Skip to main content

RSS Help

Summary:

  1. Filter events you're interested in
  2. Click 'Subscribe to Filtered Events'
  3. Copy this URL
  4. Paste the URL into your RSS Reader.

 

⬇️ Need more info? ⬇️

 

Firstly, what is RSS?

RSS feeds act like a personalised news ticker for websites you care about. Instead of constantly checking a site for new content, an RSS feed automatically sends you updates as soon as they're published.

While it might seem a bit old-school compared to modern social media and AI interfaces, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) has been reliably delivering web updates since the late 1990s. Its strength lies in its simplicity. When a new OutdoorLads event goes live, the website's RSS feed is updated, and your RSS reader can instantly alert you. This direct, no-frills approach makes it robust and dependable, ensuring our members get timely alerts without relying on complex algorithms or changing platform rules.

 

How do I use RSS Feeds?

  1. Download an RSS Reader. Here's some we know about, but you can use any:

    iOS: Feedly 
    Android: Feedly | Feeder

    We're just focusing on mobile notifications here for now, but desktop RSS readers are also available.

  2. On OutdoorLads.com, figure out what you would like to receive notifications for, and set the filters on 'Our Events'. For example:

    Indoor Climbing & Bouldering in London: Under EVENT TYPE, select 'indoor climbing' and 'indoor bouldering', and under LOCATION, enter 'London' (select 'London, UK' from the drop down), with distance '10 miles'.

    Walks near me: Under EVENT TYPE, select all the types of walking you're interested in. Under LOCATION, enter and select your postcode, and select the distance you're willing to travel.

    Note that the wider the filter (i.e. if it's going to have lots of events on it), step 4 may take a long time to load.

  3. Apply the filters you have selected.
  4. Select the red 'subscribe to filtered events' button. Don't panic if you see a page of gibberish! You just want the URL from your browser - select and copy it.
  5. Now head to your RSS reader app. Find the option to subscribe to a new feed, and paste the URL into the search bar. Depending on the reader, you'll either be done, or just select a few options, give your feed a title, and then you're done!

Ensure that push notifications are enabled on your RSS reader app, and you'll begin to get notifications of new events as they're published!

Easy as 1, 2, 3! ...4, 5.

RSS is very simple, tried and tested technology with very little to go wrong behind the scenes. It was also easy and cheap for our developers to implement on OutdoorLads.com, and should not require ongoing support, representing excellent value for money. 

We previously used Telegram 'notification channels'. However, we were reliant on a single app, and the system required lots of ongoing volunteer support to keep the system active. The channels on Telegram were not customisable to an individual member's preferences, whereas RSS feeds can be customised as far as the event filters on OutdoorLads.com permit.