RSS news feed
Get the news from http://lists.community.net.nz/cna/wp-rss2.php
CommunityNet Aotearoa has a news feed for Links, Panui and items in the Community Centre. A news feed combines the best of email and the best of web pages, but leaves behind the worst aspects of both. You get the speed and automatic delivery of email, without any of the hassle of spam or worries about items clogging up your email box.
Scan headings
Your news reader software will bring you only the new articles, saving you from opening up your web browser, loading and reading half a dozen web pages, just to see if anything's been changed. It will probably also be able to show you the list of item headings, leaving you to choose whether or not to read the full text, just the same way email does.
Here's the address you need: lists.community.net.nz/cna/wp-rss2.php and here's what you do with it. If you just go to that address with an older web browser though all you'll see is gobbledegook like this.
How to use the feed address
Now you need some software (there's plenty of free software) which knows how to work with an RSS Feed.
Safari 2 web browser
If you're a Mac user and have Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) then you'll also be using Safari 2 as your web browser. You can just click on lists.community.net.nz/cna/wp-rss2.php and Safari will know what to do.
Firefox and Opera web browsers
If you use Firefox or Opera (Mac or Windows) then you can easily subscribe to news feeds.
Firefox users can install Feedview. Once you've restarted Firefox it will now show the news feed as a web page.
In Opera you can just enter the feed address lists.community.net.nz/cna/wp-rss2.php and Opera will open the newsfeed in a way resembling email. It may offer a dialog box asking if you'd like to subscribe. Just answer Yes.
Internet Explorer 7
Internet explorer 7 can handle RSS feeds. Just go to the feed address and the browser will know what to do.
Free feed readers
Just as you can send and receive email through a web browser, but it's easier to use specialised email software, you are better to read newsfeeds with specialised software. There are plenty of free and low cost feed readers around.
Those using Mac with OS X may choose the excellent newsreader called NetNewsWire. Those with Windows might choose FeedDemon.
First connect to the Internet. Your newsreader software will have a button or a menu item for "subscribe" or "add channel". Choose that and enter the RSS address: lists.community.net.nz/cna/wp-rss2.php.
Once you've added the RSS address the newsreader software will bring up a list of recent headlines for that website. Skim these and if you see something interesting then try clicking on the headline and pressing Enter or Return. (You might need to check the manual.) This should open your web browser and take you to the page with the full item. Panui #22 has a few screenshots and some further information.
More information
See also: