Subscribe link opens raw RSS XML instead of user-friendly feed options

[attu0]

Problem

On https://planet.ros.org/, clicking the Subscribe link opens the raw RSS feed directly:

https://planet.ros.org/rss20.xml

This displays unstyled XML in the browser, which can be confusing—especially for new users who may not be familiar with RSS feeds.

Current Behavior

• Clicking Subscribe redirects to rss20.xml
• Browser shows raw XML content with a message like:

  "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it"

Expected / Suggested Behavior

One of the following would improve usability:

• Redirect Subscribe to a small help page explaining:
  • What RSS is
  • How to subscribe using common feed readers
• OR provide multiple subscription options:
  • RSS feed
  • Email newsletter (if available)
• OR add basic XSL styling to the RSS feed for readability

Why this matters

Planet ROS is often visited by newcomers to ROS. Showing raw XML without explanation can be unintuitive and may discourage users from subscribing.

Environment

• Website: https://planet.ros.org/
• Feed URL: https://planet.ros.org/rss20.xml
• Browser: Any modern browser (Chrome/Firefox)

Happy to help with documentation or a PR if guidance is provided.

[tfoote]

The homepage is a styled version of the feed. I don't think that we should spend much effort styling the feed more.

We could probably update the template to specifically say "Subscribe to RSS" . That's in the template if you'd like to contribute a PR to do that.

How to use an RSS reqader is out of scope for this site. You could add a few lines or pointers in the "Instructions" template too with a helpful pointer to someone elses documentation.