The Profile of RSS
One of the more productive byproducts of the recent ugliness on the RSS Public board has been the emergence of an RSS Profile, the concept of which has actually been endorsed by both Dave Winer and members of the RSS Advisory Board.
Here’s how it has played out so far:
- Feb 23, 2006. Sam Ruby suggests that a profile be created for RSS to describe best practices and address the ambiguities in the frozen RSS 2.0 specification. That same day, Dave Winer commends Ruby for the idea and blogs his recommendation to Rogers Cadenhead for the creation of an RSS Profile.
- March 6, 2006. Dave Winer again promotes the idea of an RSS profile to clarify those ambiguities. He adds that the idea of a profile originated with him, and that other people working on a profile may be motivated by the desire to show him up.
- March 8, 2006. Dave Winer announces his Busy Developer’s Guide to RSS.
- March 9, 2006. Rogers Cadenhead of the RSS Advisory Board announces an initial draft of a RSS Best Practices profile and invites the public to participate in its completion.
And so, with some trepidation, I’m going to pitch in. While I’m intrigued by XRSS, I believe this profile, if ever sanctioned by the de-facto powers-that-be, is the best bet for RSS 2.0 clarification.

