Q1: What is RSS?

A1: RSS (Really Simple Syndication) provides a convenient way to syndicate information from a variety of sources, including news stories and updates to a web site. Because RSS feeds are delivered as an XML file and it is possible to subscribe to many RSS feeds, most people take advantage of some form of client software to read and monitor RSS feeds.

Other useful links

• The XML Files: All About Blogs and RSS (MSDN Magazine)
• Chris Sells explains RSS
• An explanation of RSS and news feeds from Slate (an online magazine)

Q2: How do I get an RSS Reader?

A2: RSS Readers are not included with most operating systems. There are many different RSS clients available online. Depending on your operating system and internet browser, you may be required to take different actions in order to view the MVP feeds.

Here are a few RSS Readers that work on Windows XP Pro SP2 with our feeds:

• CITA RSS Aggregator
• FeedReader
• GreatNews
• Onfolio
• Radio Userland
• RSS Bandit, see the article Building a Desktop News Aggregator on MSDN
• RSS Reader
• SharpReader

Q3: How do I subscribe to the MVP RSS feeds?

A3: Press the button on any page of the MVP web site. You will be taken to MVP RSS Feeds. Identify the feed you are interested in and press the button for that feed.

Note These feeds are Universal Subscription Management (USM) enabled feeds. If you have a USM-compliant RSS reader, the feed should launch your RSS reader.

If the feed does not automatically launch, your RSS reader may not be USM-compliant. We have also found that the underlying operating system can affect even USM-compliant readers. Try opening your reader and subscribing to the feeds manually by cutting and pasting the following URLs in to your RSS reader:

• https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/common/RSS.aspx?feeds=LastNPages&lang=en-us
• https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/common/RSS.aspx?feeds=LastMDays&lang=en-us

In some readers, you can drag and drop the button to the reader to subscribe to it. Individual RSS Reader behavior may vary.

Q4: Who can access MVP related information through MVP RSS Feeds?

A4: Most of the content on the MVP Web site is for MVP members. When you subscribe to an RSS feed featuring MVP member content you will be asked to sign in to access it.

Q5: What does “last 5 pages” or “pages changed in the last 10 days” mean?

A5: Both feeds are based on the same data and reflect varying preferences in how to access the data. You cannot change the feeds yourself as they are predefined.

Q6: Are the feeds available internationally?

A6: Yes, feeds are available in the following regions; China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United States. Feeds for each region are unique. You may subscribe to as many feeds, in as many regions, as you like.

Q7: How fresh are the feeds?

A7: The feeds are manually managed by MVP Site Management. Every time a page on the MVP Web site is updated, the feeds are updated.

Q8: Can I get a feed of just one page?

A8: No. The feed is a list of all pages that have changed on the MVP Web site, scoped down to the last 5 pages or pages changed in the last 10 days. A future release will address an email notification ability, by which you can be notified via email when specific pages on the MVP site change.

Q9: Is page content included in the feed?

A9: No. Much of the content on the MVP Web site is for MVP members only, and contains NDA content.

Q10: What is included in a MVP RSS Feed?

A10: A feed contains:

• The title of the page and URL to the page
• A short description of the change on the page

The following is a snippet of the XML generated by the RSS feed:

<rss version=”2.0”>
<channel>
<title>Last 5 Pages changed on MVP </title>
<link>http://mvp.support.microsoft.com</link>
<description>Keep up to date with the latest page changes on MVP!<description>
<item>
<title>Private Newsgroups</title>
<link>https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpsecprivngrps</link>
<description> The Private Newsgroups Page has been updated!</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>My Profile</title>
<link>https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/default.aspx</link>
<description>New features on the My Profile Page!</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>


Q11: What version of RSS are we using?

A11: The MVP RSS feeds were developed using RSS version 2.0, which is backwards-compliant with RSS version 1.x.

Q12: If I forward these RSS feeds to another user, will I violate my NDA?

A12: No. You may repurpose these feeds without fear of violating your NDA. If the link goes to MVP Members-Only content, the user following the feed must sign in with valid MVP credentials. If the link goes to Public content, the user need not sign in. Only MVPs can access MVP member content.

Q13: Why have you implemented an RSS feed for the MVP site?

A13: We implemented RSS feeds on the MVP Web site in response to MVP requests for improved communication and awareness of MVP-related content updates.

Q14: On the MVP Member site I have expressed interest in a variety of offerings (Shared Source Licensing, MVP Academy, etc) by completing the web forms. Will I receive an RSS feed of the web forms I complete?

A14: No. RSS feeds are intended to provide a feed of the content available within the MVP Member site. If you wish to participate in an MVP Technical Resource or Relationship Service offerings, please see the details included in that web form for more information. In future releases we will be working to provide you with notification services in this area.