Syndicating RSS for a worldwide audience - directionality in RSS

Hi all,

I work for the BBC WorldService as a developer and one of my roles
includes generating RSS for 41 different languages. However there is 2
main problems causing me and the WorldService a headache.

1. Language description in RSS
2. Language directionality in RSS

We feel our solution [1] of using Dublin core language and xml:lang in
RSS 1.0 (RDF) is a good solution to number 1 but we are having
troubles with number 2.

Directionality seems to be left to the Unicode directionality features
in all the RSS/ATOM specs. This makes sense if we all using Unicode
and support Unicode but some RSS clients like the ones on mobile
phones do not support these directionality features. Plus we do not
currently publish all our languages in Unicode due to readability and
other issues
So we have the choice of either,
1. Using HTML code inside title and description which is what 99% of
Right to Left (RTL) RSS feeds do which want to retain the
directionality. Which can break some RSS clients as it invalidates the
RSS feed.
2. Use some obscure attribute which we hope RSS client developers will
pick up on and use. This is what we currently hope for with
introducing xml:lang too.
3. A combination of both the previous

I recently presentated the issues with RSS and Languages at XTECH 2005
[2] and my presentation is available online [3] for those interested
in reading much more [4]. But the general view from the mixed audience
of developers, w3c members, standard bodies, etc, was we should do
something and promote the use of that method till we could get a
change in a RSS/ATOM standard. Which always leads to the question of,
is the direction attribute presentation or structure?

So anyhow within the next month or so, we are going to do either one
of the 3 options. I'm welcoming all comments, queries and objections
to anything I have said or plan to do. I'm very interested in what the
mix audience on RSS Dev have to say about this issue and of the
previous one about language description and language adoption in
general.

Thank you,

Ian Forrester - Cubicgarden.com


[1] - http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/index.xml

<item
rdf:about="http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/wsy/pub/rss/1.0
/-/caribbean/news/story/2005/06/050623_whalingimplications.shtml">
    <title xml:lang="en">Questions over region's whaling</title>

   
<link>http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/wsy/pub/rss/1.0/-/ca
ribbean/news/story/2005/06/050623_whalingimplications.shtml</link>
    <description xml:lang="en">Caribbean countries ponder whether the
resumption of whaling in the region could affect t
ourism.</description>
    <dc:date>2005-06-24T13:45:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <dc:format>text/plain</dc:format>
    <dc:language>en</dc:language>
    <dc:publisher>worldservice.com/caribbean</dc:publisher>

    <dc:creator>http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/
caribbean/</dc:creator>
    <dc:type>Story, News</dc:type>
    <dc:relation>http://www.iwcoffice.org : IWC</dc:relation>
 </item>

[2] - http://www.xtech-conference.org/
[3] -
http://idealliance.org/proceedings/xtech05/slides/
forrester/RSS%20Syndication%20For%20A%20Worldwide%
20Audience%20final.sxi
[4] -
http://www.cubicgarden.com/blojsom/blog/cubicgarde
n/socialsoftware/offline/2005/05/26/RSS_Syndicatio
n_talk_for_XTECH_2005_how_did_it_go.html?page=comments






 
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