Feed Proxy

Troubleshooting

• I'm getting Bad User errors.
• I'm getting Invalid Key errors.
• I'm getting Invalid Source errors.
• I'm getting Bad Source errors.
• I'm getting another kind of error, or Google Reader is telling me that the feed is invalid

Features

• Can I have multiple accounts of the same type (e.g. two LiveJournal accounts)?
• If I delete the source from my sources list, will the feeds I already subscribed to continue to work?
• I have a great idea for a feature!

Technical/Security

• How does Feed Proxy work?
• Is it safe to share my username and password with you?
• What happens if I use Google Reader's "share" feature on a feed from Feed Proxy?

Troubleshooting

I'm getting Bad User errors.

This error means that the feed URL you're using contains a username that is not recognised by Feed Proxy. It usually means either:

• You have made a mistake when copy-pasting or retyping the feed URL, and mis-spelled your username. Copy more carefully, or just use the "Add to Google" or "Export OPML" features to help ensure that you are not inadvertently causing an error.
• You have closed your Feed Proxy account.

I'm getting Invalid Key errors.

This error means that the secret key at the end of the feed URL you're using does not match the one we have stored on our records for that feed. The secret key helps to protect the URL by making it harder to guess.

The most likely explanation is that you have made a mistake when copy-pasting or retyping the feed URL, and mis-spelled some part of it. Copy more carefully, or just use the "Add to Google" or "Export OPML" features to help ensure that you are not inadvertently causing an error.

I'm getting Invalid Source errors.

This error happens when the source you're trying to use (e.g. LiveJournal) is one which is not configured correctly in your account. It usually means that you've changed your source password but you haven't told Feed Proxy what your new password is yet, but it can also mean that you've deleted the source from your list of sources in Feed Proxy (see also Do feeds continue to work if I delete the source from my sources list?).

I'm getting Bad Source errors.

This error happens when the source you're trying to use (e.g. LiveJournal) is one which is not configured correctly in your account. It usually means that you've changed your source password but you haven't told Feed Proxy what your new password is yet, but it can also mean that you've deleted the source from your list of sources in Feed Proxy (see also Do feeds continue to work if I delete the source from my sources list?).

I'm getting another kind of error, or Google Reader is telling me that the feed is invalid

We're currently investigating a problem related to LiveJournal/Dreamwidth passwords which contain special punctuation characters, such as colons, semicolons, question marks, exclamation marks, and slashes. If this applies to you, please consider changing your LiveJournal/Dreamwidth password (and then telling Feed Proxy your new password, of course). We'll be looking into a better solution to this problem as soon as possible.

Features

Can I have multiple accounts of the same type (e.g. two LiveJournal accounts)?

Not at the moment, however, this feature will probably be added at a later date. As a workaround, though, you could create two Feed Proxy accounts, and put one of your accounts into each.

Do feeds continue to work if I delete the source from my sources list?

No. When you delete a source, we delete the saved password associated with it, so we're no longer able to pick up friends-only posts on your behalf.

I have a great idea for a feature!

Great! Get in touch and let me know what it is! I can't promise to implement it, because I'm very busy, but I'll certainly consider it.

Technical/Security

How does Feed Proxy work?

1. You create a feed proxy account and give us the username and password to one or more of your "source" account (e.g. LiveJournal)
2. We give you a special secret RSS feed for each of your friends' journals. You put this RSS feed into your favourite RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader)
3. Whenever Google Reader goes to that web address to pick up the latest posts, we log in to your source for you, using your username and password, and pick up a feed of the latest happenings in your friends' journals, including their friends-only posts. We pass this back on to Google to show to you.

Is it safe to share my username and password with you?

That's up to you to decide. I can promise that I won't do anything nasty, and I hope that my word is worth something. And I've got a long history in computer security, so you can rest assured that I won't be letting any Tom, Dick or Harry have access to the database in which your passwords are stored, but seriously: it's up to you.

What happens if I use Google Reader's "share" feature on a feed from Feed Proxy?

Don't! If you use Google's new "share" features to share a post picked up from Feed Proxy, even if it's not a friends-only post, it could allow whoever it's shared with to read restricted posts by the author of the original post in future, even if they shouldn't be able to.

This is not a fault with Feed Proxy; it's a problem with RSS feeds. There is no standard in RSS feeds by which you can mark entries as being somehow restricted and not suitable for sharing, and so Google allows anything to be shared.

Just to reiterate: if you use Google's sharing and collaboration features to "share" the feeds you subscribe to using Feed Reader, it basically allows anybody that you ever share with to read that feed in the same way that you do (friends-only posts and all). In some circumstances, this could be like taking your friends' private diary and publishing it online without their permission: be aware!