I am pleased to announce RSS 4.0 + Atom 2.0 (R4A2) , in a combined specification that now officially supercedes all former syndication formats.

R4A2 Specification

The RSS 4.0/Atom 2.0 XML format shall be comprised of the following elements:

<r4a2:feed>
    <r4a2:ad>
        <r4a2:marketing_ploy/>
        <r4a2:adwords_url/>
        <r4a2:percentage_to_mark_woodman/>
    </r4a2:ad>
</r4a2:feed>

All publishers of RSS .90, RSS .91, RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, RSS 3.0, RSS the other 3.0, Atom 0.3, and Atom 1.0 should immediately move to this new standard, as all of the others are now immediately deprecated. As of August17, 2005, anyone caught producing the older versions must send a check for $9, a fruit bat, and a heartfelt apology to Mark Woodman by insured mail.

(Note to members of the media, be sure to spell my name correctly and include a link to this website. I am also available for speaking engagements and luaus.)

Okay, enough already. Somebody Slashdotted himself today when he put up a one-man website proposing a RSS 3.0 specification completely of his own volition. Maybe it’s an April Fools Joke and his PC calendar is way wrong. Maybe it is for a thesis paper on the Slashdot effect. In any case, it isn’t any different than me cooking up my own specification and putting it out there to get “public comment.” No standards organization, no working group, no participation from industry leaders. Not even a nod (or a rant) from Dave Winer.

Sadly, the “ooh, RSS is now a buzzword” press is now reporting RSS3 as the Next Big Thing. Not the Atom 1.0 proposed standard, mind you, but so-called RSS3. Even the Register has fallen for this one with this article, proclaiming things like “the industry has moved a step closer to a third, full XML version.” You have got to be kidding me.

I think I just moved a step closer to throwing up.

Update:
It would appear there is competition for RSS 3.0. Try this on for size. And so easy to parse!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 18th, 2005 at 15:14 and is filed under syndication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.