The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Developers _Are_ Users

Adam Curry: “I want to be creating and distributing content to everybody in the simpelest way possible. Blogger, MoveableType and Typepad users surely want the same.”

I’m a user. I’m also a developer. In fact, as a developer, I’m a user. As a developer, it is important to me that I chose formats that will scale to my needs. RSS 2.0 is simple, and good for doing a great many things, particularly syndicating weblog (or similar) content. However, “syndication” feeds and aggregators are becoming useful for other types of information as well. Apple and Amazon have touched on the edges of this, but so much more is actually possible.

Developers of new, potentially innovative uses of syndication formats, need to be confident that their future needs will be addressed by the format they select. Many of the ideas that have gone into the seemingly superficial improvements made (or planned) by ATOM (internationalization, greater specification clarity, formal specification process, etc.) are not insignificant to such developers.

The original process surrounding RSS 2.0 failed to provide the necessary confidence to enough of those developers that they decided a new format was in order. When arbitrary barriers are encountered, the net community is well known for “routing around” them. In this case that was the formation of ATOM.

After it became clear that ATOM was gaining momentum, some decisions were made with the goal of invalidating the political and personality barriers presented by the previous process. For some, it would appear, this has been too little too late. Additionally, many suspect that these were only superficial attempts to create the appearance of openness and flexibility while maintaining the status quo. Whether or not that is true in practice remains to be seen. Reassurances provided by Adam Curry and Andrew Grumet, while likely completely genuine, are less than reassuring as the rest of us lack the personal connection with Dave Winer. Show me somebody who doesn’t get along with Dave jumping on board with RSS 2.0 and I’ll feel a lot better.

I personally don’t care what the “winning” (an inadequate term, to say the least) format is. I simply care that it meets and addresses my needs as a developer and a user. If the RSS 2.0 crowd would like to win my support, and I believe the support of other semi-cautious developers (remember Mr. Safe?), show us that we can explore and push the envelope without fear of labels of “funkiness” or other such dreck. Show us that our concerns and requests will be taken seriously. Show us that the process surrounding RSS 2.0 has really changed. Have all of the previously voiced concerns surrounding the RSS 2.0 spec been addressed? If so, great. Build your campaign around that. Show us what RSS 2.0 is doing to respond to developers and users and why it is better.

Above all, please end the FUD campaign about ATOM and other competing formats. Quit predicting the “imminent death of syndication” if we fail to all jump on board the RSS 2.0 bandwagon.

Update:This approach is always an option.

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