Syndication deathmatch anyone?

Can I state for the record that I don’t understand this sentiment:

So, the RSS spec already IS being changed. The big companies are in charge and we’ve gotta deal with any mess they get together and create for all of us.

For one, Scoble, have you opted not to read Sam Ruby for, oh, the last few years? And two, RSS is a CRAP SPEC. Your earnest concern for something so half-baked reads like parody of itself. And three, since when did change get such a bad rep?

That said, Rogers’ continued interest/involvement in RSS completely befuddles me. My unsolicited advice: “walk away.” There are so many more interesting projects in the world than pissing off the Luddites of the syndication world.

You know what would make for an interesting meetup? Ruby, Winer, Scoble, Cadenhead, Pilgrim. Got to get these people off of their blogs and interacting together humanely. Sanely. Face to face. With apologies to John Stewart, Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting the Internet!

It could be billed as a syndication deathmatch. I would fucking pay to see that.

Monday, July 23, 2007 2:27pm
Tech

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6 comments

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Anton
7/24/07 6:54am

Brilliant post. Recall that Ruby and Winer were in the same room together at the 2005 Triangle Bloggers Conference!

justin
7/24/07 1:53pm

Thanks. It’s amazing to me sometimes how experienced bloggers don’t realize how they come off sounding sometimes when they blog.

Even I toned down this post some trying to think what would I say if Scoble was standing in front of me.

Rogers Cadenhead
7/27/07 8:18am

A deathmatch between syndication geeks would be like that Star Trek Next Generation episode where Tasha Yar fought that woman in the playground monkey bars. I think I could take Scoble, but I don’t like my odds against Pilgrim at all.

justin
7/27/07 10:52am

I think it would just be interesting to hear you all talking face to face. And I would probably ask you “Is is worth it?” And by “it” I mean RSS.

Rogers Cadenhead
7/31/07 11:07am

I don’t know if it’s worth it, but after catching so much hell in 2004 when I accepted the invite to join the board, and more last year, I’d like to address a couple of huge issues in RSS 2.0 — enclosures, relative URLs, etc — so I can tell myself it wasn’t a huge mistake to join in the first place.

The RSS Profile will help in this regard.

If I had a do over, I would’ve jumped to Atom instead of joining the board. I’d probably have more hair.

justin
7/31/07 11:26am

That’s what I don’t understand. You do have a “do over.” You are not Sisyphus. You can just wash your hands and walk away with your pride intact. Let RSS rot and help carry the Atom banner. Better late than never.

It’s one thing to be on the opposite side of a debate from Winer (at some point everyone is, right?) but alienating Sam, and somehow triggering Scoble into an anti-corporate apoplexy? How is clarifying RSS worth this? Syndication formats are the stuff of religious wars and RSS is a minefield.