Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a family of web formats used to publish frequently updated digital content. RSS feeds are most commonly used to update news articles and other content that changes quickly. Users of RSS content use programs called feed 'readers' or 'aggregators' (newer versions of Web browsers offer built in support for RSS feeds): the user 'subscribes' to a feed by entering the link of the RSS feed into their RSS feed reader; the RSS feed reader then checks the subscribed feeds to see if any have new content since the last time it checked, and if so, retrieves the new content and present it to the user.
RSS has several meanings: Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary, and RDF Site Summary where RDF in turn stands for Resource Data Framework. In any case it is a method of summarizing the latest news and information from a website in a lightweight form that can be easily read by any of a number of news readers or news aggregators. The idea is to give users the ability to quickly obtain the latest news and updates from a site in a headline or news digest format. This in turn helps during high-traffic periods by reducing the load on the servers.
What do I need to use the RSS feeds?
To use our RSS feeds, you need a feed reader or news aggregator installed on your computer. These are applications that can be set to read the feeds on a recurring basis, generally once an hour or so.
Once you have installed a feed reader or news aggregator, you simply add the SPC feed address to the list of feeds in the reader. The installation instructions for the readers will help you with that. If your newsreader or aggregator uses "auto-discovery" then simply enter the main address such as (http://www.spc.noaa.gov) and it will find the feed.
