FAQ
Why do I have to choose technology interests in my profile? Can I change it after I’ve registered? Who uses MyStudentClubs? What is RSS? Can I share my MyStudentClubs page with friends? MyStudentClubs aggregates RSS feeds, but does it offer any RSS feeds of its own? I imported a feed and categorized it. When I suggested it to a friend, we discovered that MyStudentClubs had re-categorized it from News to Blogs. How do such decisions get made? Can I re-categorize my own? I imported two different feeds from the same base URL. When they appeared they had the same name. Why? I am unable to add a feed to MyStudentClubs. I know the feed is okay; what should I do? Importing one feed at a time takes too much time. Can I import all my favorite blogs en-mass? I can provide a list. Is my information secure? How does a feed become ‘recommended’ in MyStudentClubs? Who decides what gets rated highly? What does MyStudentClubs do with the personal information I provide. Is it shared with any third party? Will I get spammed as a result of my activities on MyStudentClubs? Who owns MyStudentClubs? How do I change my password? How do I get my blog content onto MyStudentClubs? I see that I can use MyStudentClubs to help me add an event to my Outlook calendar. Will MyStudentClubs remove the scheduled event from my calendar? When I add an event to my Outlook calendar, does that mean I’m registered for that event? How do I back up all my settings and favorites in MyStudentClubs? Why do I have to choose technology interests in my profile? Can I change it after I’ve registered?
MyStudentClubs content is tailored to every user, and your profile is what defines it. For example, if you had checked the box next to C# in your profile, and today you were to uncheck that box, you would notice that articles and other resources targeting C# would be removed throughout MyStudentClubs. That happens instantly; the moment you change your profile. Remember that you can update your profile at any time by clicking the Profile link at the top of any MyStudentClubs screen.
Note: MyStudentClubs allows you to choose your own MyStudentClubs Favorites—favorite RSS feeds—for every tab in MyStudentClubs. Your MyStudentClubs Favorites content is displayed in addition to the recommendations from the community. A feed that you add to MyStudentClubs Favorites will always be displayed for you even if it doesn’t match anything in your profile. So you’re in full control of the content MyStudentClubs delivers to you.
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Who uses MyStudentClubs?
MyStudentClubs is for the developer community. Software developers of all types use MyStudentClubs.
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What is RSS?
The acronym RSS is short for RDF Site Summary, Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication. RSS is an XML format for syndicating Web content. A Web site can allow other sites to publish some of its content by offering an RSS feed and registering it with an RSS publisher. A user who can read RSS-distributed content can use the content on a different site. Syndicated content includes such data as blogs, news feeds, events listings, news stories, headlines, project updates, and excerpts from discussion forums or even corporate information.
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Can I share my MyStudentClubs page with friends?
You can share your favorite news, blogs, events, etc. To start sharing go to "My Profile" and click on "Change Public Profile" and select what kind of information you would like to make available publicly.
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MyStudentClubs aggregates RSS feeds, but does it offer any RSS feeds of its own?
Yes, we offer a number of RSS feeds that provide you with what’s hot and what’s popular on Student Tech Clubs. Click the RSS 2.0 image in the top right corner of any Student Tech Clubs page to find out more about what types of content are published.
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I imported a feed and categorized it. When I suggested it to a friend, we discovered that MyStudentClubs had re-categorized it from News to Blogs. How do such decisions get made? Can I re-categorize my own?
MyStudentClubs strives to provide order to the variety of RSS feeds available. Site editors have the ultimate call, but categories chosen by users at the time of import are taken into consideration. If you feel an item has been categorized incorrectly, send feedback to MyStudentClubs.
Users find categorizing News and Blogs the most difficult. They can appear very much alike, particularly when both of them regularly quote the other. In short, a blog is generally written by an individual contributing various nuggets to the world, usually accompanied by commentary on the world. News is generally reported by a news agency by degreed journalists.
To a large extent MyStudentClubs’s initial success has come from a community of users who use the site for their own productivity every day, with a sense of responsibility to the community. It’s up to you the user to import new feeds into the appropriate media type. The RSS protocol itself makes no assumptions about the contents of an RSS feed.
When an item is categorized incorrectly, you are encouraged to notify MyStudentClubs. We hope to make it simpler in the future to recommend a reclassification of a feed.
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I imported two different feeds from the same base URL. When they appeared they had the same name. Why?
The name of every feed is supplied by its publisher. It’s part of the RSS protocol. Some publishers generate similar RSS feeds en-mass and don’t generate unique names for each. This is not common and as RSS feeds become more widely used, publishers are becoming more proactive in managing the feeds they publish.
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I am unable to add a feed to MyStudentClubs. I know the feed is okay; what should I do?
MyStudentClubs currently supports RSS 2.0, 1.0, 0.92, and 0.91. If a feed is using an older protocol, there’s a good chance the publisher will upgrade their protocol in order to reach a broader consumer base. Try sending a note to the publisher suggesting an upgrade. You can also check the RSS feed and protocol used by simply opening it in a Web browser. The protocol version will show up at the top of the page. If it is one of the supported versions above, then send a comment through the Contact link at the top of any page and include the feed you are trying to add.
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Importing one feed at a time takes too much time. Can I import all my favorite blogs en-mass? I can provide a list.
Currently MyStudentClubs is accepting only one feed at a time. Eventually we will provide an interface for uploading a list of feeds all at once. We understand the monotony of adding one feed at a time and seek to make your MyStudentClubs experience as productive as possible. Future site enhancements include the possibility of importing lists of URLs.
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Is my information secure?
Yes. Your login and password changes are handled using an encrypted connection, and MyStudentClubs is secure against intrusion.
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How does a feed become ‘recommended’ in MyStudentClubs? Who decides what gets rated highly?
MyStudentClubs differentiates between recommendations and ratings.
Ratings are explicitly provided by you, the user. Once you’ve used a feed—watched a Recorded Event, read at least one article from a news source, participated in a user group discussion—you are encouraged to give that feed a grade by rating it on a scale of 1 to 5.
Recommendations are generated by a much more complex formula of information that comes from user behavior on the site. The current formula will certainly change over time, to improve the user experience. In general, MyStudentClubs uses a democratic method of choosing popular content. The content itself does not necessarily reflect the opinions of site administrators, editors, or Microsoft Corp. In rare instances, a site administrator may need to intervene to remove illegal or particularly offensive content. If you see content that needs the attention of a site editor, please send a note with the offending link to MyStudentClubs.
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What does MyStudentClubs do with the personal information I provide. Is it shared with any third party?
Your personal information—your identification information, and your profile settings—are used strictly to allow MyStudentClubs to help you locate developer resources relevant to your interests and will never be shared with anyone else, as long as you do not indicate that parts of the information should be displayed on your public profile on MyStudentClubs. For a complete explanation, click on Privacy Statement at the bottom of any MyStudentClubs page.
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Will I get spammed as a result of my activities on MyStudentClubs?
You will never receive an unsolicited or promotional email as a result of supplying your email to MyStudentClubs. You’ll notice that MyStudentClubs asks only enough information to make sure that Mary Jones from today was the same Mary Jones from yesterday. For a complete explanation, click on Privacy Statement at the bottom of any MyStudentClubs page.
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Who owns MyStudentClubs?
MyStudentClubs is owned by Microsoft Corp. MyStudentClubs strives to serve the entire software developer community with relevant, quality resources, regardless of origin. MyStudentClubs is a product of community aggregation and the content is driven by its members.
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How do I change my password?
Click "MyProfile" at the top (right) of any page in MyStudentClubs. Then click "Change Password" in the left navigation column. You will be prompted to enter your current password, a security question, and then your new password.
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How do I get my blog content onto MyStudentClubs?
Currently, the only way is to provide an RSS feed from your blog using any widely-used protocol (RSS 2.0, 1.0, 0.92, or 0.91) and then import it to MyStudentClubs.
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I see that I can use MyStudentClubs to help me add an event to my Outlook calendar. Will MyStudentClubs remove the scheduled event from my calendar?
No. If you choose to not attend an event, then you’ll need to remove that event from your calendar directly through your Outlook application.
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When I add an event to my Outlook calendar, does that mean I’m registered for that event?
No. MyStudentClubs does not collect enough information to provide a one-click registration for you. The folks at MyStudentClubs think it’s an interesting thought, but for now you must register yourself for any event you ‘schedule’ on MyStudentClubs. Always be sure to register for an event you find on MyStudentClubs, as you will want to be sure to receive any updates about the event.
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How do I back up all my settings and favorites in MyStudentClubs?
There’s never a need to back up information on MyStudentClubs. Just as with services like Hotmail, none of your MyStudentClubs information resides in your PC; it’s securely stored in your account at MyStudentClubs and can be accessed by only you from any PC in the world that has browser access to the Web.
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