What IS RSS?
RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication.
What can RSS do for me?
An RSS Reader will tell you every time content on a site you're interested in —in this case, the EFA site— is updated. Not only will it tell you, but it will also give you a clickable link to the page or pages you're interested in that has (or have) been updated since you last saw it or them. RSS makes life easier for you. You don't have to go looking for things you want to know about. They come to you.
What RSS does EFA offer?
EFA offers a single RSS feed that includes update notices for its affiliation groups, chapters, education, events, insurance benefits, publications, and more. To opt in to this feature, simply click on the RSS button anywhere across the EFA site. Take the URL —right now there's only one, http://www.the-efa.org/rss/100.xml— and give it to your RSS Reader.
In time, EFA may offer separate RSS feeds for various areas of the site. You'll be made aware of that as it happens.
How do I recognize RSS?
Most frequently, RSS-enabled websites indicate their feeds with a button similar to the one on this site. If a site is particularly large or complex, it will offer a variety of feeds, and may have a page, like this one, that lists those available. Each feed has its own URL.
How do I use RSS?
First, you need a small software program called an RSS Reader. Thousands are available, thousands are free. You need to download one and install it. Many e-mail programs have an integrated RSS reader. Then, when you're at a website you want to keep track of, see if it offers RSS. If it does, follow the RSS link. It will display a page of coding that doesn't look like a web page and in fact isn't one. You don't care about that. You care about the URL. It's what you want. You need to copy and paste into your RSS Reader.
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