Jay Harris is Cpt. LoadTest

FeedBurner used to allow adding DotNetKicks FeedFlare to your feeds. Even today, the FeedFlare catalog lists "Kick It" using DNK's FeedFlareUnit file. Unfortunately, when adding this file to FeedFlare using the link given in the catalog, the unfortunate user receives only a JavaScript alert of "We could not find a valid FeedFlare file at that location" instead of an enhanced feed. Why? No XML Declaration is contained within DNK's XML file.

Example XML Declaration

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

By adding only an XML Declaration to the top of the file, FeedBurner is now able to properly parse the document, and add the new flare to a feed. This would also apply to any custom FeedFlareUnit that you develop; be sure to add an XML Declaration to your XML.

Corrected File for DotNetKicks

Download: kickitflare.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FeedFlareUnit>
  <Catalog>
    <Title>Kick it</Title>
    <Description>Kick this story on dotnetkicks.com</Description>
  </Catalog>
  <FeedFlare>
    <Text>Kick it</Text>
    <Link href="http://www.dotnetkicks.com/kick/?url=${link}" />
  </FeedFlare>
</FeedFlareUnit>

I have logged a ticket with DotNetKicks on their Google Code issue tracker. Hopefully, as opportunity allows, they can update the file on dotnetkicks.com so that the FeedFlare catalog entry will work once again. Feel free to add DotNetKicks FeedFlare to your FeedBurner feed using the file link above until they have an opportunity to address the ticket.

Adding DotNetKicks FeedFlare to your FeedBurner Feed

To add the "Kick It" FeedFlare to your existing FeedBurner feed:

1. Copy the URL for the updated kickitflare.xml file to your clipboard:
   http://www.cptloadtest.com/content/text/kickitflare.xml
2. Log in to FeedBurner at http://feedburner.google.com
3. Navigate to your feed details, then to the Optimize tab, then to FeedFlare
4. Paste the URL into the textbox, and click Add New Flare.
5. As desired, check the appropriate checkboxes to add the flare to your RSS feed and to your site.
6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.