Yesterday I wondered aloud why RSS readers look like email clients.

@brentsimmons replied. Turns out he borrowed that layout for NetNewsWire in 2002 — and twenty years later, he's asking why no one's tried something different.

That conversation became an essay. I built a visual version (with an ASCII fallback).

https://www.terrygodier.com/phantom-obligation

#rss

Phantom Obligation

Why RSS readers look like email clients, and what that's doing to us.

Terry Godier
@tg absolutely fantastic post - amazing to read and to learn. Thank you for putting this together!
@jake4480 thank you for reading!
@tg fedi is wild, that you found Brent and got that history. Unreal haha
@jake4480 100% unexpected
@tg I've had some really wild, magical shit happen here. Love it. 😂