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Alright, well, I hit the RSS template motherload today while perusing the MT Blog ring. I ended up at Sean Willson’s site (err, blog) and noticed all the pretty feeds. I started to write an email asking for the templates but noticed his post from April 10th. Instead of just grabbing the files, I went over to the Raging Platypus and looked at what his pad housed — even more.

I thought I was up-to-date and most of these matters (syndication wise), but I have no clue what XFML is. Fortunately, when you look at one of the feeds in action (click one of mine for instance), at the top are a bunch of sites which house either examples or definitions of what the tags/language means. So now I know XFML Core is an open XML format for publishing and sharing hierarchical faceted metadata and indexing efforts. XFML Core is lightweight and easy to implement, yet uniquely powerful. It’s also been in development for about a year now (published at least).

A few days back, when I was looking for more templates I came across FOAF - the ‘friend of a friend’ vocabulary. Not to overload you too much, but they work with the DublinCore metadata/tag guys — here is a good overview of RSS.

Hehe, and here is some info on ESF - Epistula Syndication Format, It isn’t XML. It isn’t RDF. It’s just data. Quick, reliable, and I’m never going to change the spec in such a way as to break the previous version. I have it output through a .txt and it worked the first time.

I’m still trying to find that one blog that had them all, including excerpts and comments. Until I’ve done that task I will not be a complete, true, blogger. Note, I’m also not Bobby Compliant either : (

If you know of any RSS MT template that I do not have and you do, please let me know (yea, I got excited and made a couple myself as you can see). Also, in addition to The Plat and Sean’s site, check out Dive into Mark, which has great resources on many other topics as well.

Lastly, the RSS 3.0 feed does not work (as an xml). I plugged in the code and it doesn’t like any ampersands within my posts. Once I went through and changed those it decided to not like ‘line 1, place 1′ and I have no clue where to go from there. Oh, and RSS 3.0 is still sorta not-standard. I remember reading something by some bloggers and Aaron Swartz (the Google Blog fella and co-author of the RDF standard) has weighed in. I also shot an email to Sean and The Plat to see if we can’t get this to work. Note: If you change the output to a .txt extension it works for now… I wonder if that’s the long-term plan.

Help me RSS Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

Yes, I work for a webhosting company.

Yes, I determine my own bandwidth and space.

Yes, I went over it in 2 weeks.

Yes, I am a geek that should know how to get it to work.

Yes, I was unable to restart it for 30 minutes by following The Book.

Yes, I got it to work after going into an area that one intuitively would never go.

[lowers head in shame]

Yup, more blog rings. Joy.

Moody Bloggers Ring - A ring for those bloggers who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, chronic pain, or any other condition which affects their moods. Family members (including domestic partners) are also welcome. Not necessarily gloomy. I nominate Ray Romano’s family.

TechTV Blog Ring - For bloggers who, work for TechTV, inspired by TechTV or enjoys TechTV. Ms. Cheyenne is even quoted at the bottom: “TechTV Blog Ring - nuff’ said.” She has a way with words ;)

Hoopty Girls - Do you keep a weblog/journal? Are you messed? Got a screw loose? Do people tend to steer clear of your enigmatic persona? Are you commonly referred to as an aberration of nature? Are you frequently misunderstood? Is that because you’re speaking in tongues? Do you like pie? Cheese? Muffins? I don’t have any muffins or a few other anatomical features, but if you do, join.

Crappy Blogs - This ring is for people who blog. Blogging is fun and even us crappy webmasters can have a netring of our own. So I present to you the crappyblogs netring. The site is currently down so you’ll have to be patient and find another ring to submit your awful blog.

Buffy Blog Ring - Yea, I watch Buffy for the plot just like I read Playboy for the articles. It’s a webring for those bloggers out there who love the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Pawed - is a webring for cat owners and cat lovers that keep online journals, diaries, or weblogs. Blogs & Pets is a similar ring.

Bloggers for our military ring - another ring for bloggers that support the military. Similar to the Military Blog Ring.

Euronate - A friend of mine pointed out this Fark-like site that is more for Europeans. The offbeat news splash with a euro dash. Apparently they also pay you $25/month or some such for contributing.

Every politicians favorite day is upon him (or her as it may be). To celebrate, here are three vaselinated pictures for your enjoyment (or resentment):

Here’s a neat article defending tax havens (yea, how dare someone shelter their money… evil). And for more Offshore news, visit Tax-News.