RSS Feeds

2026.06.07

The point of alternative internet [1] is freedom, the ability to choose. The internet is a tool -- ilo sona, ilo musi ala. The problem is only that the default technology is harmful to its user(s). Social media is designed to be harmful and addictive, this is how it gets more engagement thus generating more money. Without the psychologically manipulative algorithm(s) used, it is often easy to find FOSS [1] alternatives and client side proxies. There are programs (some are websites, some apps) that allow you to watch YouTube videos and save them in playlists all without the evil YouTube algorithm reccomending [2] videos

The purpose of the algorithm is to curate (I loathe that word since AI uses it a lot) posts, to tailor your experience on the program to keep you there longer and thus engage in more ads so the program can generate more money.

When escaping the realm of default technology [3], one of the first reccomendations I would give is to use a program for RSS feeds. Perhaps, RSS feeds are like nicotine patches -- a helpful transitionary tool, an ilo pi tenpo lili. They are wonderful in that they get you the content from site A without having to go through path Y. There is no algorithm and no reccomendation list [2].

There are downsides, however. Not every site has an RSS feed available. Most newer websites do not keep them public. Not every piece of media is good for an RSS feed, they are better for text pages. To help with this, I would reccomend to use more than one RSS feed program. For example, a program like Pipeline is good for videos (from YouTube), a program like Newpipe or any of its forks/offshoots like Pipepipe are good for music like Bandcamp or Soundcloud, a typical RSS reader for text based posts/sites/blogs, etc.

While this is good since it gets you away from the algorithm(s) and you no longer contribute to the fisistemaro, you are still subject (object, victim) to 

(1) the psychological manipulation of the content. For example, the gimmicks content creators do in order to 'go viral' and 'hit' the algorithm. 

(2) the addictive engineering of devices. While you may not spend 2 hours on YouTube, you may spend 2 hours of a different platform instead. 

Notes

[1] FOSS (free and open source) alternatives, proxy clients, internet itself, such as using darknets like Freenet or i2p

[2] The term reccomend is a euphemism. It presents a pair of choices, it guides you on what to choose instead of letting you choose for yourself. For more information, look into the illusion of choice and choice architecture.

[3] That which is mainstream.

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