Today's threads (a thread)
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@pluralistic some RSS readers, like FreshRSS I'm using, also support feeds from parsed HTML with content selected by XPath (or other means). This way I can have feeds for websites that don't publish RSS.
@mpaluchowski @pluralistic : this approach is automatized and crowdsourced to extract the real content from enhshitified webpages.
ftr-site-config is a communautary project to create xpath rules for websites (more than 2000 websites supported currently)
unmerdify is a python library using those rules to parse a webpage.
#Offpunk is a command-line browser using unmerdify by default when available to read a website.
Say goodbye to the enshitified Web!
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
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Open source RSS readers I highly recommend are 'NetNewsWire' on iOS and MacOS (my favourite so far) and 'Capy Reader' or 'Read You' on Android.
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Open source RSS readers I highly recommend are 'NetNewsWire' on iOS and MacOS (my favourite so far) and 'Capy Reader' or 'Read You' on Android.
@RaffKarva @pluralistic How about a decent Linux reader? Any thoughts?
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
1/
@pluralistic RSS are also avaliable at Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/vivaldibrowser.rss and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCHkYOD-3fZbuGhwsADBd9ZQ

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@mpaluchowski @pluralistic : this approach is automatized and crowdsourced to extract the real content from enhshitified webpages.
ftr-site-config is a communautary project to create xpath rules for websites (more than 2000 websites supported currently)
unmerdify is a python library using those rules to parse a webpage.
#Offpunk is a command-line browser using unmerdify by default when available to read a website.
Say goodbye to the enshitified Web!
@ploum @mpaluchowski @pluralistic
Though it's striking that the blog post here mentions phone calls saving time, when IME phone calls are increasingly staffed by chatbots that take several minutes of effort to shove aside to get to a human... -
@pluralistic These are great recommendations, and I can't wait to try them!
It's interesting how, as web search fails, word of mouth has been taking its place. In that spirit, I'd like to add that I use uBlock Origin rules to block parts of specific websites that I don't like. For example, these two custom rules will banish the New York Times Opinion section:
www.nytimes.com##div.css-1w1paqe:has(section#large-opinion-label)
www.nytimes.com##li[data-testid="nav-item-Opinion"]
@strange_new_words @pluralistic Curated link collections, too.
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@strange_new_words @pluralistic Curated link collections, too.
@drwho @pluralistic Web rings!
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@RaffKarva @pluralistic How about a decent Linux reader? Any thoughts?
I have one on Mint, but can't remember its name. I'm away for the weekend and cannot check right now, but I will update here tomorrow evening or Monday morning once I'm back home.
Having said that, while it gets the job done, it's my least favourite.
A Linux fork of NetNewsWire would be ideal.
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
1/
@pluralistic I should setup Miniflux again...
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Open source RSS readers I highly recommend are 'NetNewsWire' on iOS and MacOS (my favourite so far) and 'Capy Reader' or 'Read You' on Android.
@RaffKarva @pluralistic not that it's any better, but I use Feeder on Android and it's been fine
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Open source RSS readers I highly recommend are 'NetNewsWire' on iOS and MacOS (my favourite so far) and 'Capy Reader' or 'Read You' on Android.
@RaffKarva @pluralistic Capy Reader on Android is excellent and very actively developed
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
1/
@pluralistic Despite being on the web for over 25 years, I don't think I've ever used an RSS reader. You've convinced me to start, and with your blog feed of course!
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@pluralistic Despite being on the web for over 25 years, I don't think I've ever used an RSS reader. You've convinced me to start, and with your blog feed of course!
@MichaelOpal @pluralistic I would not even know how to start using RSS.
Are there any clients that don't make it feel like email, like another digital chore?
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@MichaelOpal @pluralistic I would not even know how to start using RSS.
Are there any clients that don't make it feel like email, like another digital chore?
@semitones @MichaelOpal @pluralistic I'm a big fan of @birb right here on fedi that will turn any rss feed into an account you can follow
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@MichaelOpal @pluralistic I would not even know how to start using RSS.
Are there any clients that don't make it feel like email, like another digital chore?
@semitones @MichaelOpal @pluralistic I use TheOldReader. It's simple but gets the job done.
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@pluralistic These are great recommendations, and I can't wait to try them!
It's interesting how, as web search fails, word of mouth has been taking its place. In that spirit, I'd like to add that I use uBlock Origin rules to block parts of specific websites that I don't like. For example, these two custom rules will banish the New York Times Opinion section:
www.nytimes.com##div.css-1w1paqe:has(section#large-opinion-label)
www.nytimes.com##li[data-testid="nav-item-Opinion"]
@strange_new_words @pluralistic love you for this!!!
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@strange_new_words @pluralistic love you for this!!!
@Lizette603_23 @pluralistic My pleasure.
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
1/
@pluralistic Fantastic article that resonates on every level. Newsboat (command line RSS reader) + cron scheduling has been my go-to when the news cycle gets overwhelming (such as over the past week). I wrote about it several years ago: https://noisediver.org/lifehack-using-automation-to-deal-with-compulsive-news-reading/
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Maybe a little bit 'advanced' usage: I follow some projects or more concrete their releases via rss to get a notification everytime a new version is released. Works on github not sure about codeberg.
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Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: The web is bearable with RSS; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/07/reader-mode/
1/
@pluralistic Very informative and as always tremendous depth and knowledge. I, however, am always jolted into a mild repelling with your term #enshittification which is apt for it's descriptor and wondered if 'nshtifi' might be an alternative. Thanks for the RSS knowledge, I like them but have been dredging of late so your tips are very welcome. Best, David