Ask HN: What features should the “ideal” RSS reader have?

4 points by williamle8300 9y ago ↗ HN

I am planning on making an RSS reader because I don't really like the ones that are available. Most of them are freemium models which I always have some wariness with using since they usually get subsumed by bigger companies (flickr, delicious, instagram, firebase, instapaper, etc) and often discontinued.

I really believe in Pinboard's business model, and I think that an RSS reader using their business model (subscription model) would be really successful.

My question, What features would you want in a completely reimagined RSS reader? (Don't worry, I'm not planning on removing the proverbial headphone jack from the RSS reader)

It can be ideas that are totally from left field, or features that aren't even negotiable for an RSS reader to have. Don't worry if you'll sound pedantic. I really enjoy listening to pedantic feedback.

Thank you for your input!

==== miscellaneous ====

In preparation to making this RSS reader, I built a clone of the FeedlyCloud product (https://app.pub.center). Basically it archives RSS feeds, offers a free REST api, and will charge money for push notifications. It's janky right now, but works.

VICE gui: https://app.pub.center/feed/37501716aa216d5cc7612ab8db01ecc3a87cda50 json: https://pub.center/feed/37501716aa216d5cc7612ab8db01ecc3a87cda50/articles

WIRED gui: https://app.pub.center/feed/76348e6bc3cbe5491ec9301b78e20fada87839f9 json: https://pub.center/feed/76348e6bc3cbe5491ec9301b78e20fada87839f9/articles

NYRB gui: https://app.pub.center/feed/5c965c127c0281698e7199d2468117a54c76983a json: https://pub.center/feed/5c965c127c0281698e7199d2468117a54c76983a/articles

This will be the platform that my proposed RSS reader will run on. I want to mention this to show that I'm serious about making this thing. Thanks again!

2 comments

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akamaozu 9y ago ↗

I'd like a readability-scraped version of the articles in my rss feed.

webgurl83 9y ago ↗

The ability for me to create folders and add feeds to them without having to click and drag. I'm using a screen reader so can't do the drag-and-drop thing, ya know. Also, an easy way to rename feeds without having to click my heals together 3 times fast. Lol by that I mean actually inserting a labeled element on the page that takes you to the form for renaming feeds. Oh and there's just one more thing. Perhaps I'm a bit old-fashion, but I used to love the Google reader way of doing things in list/compact view, as in a heading with the title and a link to the article, and then an excerpt. I haven't found a service that does it exactly that way since then. Lol, and before you regret asking this question, I'll leave!