Hello,

I think it's typically up to the author and the tools they are using.
Many tools allow authors to publish the latest n number of items, or
the entries from a time frame; However, if you have items once a
month you will likely have items from a larger time frame than if
you have items created several times a day.

A blog may have 400 items, but may only have a feed to publish the
last 10 items. This might ensure that regular subscribers don't
have to download very large feeds and in some cases allows authors
to hide and charge for previous content.

In the end, the author should decide how many items (or how large of
a time frame) their rss feed should carry.

With Regards,

Derek Nobuyuki Wallace
iGEN Knowledge Solutions
http://www.igen.ca

--- In RSS2-Support@yahoogroups.com, <c.i.macafee@r...> wrote:
>
>
> I'm a researcher in Communication and Lnanguages at the Robert
Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland. The project involves
looking at gender differences amongst British bloggers. This is
based mostly on a questionnaire sent out to bloggers, but I also
want to have a good understanding of what tools like Technorati,
Blogshares, and so on, can tell me about a given blog. One of the
things that I don't understand - and where I would very much
appreciate guidance - is this: what determines the fact that feeds
return different time depths of postings? For instance, the feed
from one blog might go back six months, another only four (although
the blog was in existence for much longer). Is it simply a matter of
the carrying capacity of feeds? Or are there other factors at work?
>
> Thank you
>
> Dr Caroline Macafee
>