Couple of quick questions about Google Reader

[m021478]

I would really really really appreciate a little help in figuring out a couple questions I have about Google Reader's basic functionality, for which I've search endlessly for answers to and have even posted this identical question on other forums, but have still not been able to come up with any answers...and I am a total RSS newbie, so please forgive what many of you will likely consider brainless questions ;)

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-- What is the difference between marking something as shared by clicking the 'Share' button at the bottom of a post, versus marking something as 'Starred' and then making sure that the 'Starred' tag is marked as 'Public' from within Reader's preferences? Why would someone choose to Star something vs. Sharing something?

-- How long do posts that I've starred, or marked as shared, remain in google reader? Can it be considered 'permanently' archived? Or will these items one day disappear from the list of shared/starred items after an certain amount of time has past?

-- I think I might be missing something when it comes to tagging a blog post...Is it correct to assume that if I want to tag a particular post with, hypothetically, a tag named "Digital Audio", then I would actually have to click on the "Add Tag" or "Edit Tag" button at the bottom of a post, then manually type in "Digital Audio" every single time I want to tag a particular post with that tag? If so, is there really not a way that I can simply drag a post onto a tag that appears in my subscription list? If not, doesn't this seem a bit tedious? What if there are 10 posts in a single feed, one appearing just a couple of posts right after the next, that I want tagged with a particular tag...I have to manually type in the tag title for each and every one of them?

-- How far back (in the past) can you browse content for for in a a particular feed (for a site like Engadget for example...one that's been around and posts many entries daily)? Does this depend on the feed's setting somehow, and how long the publisher has chosen to keep items in their feed? Or is there even a limit (since the feeds inception)?

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Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!

[m021478]

Does anyone know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether or not items I mark as shared or starred are permanently archived in my 'Shared Items' and/or 'Starred Items' feeds?

I've been using the shared/starred buttons, as well as the new "note in reader" bookmarklet to create what I would hope are permanently archived clippings of things I come across on the web that I would like to keep indefinitely archived, but I am having a difficult time finding out if these items are truly "permanent"...or if I should expect to see my oldest shared/starred/noted items disappear at some point in the future (either when these items disappear from whatever feed I got them from; or if Google has implemented some sort of time-limit or item-limit, after which my shared/starred/noted items will start to be removed).

I would really appreciate it if someone could clarify this issue for me once and for all...

Thanks so much!

[edited by: bill at 6:10 am (utc) on June 1, 2008]
[edit reason] tidy up [/edit]

[bill]

Sorry, I guess we don't have too many Google Reader users here.

The first place I'd suggest are the help files for the application:
[google.com...]

For instance, the Google Reader FAQ about sharing might help with some of your specific questions:
[google.com...]

If all else fails they do have a forum dedicated to Reader:
[groups.google.com...]

[m021478]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I've already tried finding the answer to this question using all of the links you'd provided, and still wasn't able to find a definitive yes or no regarding whether or not shared/starred/noted items are permanent...

Any one else have any ideas? Thanks!