Because Microsoft is considering referring to RSS feeds as "web feeds" in a future version of Internet Explorer, a debate has begun to rage whether RSS should be renamed and whether a new name might help expand consumer use of feeds, writes E-Commerce Times. Google and Firefox have also sought to refer to RSS "by any other name" because most consumers have never heard of it and don't know how it works, and a more user-friendly term may speed adoption.

Many analysts apparently support a name change, with some suggesting that user wariness is in part due to the technical-sounding term. Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox is quoted as saying that RSS "needs to go the way of HTML or URL," pointing out that it has already changed from "RDF Site Summary" to "Really Simple Syndication."

David Winer, the founder of the technology, is opposed to the renaming: "Big software companies…just can't leave well enough alone," he is quoted as saying. "It's not powerful, or interesting - it's childish and self-defeating."

Wilcox, however, says "the masses deserve something more palatable. Maybe the discussion should be more about what the best name should be rather than why not to change it."

Mozilla's Firefox uses the term "live bookmarks" to refer to the feeds, and Google has also taken to using "web feeds," according to the article.