“You should only see an RSS item once.”

Scripting News: 7/28/2005:

Russell Beattie gets aggregators. “You should only see an RSS item once.” Bingo. Every would-be aggregator designer should tatoo that on their forehead in reverse so they see it in the mirror when they’re brushing their teeth or shaving or whatever. Memorize it. If your user sees an RSS item more than once, your aggregator is broken. Permanent link to this item in the archive.

Now, the problem is, that while Yahoo’s interface is pretty good, and lots better than most of the rest, it still shows you old items before new ones. Any of the competitors could leapfrog Yahoo. Want to give it a try? I can be hired as a consultant. Seriously. Let’s get going on this.

Agreed. That’s why I love Bloglines. Such a simple thing. One click, one scroll, and I’m done.

Other than that, there is a lot the My AOL aggregator gets right. Check it out.