How the mssgs feed works
Everything people on mssgs share with everyone, in one public timeline, live. Nobody follows anybody: a post goes to everyone, and the feed learns from you what you care about.
No follows, no audience to build
You don’t follow anyone and nobody follows you. A post goes to everyone, from the first one you write, so you never have to build an audience first.
For now everyone sees every post, newest first: there is little enough that nothing has to be left out yet.
What it learns from
What you like, repost and react to, and what you reply to (in words, with a sticker or with a GIF), teaches the feed what you care about: the people, the #hashtags and what is in a photo. So does what you open.
A repost also brings a post back to the top of the feed for everyone, with your name above it.
Posting
In the mssgs app on your phone, tap + once to post a photo, a slideshow or a video, or double-tap it to write a text post of up to 500 characters, with #hashtags and, if you like, your city. A text can be a sticker or a GIF too.
Photos checked before they’re live
Photos and videos appear once moderation has checked them. A text post goes live at once, unless it has an obvious word, a link, an email address or a phone number: then it waits a few seconds for a check first. Community moderators handle what people report.
Posts you share with a private group never show up here: the public feed only has posts shared with everyone.
A post that carries a place carries its city, never the spot it was written.
For municipalities, police, schools and local news
A post in the mssgs feed reaches everyone, not only people who follow you, and it can carry your city. Residents, local news sites and the screen in the town hall pick out what happens near them, by place and by hashtag.
- Municipality. Road works, waste collection, a street that is closed tonight.
#roadworks Zutphensestraat closed 14 to 18 October, diversion via Arnhemsestraat.
- Police. A warning for the neighbourhood, a found bike, a heads-up about scam calls.
#safety Bike lights check around the station tonight.
- School. A study day, a closed school, the first day after the holidays.
#schoolnews Tomorrow is a study day: the school is closed.
- Local news. A paper or news site posts its stories with the town attached, and shows what residents post nearby on its own site.
#brummen The new cycle bridge opens Saturday at 11.
How it works
- Write the post in the mssgs app and attach your city.
- Use the same hashtag every time, so people can follow just that (#roadworks, #schoolnews).
- Residents read it in the feed, in their RSS reader, or on your own site through the API:
near=your town,hashtag=your tag.
https://feed.mss.gs/rss.xml?near=52.09,6.15&radius_km=10&hashtag=roadworkshttps://feed.mss.gs/v1/posts?near=52.09,6.15&radius_km=10&hashtag=roadworksRead it anywhere
The feed on feed.mss.gs, every post page, the embeds, RSS and the API are open to everyone, with no account. The developer docs have the API, RSS, embeds and the live socket.
Questions
Do I need an account to read the feed?
No. The feed on feed.mss.gs, every post page, the embeds, RSS and the API are open to everyone. To post, like or reply you use the mssgs app.
Who can see my post?
A post you share with everyone is public: it is in the feed, has a page of its own and can be embedded and read through the API. A post you share with a private group stays in that group and never appears here.
What does a repost do?
It brings a post you like back to the top of the feed for everyone, with your name above it, and adds one to its reposts. You repost in the mssgs app, once per post, and you can take it back. Only public posts can be reposted, and not your own.
Does a post show where I am?
Only if you attach your city, and then only the city: never the exact spot.
Post your first one
Get mssgs on your phone, tap + and share what’s happening.