Duplicate Feeds

When duplicate feeds (i.e., multiple feeds pointing to the same URL) get created This is A Sad Time. It often happens as a result of New Feed Name or New Feed Source. We like it better when they don't exist.

When two feeds are merged, the main account ("preferred_account") will behave as normal, and additionally pick up the subscribers to the duplicate.

The duplicate account ("duplicate_account") will have its subscribers transferred to the main account, and have all visitors to its link redirected to the main account.

There is currently a bug relating to the interaction of merged feed accounts and filters.

For Volunteers with Feed Privs

Find & Merge

If you have the syn_edit priv load the Duplicate tool and click on any of the duplicates found there. Before merging anything check feed sources to make sure they match and make sure there isn't a more recent accurate source from the original website. Then pick the feed whose name makes the more sense to you or which has more subscribers (make sure to check the list on the feed account profile as the number may differ from what the duplicate tool says) and the source URL and click on Merge.

If you need to edit the URL go to the Admin console instead and enter the following:

syn_merge duplicate_account to preferred_account using http://new-url

Report

Submit a support request in the 'Feeds' category with 'Duplicate feeds'. Paste all the syn_merge commands you've used then close the request when you're done.

For Volunteers without Feed Privs

Find

• 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.

Report

If you've spotted duplicate feeds, submit a support request in the 'Feeds' category with '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.

Legacy

In the far-distant past before the merge tool was updated to deal with the WTF split, dead/duplicate feeds were suspended so they wouldn't keep bothering anything. This is not current practice, but if anyone asks about a suspended feed, this is a strong possibility.