IMPORTANT: We Now Have Multiple RSS Feeds! (Patreon)

Update: We hear your feedback on having the option of retaining a 'unified' RSS feed, and we've passed it along to Patreon for their consideration. We will keep you updated.

To give some (perhaps useful) background on our RSS reform efforts:

Outside of people hating this show or that opinion or whatever, by far the most common complaint we've received on Patreon since we launched Last Stand in 2017 is that our universal RSS feed was too cluttered and chaotic, feeding people content they didn't necessarily want without any recourse. Indeed, the moment we launched our second podcast (KnockBack, which came after Fireside Chats), these complaints began in earnest. So we're talking about something that predates even Sacred Symbols itself. I will be dead-honest and say that I don't think I've ever seen someone say something positive about the clusterfuck of an RSS feed we currently have. Legit, not one time. So some of your affection for it is authentically surprising, as it's not something we had ever heard. I hope this alone helps explain why we wanted to make this move. We literally didn't think anyone liked it. That's our mistake, one borne out of a lack of meaningful data and input.

Over the years, it's our earnest prediction that we've shed at minimum hundreds of paying customers because of the current RSS feed. We've garnered this information anecdotally from two sources: The exit surveys people can optionally fill out when they cancel their subscription, and from other forms of correspondence that we either receive privately (like DMs) or in the public comments of our shows. For the latter example, it's not unusual for some of these comments to be 'upvoted' considerably; for exit surveys in particular, the feedback was especially unambiguous. You wouldn't see this feedback everyday, but it was consistent. It's always lingering. Solving this therefore felt like a reasonable -- and maybe even essential -- pursuit, because it was always low-level background radiation when taking feedback onboard. In a media world where we can't control very much outside of the big guns of Quality and Consistency, this seemed like something we could control, and even ameliorate. So we tried.

There are two other reasons why we thought (and frankly still think) splitting things up is the right solution. The first is that we're not just podcasters, but podcast consumers. And while I won't speak for everyone else, I loathe that Joe Rogan's MMA podcast is in the core JRE feed. It doesn't even make any sense. And when the Sunday Shows populate their feeds with random interviews and specials, it throws me off. In other words: I could (and can) actually relate to the feedback we were receiving, and was annoyed that we were being wedged into an inelegant solution. Unlike some (or perhaps a lot) of the feedback we receive, I totally got what people were saying, and endeavored to make it a priority to evangelize for it.

The second reason why we wanted to take this path is because the data clearly and vividly indicates that only a small minority of our audience listens to or watches everything we do. So why automatically serve them a set of shows they are unlikely to be consuming? Your average LSM consumer is a Sacred Symbols fan, and then segments off from there. Many actually stop there; others check out more, and even much more. Likewise, some people aren't here for Sacred Symbols, but for Defining Duke, or Summon Sign, or whatever. If I could again nebulously assign our shows letters -- A, B, C, D, E, F, and whatever -- the idea was that you could assemble those letters however you wanted: ABE, ACEF, AB, or just A. Whatever. What data we did have, in other words, helped encourage us that this move would be minimally disruptive, and far more positively received, because you could completely customize your experience. We honestly didn't see the downside. (As a consumer, I still don't, though I know this is a matter of taste.)

As promised, your feedback would be sent along to Patreon, and as such, we've alerted them as to the overwhelming response we've received. However, we don't think getting scared and unwinding this decision is the right move, because the reality is that this level of customization simply makes sense, and because we really have gotten a lot of feedback about this cumbersome and unwieldy default setup. That said, what also makes sense is to give you guys an option, what I've pitched to Patreon as a so-called "Global RSS Feed" that would incorporate everything that we publish. While I'm far from being a technical person, I find it hard to imagine it would be a difficult thing for Patreon's talented engineers to add to this new setup, so that you can pick and choose, or opt-in to all of it. But it's that term -- opt-in -- that's important. I simply don't want to hit people with a shotgun when they're looking for a grazing shot from a .38.

I will keep you updated as I hear more from Patreon. In the meantime, we appreciate your support and patience as we go through this alpha test period, allow Patreon to gather more data and feedback, and make their adjustments. I think what we'll ultimately get is a stronger product that's imbued with even more choice, but we'll need more time -- and your buy-in! -- to get there.

I'm sorry we let some of you down. That wasn't our intention; quite the opposite. If I thought this would court any controversy at all, nonetheless a somewhat considerable amount of it, I wouldn't have expended so much time and effort over the years championing this move. Believe me!

Anyway, more soon.

Our original letter is below. -Colin

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Hello, and good day to you.

I come bearing great news: After literally years of begging Patreon, we are finally getting multiple RSS feed functionality, a huge win for audio listeners. If you’re one of the thousands of LSM Patreon subscribers that uses RSS to ingest our content, it’s vital that you read and understand the following, so that you experience no disruptions to your regular podcast-enjoying experience. If you don’t use RSS, on the other hand, you’re free to go on your merry way, as your experience won’t change at all.

As you’re already aware if you use RSS here on Patreon, a unified feed was the only option. This meant that a Last Stand Media-branded feed would send all of our podcasts to your app-of-choice, even if you didn’t want to listen to Show X or Y, and only A and B. This will no longer be the case: Shows X, Y, A, B, and whatever other arbitrary letter found on an SNES controller can now be subscribed to and accessed via RSS as individual products. This is a huge win, but it’s also going to take just a little work on your part.

(Before we get any further, it’s worth noting that multiple RSS feed functionality on Patreon is in a test alpha, which we’ve been invited to along with a half-dozen-ish other creators. So this isn’t available elsewhere yet, and because it’s being tested, you may experience some technical issues. However, we don’t expect that to be the case. Just a fair warning, though. Should you have any trouble, please let us know so we can pass word along to Patreon.)

So, here’s how it’s gonna go:

The unified RSS feed that currently exists will now be the feed for Sacred Symbols only, and thus will update once a week. While we had the option to squash the existing feed completely and start fresh, we figured keeping it and rebranding it would be the best way to keep people engaged with our flagship show while causing minimum disruption. So if that’s what you’re primarily here for, you’ll still get Sacred sent to you, but without any of the other shows affixed.

To access the RSS feeds for Sacred Symbols+, Defining Duke, Summon Sign, Punching Up, and Constellation, you will need to subscribe to the new RSS feeds for those various shows. Naturally, this means that you can grab whatever permutation of shows from our network makes sense for you. If you want Sacred Symbols and Sacred Symbols+ only, do that. If you want all of the console shows only, do that. You get the idea. It’s entirely up to you to customize your experience, which is awesome.

New RSS links can be found exactly where the old one was. Whether on the app or on the web, merely go to your Membership page and grab your custom RSS links at your leisure. Keep in mind that all RSS links remain customized by user and support tier.

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EDIT: Here are some help links in case you have trouble finding and deploying your RSS links:

https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041347732-How-to-use-your-audio-RSS

https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212055866-Troubleshoot-your-audio-RSS-feed

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That’s pretty much it. Dustin is taking care of everything else, and we’re hoping things go swimmingly for all of you out there.

Our long national nightmare is over! May multiple RSS feeds reign!

With love, -Colin