won't be much use for smaller forums in it's current implementation.

Any way to edit this in the hard code so I can make this feature useful on my smaller communities?

Also, is there a way to filter forums from the New Content so we can filter out some forums from showing up?

Posted

I understand your problem, but I wouldn’t expect a fix for it, because your use of RSS is rather untypical, since you seem to want to take just some recent entries out of the feed without any clear control which to choose. That’s not really how RSS readers or import tools are supposed to work.

To solve your problem, I would suggest that use a feed service like Yahoo! Pipes. It’s meant to take RSS feeds, manipulate and merge them in any way you want, and then create a new feed according to your specific needs. You can then import that into your forum. 

https://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/

Posted

Why would this have been included in the previous version of IPB and suddenly removed? I have been using it this way for years. In addition, I do control which to choose, the last x amount of the feed imported x amount of times a day. How else could you use a feed on a forum without all the new RSS import posts taking over the "new content" on a small forum? No matter what you were importing? Maybe I am missing something.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will give it a shot. Just not sure why IPB thought it would be useful in previous versions and suddenly remove it and say it's no longer a useful feature.

Posted

Why would this have been included in the previous version of IPB and suddenly removed? I have been using it this way for years. In addition, I do control which to choose, the last x amount of the feed imported x amount of times a day. How else could you use a feed on a forum without all the new RSS import posts taking over the "new content" on a small forum? No matter what you were importing? Maybe I am missing something.

​I understand what you were doing, but you were kind of “misusing” the settings to get an unintended result, which was useful for your specific site. The concept of reading or importing RSS feeds it to get ALL entries, by getting the full list, comparing what’s new and then showing what’s new. The time intervals are not really there to limit the number of entries, but to save your server from constantly performing the import, when the feed is rarely updated. 

Posted

​I understand what you were doing, but you were kind of “misusing” the settings to get an unintended result, which was useful for your specific site. The concept of reading or importing RSS feeds it to get ALL entries, by getting the full list, comparing what’s new and then showing what’s new. The time intervals are not really there to limit the number of entries, but to save your server from constantly performing the import, when the feed is rarely updated. 

​Again, if you get a feed of 100 entries, how does one prevent it from taking over the entire forum with RSS posts in "New Content"? Especially a small forum? Do some people really have a forum with nothing more than RSS posts?

It's even worse now that you are unable to filter certain forums from the "New Content" queries.

How is limiting the number of latest RSS feeds "misusing the settings"? Is there some official RSS feed usage standards I need to read? It would seem the usage would be highly subjective to the needs of the one using the system. I am certain there are people who use RSS feeds in any number of different ways to suit their individual needs.

If IPS wanted to save the server resources on previous versions, why didn't they hard code it in the previous versions in order to limit feed updating? I have been using IPB since 2004 and have been using this feature for nearly as long. It makes more sense to allow the forum owner to decide how often and how many RSS feed posts they want on their forums.

How one uses the RSS import system should be left up to the forum owner. It's two settings, which give the site owners the freedom to use the RSS import system according to their specific needs. Doesn't make sense to suddenly remove those features and force everyone into a one size fits all box.

I understand IPB is trying to simplify administration, but this one size fits all approach is not working for me.

Posted

Don’t get so worked up. I have tried to give you some reasonable explanations in a calm and factual way. They are my personal offer to help you understand the matter better. I am investing time answering you. And I have even shown you an alternative way to get what you need instantly without waiting for IPS to reinstate more options (wich isn’t likely at this point if ever). You can say thank you, or ignore it. But don’t shoot the messenger because you don’t like the news he is bringing, when he hasn’t caused them. 

Posted

I am completely calm, not sure why you are suggesting otherwise. I am replying to your post and giving you a different perspective in a reasonable and calm manner. Your opinion on the issue is just that, an opinion. Same with mine. I appreciate your personal offer to help and understand the matter, but I simply disagree with your perspective on the matter. I also appreciate that you have taken time to answer, but that is a choice you made. I also appreciate the alternative way to have suggested, which is why I stated "thanks for the suggestion" a few posts up. Not sure why you would suggest otherwise.

I was actually hoping for an official reply from IPB staff. If this is how the system is going to work, I will have no option but to look for another forum software, something I would like to avoid. Having to go with a third party rss system seems to be a hassle. 

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