Brent Simmons on why he’s not adding algorithmic timelines to NetNewsWire, his RSS reader:

These kinds of algorithms optimize for engagement, and the quickest path to engagement is via the drugs outrage and anger — which require, and generate, bigger and bigger hits.

This is what Twitter and Facebook are about — but it’s not right for NetNewsWire. The app puts you in control. You choose the sites and blogs you want to read, and the app reliably shows you their articles sorted by time. That’s it.

Update: Brent also wrote a follow-up highlighting these tweets: