Does your web server log look like this?

72.5.28.205 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:27:05 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "feeds.reddit/0.1 +http://feeds.reddit.com/"
72.70.53.128 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:27:23 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 200 1775 "-" "CFNetwork/129.16"
64.78.155.100 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:27:32 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "NewsGatorOnline/2.0 (http://www.newsgator.com; 26 subscribers)"
63.238.186.10 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:27:43 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "GreatNews/1.0"
62.103.159.144 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:28:40 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.0" 200 1775 "http://www.feeds2.com/" "Snoopy v1.2.3"
202.218.147.251 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:30:05 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "Feedpath/1.0 (http://feedpath.jp; 3 subscribers)"
58.65.219.66 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:31:07 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "GreatNews/1.0"
65.214.44.29 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:31:17 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "Bloglines/3.1 (http://www.bloglines.com; 5378 subscribers)"
217.118.40.209 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:32:09 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "rawdog/2.8"
82.123.138.234 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:34:47 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "Opera/9.00 (Windows NT 5.1; U; en)"
69.28.132.178 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:37:29 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "Squeet/1.0 (http://www.squeet.com); 2 subscribers"
130.89.10.21 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:37:34 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.0" 200 1775 "-" "Wget/1.10.2"
69.41.181.67 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:39:51 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 200 1775 "-" "Pageflakes/1.0 (WinNT 5.1.2600.0; http://www.pageflakes.com; 1 subscribers )"
84.133.123.101 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:41:46 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "AppleSyndication/54"
64.78.155.100 - - [09/Aug/2006:14:42:32 -0400] "GET /rss/photos.rss HTTP/1.1" 304 - "-" "NewsGatorOnline/2.0 (http://www.newsgator.com; 26 subscribers)"

That's what mine looks like. I estimate that RSS feed requests make up around 75% of my hits. Doesn't anyone surf the web anymore?

Now don't get me wrong. I love RSS. It's a fantastic technology that immensely facilitates the task of keeping up-to-date with content from varied sources. It's a joy to just click a button and get see 100 new blog posts and news items pop into NetNewsWire. Hell, I don't even need to launch my web browser!

While this makes the practical, efficient side of me very happy, it saddens the UI and graphic design side of me. As I scroll, scan and discard my spoon-fed content, I begin to think about what I'm missing. Within the confines of my newsreader, the text is devoid of style and identity, and becomes almost anonymous. I can't even remember what some of these web sites look like. But, I've seen every post.

RSS has changed content delivery forever, for better and for worse. Content has always been king, but never before have the UI and design been so... avoidable.

My other complaint about RSS is the frequency at which the newsreaders and aggravat-- err... aggregators download my feeds. Most of them will check in every 5-15 minutes. I wish they were smart enough to realize that I'm lucky if I can update this site once a day.

What do you think of RSS?