Last July when Google discontinued their RSS aggregator, Google Reader, the message was clear: RSS is dead.

Except, of course, for the fervent throng who insist that RSS is alive and well. And better than ever. And making a comeback, dangitall!

Just search for “Is RSS dead” and you will find an ongoing debate. For every good rationale in favor of the obsolescence of RSS, there’s a detractor insisting that RSS is Where It’s At.

But if it is dead, do you really need the feed?

And won’t removing your RSS feed stop scrapers?

Let’s drill down a bit, shall we?

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