You need a feed reader, that’s all. With FireFox, when you click on the RSS icon, while viewing a topic page, I think it asks “subscribe to topic” and if you want to use “live bookmarks” which are RSS feeds built in to Firefox (this is probably different between FF2 and FF3.)
If you are seeing code, then the browser you are using is not equipped to handle RSS feeds.
Google Reader is one RSS feed reader:
http://www.google.com/reader/
The Google Personalize Home Page allows you to add RSS feeds right there too. I follow a lot of support forums that way. Just click “Add Stuff” then skip all the pretty icons and find the text “Add feed or gadget” which used to be called “Add by url” or something.
http://www.google.com/ig/
You just need a feed reader and I think everything will be fine.
Here is a screenshot of my iGoogle page with the bbPress.org Recent Posts feed right at the top/center. Your post is visible there 
All the items on this page are RSS feeds.
http://www.chrishajer.com/bbpress/iGoogle.png
Thanks, Chris. I know Firefox is a better browser, and the only reason I am using IE is out of habit. Currently running IE 6, and I suppose newer versions are equipped for RSS feeds. Anyway, you’ve cleared up the mystery of the RSS coded page for me! Weird thing, is, IE does show RSS feeds as they should appear on various blogs I’ve subscribed to. Why it should be different for the WP and bbPress forums…aaarrghh, not even going to think about it!
There are several different types of RSS feeds, so maybe some sites and some feeds are handled better than others.
If you are stuck using IE6 you’re going to need a feed reader. IE7 has one built in, and IE8 is due around the end of the year as well.
Once you try Firefox or IE7 (or any browser with tabs) I don’t see how you’d want to go back.
Here is more info about RSS readers:
http://blogspace.com/rss/readers
Oh yeah, I do already use Google’s reader – but you can’t actually subscribe to a site from within that, can you? And I have tried Firefox – I use it spasmodically. It’s illogical and even stupid of me, but I am so used to IE I find myself opening it up by default, as it were. No question, it is inferior to Firefox.
I change the Firefox icon to the IE icon on people’s desktop then remove IE from the desktop. It’s a hard habit to break but well worth it.
I think you *can* subscribe to a site feed from within Google Reader: that’s the whole point. Use the “Add Subscription” button and paste in the URL for the feed you want. That’s it.
