RSS: Portability by Design
Syndication is the core of what RSS actually does. Feed readers are only one way to consume that syndicated content, and arguably not even the most impactful one.
RSS is an initialism, not an acronym, and "Really" in its expansion is an adverb. But the format itself remains a standard way to publish content in a deliberately portable format. Think of it as an API for content — not a metaphor, but the literal function of the technology.
The format has seen a recent bump in attention as Google tests a "following" feature in Android Chrome, but publishers have consistently treated RSS as a distribution channel worth maintaining. Every podcast, without exception, is an RSS feed underneath. That single fact underscores how deeply the format is embedded in the ecosystem, even when it isn't visibly branded as such.
Beyond the Reader
RSS feeds also power a range of applications that go well beyond simple aggregation in a dedicated reader. MonitoRSS, for instance, exists specifically to forward RSS content into Discord channels. WordPress sites can ingest RSS feeds through plugins to re-display content. The Sidebar Webring, while its exact mechanism isn't documented, presumably leans on RSS as well.
Even when other technologies are available, RSS remains a valid option for pulling content together. A site like CSS-Trickz could have used RSS to grab its content; WordPress happened to provide a JSON API that was more convenient than parsing XML in that case. In other projects, Dave and Robin used Feedbin's API to show posts they had read and "liked" via RSS.
The real point is that an RSS feed opens up more than just reader subscriptions. It creates a standard entry point that other tools and services can build on — a way for content to flow into whatever interface a user prefers, whether that's a dedicated reader, a chat channel, an aggregator site, or something else entirely.
