Responding to Reader Feedback

Here are responses to several reader comments:

A. High Praise Indeed

A Sunlight Foundation project, Realtime Investigations, referred to IEC Journal as "the invaluable blog devoted to developments in federal government ethics." Thanks!

B. Another Satisfied Customer

Another reader told us via e-mail: "You guys do such a great job, and always have such interesting items posted. I check the IEC website at least a couple of times a week and always learn something. Thanks!"

It's always nice to get compliments, but the best part was that the note included a suggested topic for an IEC Journal entry. We welcome your suggestions on topics, or anything else.

C. RSS Troubleshooting

Another reader asked about setting up an RSS reader. If you are having trouble, the first step is to make sure there's no confusion between the e-mail echo service we are using (RssFwd) and an RSS reader. As explained previously, the e-mail echo service "scrapes" the postings and redistributes them by e-mail. By contrast, an RSS reader is a separate, stand-alone program designed specifically for automatic collecting of RSS feeds from web site and formatting them for convenient reading. More explanation of RSS readers is available.

If your problem is with an RSS reader, the next troubleshooting step is to try using it with the RSS feed from some other web site. If it still won't work, the problem is probably with the newsreader software you have selected. Check the instructions or ask a tech-savvy friend for help. If you still can't figure it out, contact us and we will try to help. Tell us which software you are using, as there are hundreds of different newsreaders available.

Updated Nov. 26 for improved clarity.