RSS Feed

mskitty666

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I have recently discovered the wonders of rss feeds and was hoping TCS has one. I followed the instructions in the FAQ but that did not work. Then I copied the link for the yahoo thing and took out the extra stuff before the web address. Thunderbird said it wasn't a valid rss feed. I just want to know if there is one or not and where is the page so I can copy the address into my reader. Thanks.
 

Anne

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I'm pretty sure Vbulletin produces an RSS feed. I'll ask on their support forums to find out where the URL of the actual XML page is
 

Anne

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I just switched on the RSS feeds. Apparently it was something that had to be done through the admin CP


You can now have the following and see which one goes best with your RSS reader -

RSS:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/external.php?type=rss

RSS2
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/external.php?type=rss2

XML
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/external.php?type=xml

Apprently you can refine these to specific forums by adding &forumsid=44 to the end of any of the URL above. 44 is the ID number of the feedback forum. If you want the health forum, for example, you need to change that 44 into a 4. If you want the lounge, you'll have to change that 44 into a 2, and so on.

You can find the forum ID for each forum by its URL. A forum URL always looks like -
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

that number in the end is the forum ID.

Hope this helps! Please let me know if there are any issues with using the RSS feed.
 

katachtig

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Basically, RSS gives you updates when the content you are following is updated.
 
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mskitty666

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I discovered RSS Feeds through Firefox. When I tried and got addicted to Thunderbird I checked that it supports them as well. All it does is automatically update stories and news from a web site. For example, I have subscribed to feeds from CNN, The Sims 2, Discovery News Animals, Kapersky Antivirus and many more. Instead of having to open my browser go to each site and see if there is anything I'm interested in, I open Thunderbird. It updates the topics while I'm reading my email. I browse through the headlines and if there is something that catches my attention, depending on my settings for that feed, the page will download in my preview pane or open my default browser and go directly to that article. On some sites the feeds aren't easy to find. Often I have to do a site search which is faster. Some sites have the orange rss icon right on their home page. Firefox uses live bookmarks for rss feeds and opera will add a feeds menu the first time you subscribe to a feed through it. I have to say I recommend trying Thunderbird as it has way better controls. I don't know if Internet Explorer or Outlook Express supports rss because I don't use them.Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I've been a bit busy with my new kitten. Hope this helps.
 

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I've now got an RSS feed from TCS, using Opera, but can't seem to refine it to only show new posts from the IMO forum.
 

rapunzel47

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I just set up a feed for IMO. With the IMO forum listing on screen, I clicked on the RSS icon in the address bar, and was offered a choice: TCS or TCS IMO forum. I selected the latter, and was immediately presented with five items, all IMO.
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by HopeHacker

Even reading what Wikipedia says, leaves me in the dark. The explanation is like Greek to me.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. Egads!

So...can you just use a regular (IE) browser? Or do I still not get it, LOL.
 

rapunzel47

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Egads!

So...can you just use a regular (IE) browser? Or do I still not get it, LOL.
I don't use IE unless forced to, so I don't know it well, but given the market share it has, I can't imagine that it would not handle RSS feeds. However, a quick look around it didn't turn up any clues as to how it does. It could be as simple as in Opera -- that you just click on that little orange icon in the address bar and your browser does the rest -- but I don't know that for fact. It probably wouldn't hurt to give that a shot, though -- probably the worst that could happen is nothing. Or you might prefer to wait for someone with IE knowledge to come by -- shouldn't take long.
 

jean44

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I normally use Firefox but I have also downloaded the new IE v.7.0. IE 7.0 supports RSS feeds, I'm not sure about prior versions. I think a separate RSS reader is required. In IE v. 7.0 when you open a site with an RSS feed the orange RSS icon will appear on the tool bar on the right hand side of the browser. In the case of TCS click on the down arrow and choose between Cat Site Forums or a feed for the specific forum you are viewing. A web page will open showing the latest posts from the selection you made. At the top of the page is an orange area with a link for "subscribe to this feed". Click on the link and a dialog box will open asking you what folder you want to create the feed in. It defaults to the "Feeds" folder in the Favorites Center. Click on the Subscribe button. To get to your feeds click on the yellow star at the right hand side of the browser next to the first tab. Yes, IE v. 7.0 has tabbed browsing, although I still prefer Firefox. When you click on the star the Favorites Center will open. Click on "Feeds" to see your feeds.

I hope this helps IE users.
 

jcat

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Originally Posted by rapunzel47

I just set up a feed for IMO. With the IMO forum listing on screen, I clicked on the RSS icon in the address bar, and was offered a choice: TCS or TCS IMO forum. I selected the latter, and was immediately presented with five items, all IMO.
Thank you, Fran! I didn't see the orange icon. It's working fine now.
 
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