Most RSS readers present news as a single linear stream.
They’re not built for comparing multiple feeds in parallel.
If you want to monitor how different sources publish in real time — side by side, in strict chronological order — most tools force everything into a single stream.
I built DualTicker, a configurable, real-time RSS dashboard designed specifically for structured multi-feed monitoring.
The Problem with Traditional RSS Readers
They’re not built for comparing multiple feeds in parallel.
If you want to monitor how different sources publish in real time — side by side, in strict chronological order — most tools force everything into a single stream.
I built DualTicker, a configurable, real-time RSS dashboard designed specifically for structured multi-feed monitoring.
The Problem with Traditional RSS Readers
Standard RSS readers:
- Merge everything into one list
- Reorder content
- Emphasize “top stories”
- Optimize for consumption
But if your goal is feed comparison or parallel monitoring, merging destroys visibility.
You lose structural differences between sources.
What DualTicker Does
DualTicker is a real-time RSS dashboard that:
- Polls multiple RSS feeds
- Normalizes entries
- Removes duplicates where appropriate
- Renders items strictly by timestamp
There is no ranking logic.
No blending across sources.
No engagement optimization.
If a feed publishes something, it appears in chronological order.
Multi-Stream RSS Layout
DualTicker supports:
- Single-stream RSS mode
- Side-by-side RSS comparison
- Custom feed groups
- Preset configurations
- URL-encoded state
Example of a shareable view:
/?s=us-vs-world&q=election OR gaza -opinion
The entire configuration can be encoded in the URL, making sessions reproducible and shareable.
Architecture Overview
Deterministic Chronological Rendering
Items are rendered strictly by timestamp.
The system avoids introducing hidden sorting heuristics.
Predictability > automation.
Feed Reliability Handling
RSS feeds are inconsistent. Some:
- Omit timestamps
- Return intermittent 403 responses
- Temporarily return empty results
The system preserves last-known-good items during failed refresh cycles to prevent UI collapse.
Frontend Windowing
Large feed volumes can cause scroll limitations if the rendered window is too small.
The solution was increasing the frontend window size to provide sufficient physical scroll runway.
Sometimes the limitation isn’t logic — it’s layout.
Who This Is For
- People comparing multiple RSS feeds
- Users monitoring news sources in parallel
- Developers building feed-based dashboards
- Anyone who wants structured chronological visibility
What It Is Not
- A recommendation engine
- A news publisher
- A ranking system
It’s a deterministic RSS dashboard.
Availability
Free to use.
Optional one-time Founder tier unlocks advanced configuration features.
If you build feed systems or deterministic dashboards, I’d be interested in feedback on architectural tradeoffs.
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