One of the major selling points of RSS is that it eliminates spam. I use that line all the time. The theory is that since you actively subscribe to the RSS feed you know the source of the content. Thus, if you don't like the content, you can unsubscribe.
Well I have found a way that spam can slip in via aggregate feeds tools like PubSub. With tools like PubSub I don't control what particular feeds I subscribe to. PubSub simply compiles all the feed results from over 8 million blogs and sends them my way.
Lately on some of the keywords I monitor via PubSub I am seeing results that are pure spam. This has only happened a few times, but I am starting to notice it. I won't give links to the offending blogs out of spite. The feed item contains the keyword a number of times with a link to a sales site or even items being sold on eBay. It's trickling in now, but there is the possibility for this to become a real problem. Setting up a new blog on Blogger and submitting a feed to services is quick, easy and free, so there are no economic barriers for spammers (one of the major issues with e-mail spam)
How do we combat this? Here's my theory. Currently PubSub is a free service. As more and more feeds are indexed by PubSub and other sites like Technorati and Feedster there may be a market for a paid service that filters out the spam.
With this new service, PubSub pays staff to review each new RSS feed added to the index. Those that are genuine are put in the 'premium index'. Feeds could be periodically reviewed, and users could submit abuse cases. Those abuse cases would be reviewed by PubSub staff, if the abuse is genuine, the feed is removed.
If RSS spam becomes a major issue, how much would you be willing to spend for spam free RSS?
Update: I have posted PubSub's thoughts on the issue.
