Which specific RSS tag allowed linking to external media files?
Answer
The enclosure tag
The structure underpinning modern podcast distribution relies heavily on Really Simple Syndication (RSS), but RSS required a vital extension to support audio. The critical breakthrough involved utilizing the RSS enclosure tag. This specific element within the feed structure permitted developers to embed a direct, explicit link pointing to a separate, external media file, which in this context was the MP3 audio file. By placing this link inside the machine-readable RSS structure, software could be programmed to automatically identify and retrieve the associated audio content, distinguishing it from simple text updates.

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