Duplicate Feeds

Duplicate feeds (i.e., multiple feeds pointing to the same URL) get created. This is A Sad Time. We like it better when they don't exist. This is an example support request. It is not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

To purge them, what needs to happen is:

• go to View Popular Feeds (get there via Read-->Feeds, or via visiting example_feed.dreamwidth.org and clicking "View Popular Feeds" in your top bar.
• run through them. All ten pages. You will need to do this at least twice: once to get a feel for what's there, and once to catch the duplicates. How I did this: on first run-through, on spotting something I could've sworn I'd already seen, I made a note of it - and then picked up duplicate URLs on subsequent passes.
• eventually you will have a document of some description including SITE NAME, and AT LEAST TWO URLs. Rah will like you better if you link to profiles, rather than the journal view.
• OPTIONAL: if you are feeling extremely enthusiastic, run through and double-check that apparent duplicates are actually duplicates: e.g. both Penny Arcade and Irregular Comic have two feeds: in each cases, one contains the strips and one contains links to the strips.
• it's now time to submit a support request. Use the Category "General/Unknown"; the Summary "Duplicate feeds" (or anything else that tickles your fancy while being clear"; and then fill in the Question or problem. There are two ways to do this: (1) copy-paste in the text-only list of site names & URLs you have generated. (2) Actually provide the script so the support worker who addresses the request has less work to do in making the merge happen:

  syn_merge duplicateaccountname to primaryaccountname using http://correct-url

  Obviously you then have to use your skill & judgment to determine which should be primaryaccountname and which should be duplicateaccountname; hopefully the other parameters to be replaced are clear.
• submit the support request, and bask in the glow of A Job Well Done.

Obviously if you have the relevant privs, you'll actually need to run the commands. Thankfully, this is not something with which I personally need to concern myself - and for the sake of argument I'm going to assume that if you've got the privs, you don't need this guide.