So it sounds liek the probelm isn't really with RSS, it's with bad web applications, bad web servers, and in some cases, bad reader software.
Implementing RSS feeds for high traffic sites involves using an application server to generate the feed and a cache proxy to serve it. Proper HTTP cache headers are sent along with the request and the number of requests which can be handled is only limitted by the number of cache proxies sitting in front of the app.
Good readers should be able to use the header info and behave properly, regardless of the effectiveness of the web server or web application.
It's a question of good application development on both ends. Eventually both ends of the equation will catch up, but just because the web servers aren't serving proper info no-one should use that as an excuse to develop misbehaving readers...
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So it sounds liek the probelm isn't really with RSS, it's with bad web applications, bad web servers, and in some cases, bad reader software. Implementing RSS feeds for high traffic sites involves using an application server to generate the feed and a cache proxy to serve it. Proper HTTP cache headers are sent along with the request and the number of requests which can be handled is only limitted by the number of cache proxies sitting in front of the app. Good readers should be able to use the header info and behave properly, regardless of the effectiveness of the web server or web application. It's a question of good application development on both ends. Eventually both ends of the equation will catch up, but just because the web servers aren't serving proper info no-one should use that as an excuse to develop misbehaving readers...