Thread

My client and I are ready to throw rotten fruit in frustration over Feedburner. I can’t tell if this is a Feedburner thing or if it’s something to do with the source feed in EE missing something that Feedburner needs, but I’ve NEVER had this big of an issue and we’re at our wit’s end. Hopefully, someone has some insight?  Here’s the skinny:

We have a feed here, her source feed and it works just dandy. It updates as it should. But it takes *forever* to update in Feedburner and/or never updates unless we ping it manually. Here is her Feedburner feed.

I can’t fathom why it won’t update. I see people complain about Feedburner during Google searches, but can’t seem to find much specifically about EE and Feedburner playing nicely.

Any ideas what the deal is here? She’s got quite a large following and over 6k subscribers and there’s concern about drops, so if anyone has any ideas what the problem is here, I’d welcome your input.

Thanks!
Joelle

Here is the source code for her feed:

{exp:rss:feed channel="blog"}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="{encoding}"?>
<feed xml:lang="{channel_language}">

    <title type="text">{exp:xml_encode}{site_name}{/exp:xml_encode}</title>
    <subtitle type="text">{exp:xml_encode}{channel_description}{/exp:xml_encode}</subtitle>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="{channel_url}" />
    <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="{path={atom_feed_location}}" />
    <updated>{gmt_edit_date format='%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i:%sZ'}</updated>
    <rights>Copyright (c) {gmt_date format="%Y"}, {author}</rights>
    <generator uri="http://expressionengine.com/" version="{version}">ExpressionEngine</generator>
    <id>tag:{trimmed_url},{gmt_date format="%Y:%m:%d"}</id>

{exp:channel:entries channel="blog|podcast|events" sort="desc" limit="15" rdf="off" status="open|featured" dynamic_start="on" disable="member_data|trackbacks"}
    <entry>
      <title>{exp:xml_encode}{title}{/exp:xml_encode}</title>
      <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="{url_title_path=blog}" />
      <id>tag:{trimmed_url},{gmt_entry_date format="%Y"}:{relative_url}/{channel_id}.{entry_id}</id>
      {gmt_entry_date format="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i:%sZ"}</published>
      <updated>{gmt_edit_date format='%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i:%sZ'}</updated>
<author>
            <name>{author}</name>
            <email>{email}</email>
            {if url}<uri>{url}</uri>{/if}
      </author>
{categories}
      <category term="{exp:xml_encode}{category_name}{/exp:xml_encode}"
        scheme="{path=blog}"
        label="{exp:xml_encode}{category_name}{/exp:xml_encode}" >{/categories}
      <content type="html"><![CDATA[{if event_details}{event_details}{/if}{if episode_body}{episode_body}{if episode_extended}{episode_extended}{/if}{if:else}{episode_description}{/if}
  {if book_title}
   
   <b>Grade:</b> {grade}

   <b>Title:</b> {book_title}

   <b>Author:</b> {book_author}

   <b>Publication Info:</b>  {publisher} {publication_date}

   <b>ISBN:</b> {ISBN}

   <b>Genre:</b> {subgenre}
   
  {/if}

{body}{extended}{if google_calendar_button}{google_calendar_button}{/if}]]></content>
    </entry>
{/exp:channel:entries}

</feed>

{/exp:rss:feed}

Hey folks. As the client, I wanted to add a few things, though Joelle speaks EE more fluently than I do!

The Feedburner feed will only update if I force it to resync. Hence it’s up to date at the moment because I just kicked it.

Feedburner is also not talking to iTunes, which adds another layer of WTF. iTunes is like a passive aggressive romance heroine: “You did something wrong and I’m not speaking to you but I’m not telling you what it is that you did.”

I’m hoping that fixing the Feedburner/EE issue (if there is one) with my regular RSS feed for the blog will give me a clue what to try next to fix the iTunes feed, which is also run via Feedburner.

Hi Joelle and Sarah,

Sorry to hear about the frustration here! In my limited experience with FeedBurner, I can attest to how finicky it can be. It really wants a very well-formed feed. Have you tried validating your feed? It looks like there are some things that could be tweaked there. Similarly, FeedBurner has a “Troubleshootize” menu. Have you looked into any suggestions it might offer? Does FeedBurner offer any kind of feedback about why it’s not updating?

Hey Kevin!

I have indeed tried the “troubleshootize” tab, both to resync the feed when the other suggestions have proven unhelpful. What’s bizarre is that this is the same feed as before my recent redesign, and it worked before. NO idea why it’s not working now, and the responses from Feedburner’s troubleshooting process aren’t very explanatory.

At least it’s better than iTunes, which just doesn’t tell me anything!

Hello Kevin!

The feed code was valid with what I’m displaying above, but we decided to try another format, which is also valid: http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=smartbitchestrashybooks.com/blog/feed_blog/&profile=css21&usermedium=all&warning=1&vextwarning;=&lang=en

{exp:rss:feed channel="blog"}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="{encoding}"?>
<rss version="2.0"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
xmlns:admin="http://webns.net/mvcb/"
xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">

<channel>
    
<title>{exp:xml_encode}{site_name}{/exp:xml_encode}</title>
<link>{site_url}</link>
<description>{channel_description}</description>
<dc:language>{channel_language}</dc:language>
<dc:creator>{email}</dc:creator>
<dc:rights>Copyright {gmt_date format="%Y"}</dc:rights>
<dc:date>{gmt_date format="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i:%Q"}</dc:date>
<admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://expressionengine.com/" >
    
{exp:channel:entries weblog="blog|events|podcast" status="open|featured" limit="10" rdf="off" dynamic_start="on" disable="member_data|trackbacks"}
<item>
<title>{exp:xml_encode}{title}{/exp:xml_encode}</title>
<link>{title_permalink=blog}</link>
<guid>{title_permalink=blog}</guid>
<description>
<![CDATA[
{if event_details}{event_details}{/if}
{if episode_body}{episode_body}{if episode_extended}{episode_extended}{/if}{if:else}{episode_description}{/if}
{if book_title}
 <b>Grade:</b> {grade}

 <b>Title:</b> {book_title}

 <b>Author:</b> {book_author}

 <b>Publication Info:</b>  {publisher} {publication_date}

 <b>ISBN:</b> {ISBN}

 <b>Genre:</b> {subgenre}
{/if}

{body}{extended}
{if google_calendar_button}{google_calendar_button}{/if}

Categories: {categories backspace="2"}<a href="http://{site_url}/blog/category/{category_url_title}/">{category_name}</a>, {/categories}
<hr >
]]>
</description>
<dc:date>{gmt_entry_date format="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%i%Q"}</dc:date>
</item>
{/exp:channel:entries}
    
</channel>
</rss>

{/exp:rss:feed}

And it still doesn’t update unless you manually ping it. Nothing we do seems to force it to update at 30min intervals, which is how often Feedburner checks for updates.

The source feed itself displays beautifully and updates as it should. I’ve Googled quite a bit and can’t seem to find anyone else with this *particular* issue, though have seen people complain in general about Feedburner.

We’re banging our heads against the wall.

I think I may have found a potential cause in Troubleshootize, though I’m not sure how to determine the size of one’s feed.

The trouble: Your Original Feed is too doggone big! FeedBurner does not process feeds that are larger than 512K. Remember, your feed is an update on your content — not an archive for it — and you should use your publishing tools’ controls to make sure your feed doesn’t grow like kudzu possessed.

Another potential culprit: the original source feed validates beautifully, but the feedburner feed validation says otherwise: http://feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/smartbitchestrashybooks/wRgd

Ok, latest info:  I just made some adjustments to the source feed per the invalidity reported in the Feedburner feed itself. I tried to manually ping using this link: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/ping  but it did not update instantly, as described (and as usual).

So, I forced the update within Feedburner, which will likely push a bunch of duplicates out to the feedreaders, but that’s tricks, kids. NOW the Feedburner feed also validates, in addition to the source feed: http://feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/smartbitchestrashybooks/wRgd

SO… now I guess we just need to post something again and wait to see if Feedburner updates.

I know this isn’t a direct answer, but I’m dealing with the same issue with another client, and have been unable to find a resolution.  Feedburner hasn’t been updated by Google in more than a year, and I’m actively looking for alternatives.

TTFN
Travis

Hey Travis!

Thanks for sharing that—it makes us feel less crazy. haha! 😊

Joelle,

Travis’s comment brings up a good point: if you take Feedburner out of the equation, does everything behave as expected?

Yes, all the feeds update as they should. We’ve tried 3 different templates now, both atom and RSS and they all work according to plan. All update. It’s just not picking up in Feedburner, for whatever reason.

Well… I hate to say it, but that might mean that Feedburner’s just not a viable option then. And while I don’t want to trash them on a public forum, the Feedburner brand does seem to be one that Google’s not really keeping up anymore.

I’ve heard Feedblitz is good—it’s a pay service, but maybe that’s good. At least when you pay for something, there’s usually a reasonable amount of support.

Thanks, Kevin. 😊

Hi Joelle,

Personally I have had mini battles with FeedBurner over years and have since dropped it.
My alternative was just to to provide the standard feed though so I don’t have any alternatives for you in that respect.

Is PingShot still a feature/service of FeedBurner?