Stats Referer Spam Moderation Is Collaborative

Some blog owners just do not understand the realities of referer spam moderation.

How can I set my dashboard, to not track pageviews from referring sites like "vampirestat . com"?

Not everybody understands that Stats was not designed for catering to individual preferences, in deciding what statistics should be displayed.

Stats spam moderation was not designed to allow for individuals to decide on what figures to display - or ignore. Like Blogger Comment moderation, Stats is collaborative, fuzzy, and heuristic.

Collaborative systems work best when everybody is subject to the same restrictions. Blogger / Google can best fight referer spam by monitoring all activity, against all blogs, uniformly.

Stats displays show the top 10 entries, in every list.

Some referer spam, like some genuine traffic, is not displayed, simply because at least 10 other traffic sources (bogus or genuine) are displayed.

Since newer blogs, with less established real traffic, are more vulnerable to referer spam, owners of newer blogs are more likely to demand individual filtering options. Owners of more mature blogs, who have devoted more time to publishing their blogs, don't see the spam, and don't worry about filtering it.

If individual blog owners were given the choice of what "traffic sources" should be filtered, for each different blog, they would waste more time examining their Stats displays, recording what sources appear spammy, and updating their filters. This would leave them less time for maintaining and publishing their blogs.

Given this possibility, referer spammers would be encouraged to tune their attacks, and to focus their attentions upon newer blogs, to encourage the newer owners to waste more time maintaining filters. In some cases, this could even enable referer spammers to conduct DOS attacks against blog owners who are naive enough to believe that they can effectively identify and filter referer spam.

With individual blog owners given the ability to individually filter Stats displays, referer spammers would be better able to conduct DOS attacks against innocent, third party blogs and websites.

Like every other righteously needed Blogger enhancement, adding individually maintained Stats filters would make Stats more complex. This would require Blogger Engineering to spend more time developing a feature demanded by a minority of blog owners - and spend less time developing and maintaining other, more essential features.

It does not require too much imagination to suspect the legitimacy of some of the unhappy blog owners.

Why does Blogger not give me the ability to decide, for myself, what traffic sources that I want to monitor?

Some of these might even be the referer spammers, trying to force Blogger Engineering to develop features that, in the long run, would benefit the spammers as much as the blog owners.

A Custom Domain Published Blog Has A New URL

We see occasional signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about custom domain publishing.

Can I publish to a custom domain - and still use the Blogger dashboard?

and

Can I publish to a custom domain - and keep my comments and posts?

and

Can I publish to a custom domain - and avoid TOS restrictions?

Some blog owners seem to see custom domain publishing as more than it actually is.

When you publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL (aka custom domain), using a proper setup, your blog now has a new URL.

The BlogSpot URL continues to operate, with custom domain publishing.

The BlogSpot URL continues to work - and to direct search engines bots, search query results, and visitors, to the blog.

Some blog features may stop working - or may not work as well.

If your blog uses backlinks, and similar tools to measure exposure / popularity, which reference the blog using the URL, you'll start over with those features. With a properly setup custom domain, even though you don't see them, the links themselves will still operate - and any traffic headed to the BlogSpot URL will lead to the Blogger blog, published to the domain URL.

If your blog uses Google+ Comments, you won't see the comments published to the BlogSpot URL - although the comments will still exist, and be visible, in Google+.

Some accessory gadgets will stop working, temporarily, shortly after the new URL starts working. This is an unavoidable result of the Internet address lookup infrastructure, aka DNS.

Other than those features, a custom domain published blog is the same as before.

Other than those details, you'll have the same blog as before - just with an extra URL, that may be more valuable to the search engines.

• The Blogger blog will still be hosted by Blogger / Google, and will use the Blogger dashboard for maintenance and publishing.
• The blog will be served subject to Auto Pagination.
• The blog will be subject to the same quality standards - both porn labeling, and abuse classification, will be consequences of any infractions.
• The blog will be subject to the same deletion recovery restrictions.
• The blog will be subject to the same publishing volume / spam mitigation restrictions.

Non Google relationships should be carefully evaluated.

Just as any time you change the URL of your blog, you'll face changes in external relationships, such as with your readers, and with search engines and other services. You'll get much better results, with careful planning, and methodical execution!

For the few times when your domain fails, see my troubleshooting check list - but prevent problems best, by first setting it up properly, and by observing your own limitations.

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A Blog Published To A Custom Domain Has A New URL - And No More
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2013/11/a-blog-published-to-custom-domain-has.html

A Custom Domain Published Blog Has A New URL
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2013/11/a-custom-domain-published-blog-has-new.html

Is A Sitemap Useful, For A Blogger Blog?

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we see evidence of confusion and doubt.

Do I really need a sitemap, for my blog?

This question, when asked, may help us to design our blogs better.

WikiPedia defines a sitemap as

a list of pages of a web site accessible to crawlers or users

Classically, a sitemap is a visual index, to help the people viewing a static website, to easily identify and access a specific article in the website.

A sitemap provides an alternate index, to a non Blogger website. Most websites are static, with a hierarchically accessed, single structure. A well designed sitemap allows people and crawlers to more efficiently locate specific articles (pages or posts), in a static website.

Most Blogger blogs provide much more than a hierarchical, single, static structure. By default, a Blogger blog links posts dynamically, using several alternate indexes.

• Archives (posts listed hierarchically, by date).
• Labels (posts listed hierarchically, by topic).
• Extended main page (posts listed sequentially, by "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts").

Any blog, which provides one or more of these features, serves as its own sitemap - for viewer access to posts. Static pages are accessed only when necessary - and content published in pages is not sitemapped.

For crawler access, the options are simpler.

• Archives (posts listed hierarchically, by date).
• Extended main page (posts listed sequentially, by "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts").

Label searches, which use a different URL structure from the base blog design, are not used for indexing a Blogger blog.

If you look at the main page of a typical blog, you can follow the "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts" links from page to page, repeatedly - and eventually, see every post in the blog. With a new blog, with few posts, and predominantly "first visit" viewer traffic, the main page makes a passible sitemap. For an older blog, with many posts, and more "repeat" viewer traffic, the main page makes a less efficient sitemap.

For crawlers, which will generally follow a limited number of links within any single blog or website, the main page makes a still less efficient sitemap. Most blogs with any appreciable search engine reputation, however, only need new posts indexed by the crawlers - as older posts are already indexed, and remain in search engine cache.

Blogger provides a good, default gadget which serves as a sitemap, on most blogs - the Archives index. Look in the sidebar of this blog, about halfway down, for the "Contents" gadget.

The Archives index is an HTML based gadget, which produces a set of hierarchical, date structured links, exhaustively enumerating each post in the blog. It's an ideal structure, for search engine bots (crawlers) to follow. If your blog includes this accessory, that's probably sufficient for indexing.

Blogs which contain one or more complementary features can provide search engine access, organically.

• Well written, regularly published posts.
• The standard Archives gadget.
• The standard "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts" links.

Such blogs may not need a sitemap, to provide good access to both people and crawlers.

Both the Archives, Labels, and "Newer Posts" / "Older Posts" links are subject, on some blogs, to customisation. A blog with Javascript driven Archives, Labels, and / or custom pagination ("Newer Posts" / "Older Posts") gadgets may not provide easy crawler access. This also affects blogs which use dynamic templates. If you tweak your blog extensively, you may want to consider these issues.

There is one special case where a sitemap is always needed. Any time the URL of your blog is changed - whether to a new BlogSpot URL, or to a non BlogSpot custom domain - prompt re indexing, under the new URL, is a necessity to regain search engine reputation. A robust sitemap set, which directly references all posts in the blog, helps the crawlers to re index each post, under the new URL, much faster.

Other than that special case, a blog with standard, well designed, features may not actually need a sitemap. If the blog does need a sitemap, you use Google Webmaster Tools.

A sitemap, setup through Google Webmaster Tools - and using the blog posts newsfeed, defined through "robots.txt" - is a simple accessory to add, and requires no ongoing maintenance. Given this reasoning, most blog owners simply setup a sitemap, and don't worry about the above issues and questions.

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(Update 2014/11): Blogger blogs will soon have automatically generated, dedicated sitemaps - so this discussion may be irrelevant.

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Confusion About Visibility Of Comments, With Blogs Using Google+ Comments

Along with confusion about ownership of comments, published using Google+ Comments, we see similar confusion about visibility of comments, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I shared the URL of my post in Google+ - and now I see my Google+ post, displayed as a comment, on my blog!

and

My comments are showing up in other people's profiles, in Google+!!

and

I'm getting notifications, in Google+ - but the comments don't display, on the blog!!

Not all blog owners understand the relationship between Google+ comments, published to a Blogger blog - and posts, in Google+.

Comments on a Blogger blog are treated the same as Google+ posts, with a Blogger blog using Google+ Comments.

You may see a post shared publicly - or shared with you.

If somebody publishes a Google+ post, and shares the post to a circle that includes you, or shares a post publicly, you may see the post - if you are viewing a stream which includes them. Note that if you Block someone, their posts will never show up in your streams.

If somebody publishes a Google+ post, and shares the post to circle(s) that do not include you - even if the post references your blog - you won't see that post. If somebody publishes a Google+ comment against your blog, and shares the post to circle(s) that do not include you - even if the post references your blog - you won't see that comment.

If you share a post in your blog, you have a comment against that post.

If you share the URL of a post in your blog, in a Google+ post, that post becomes a Google+ comment against your blog post. With a Google+ post, you can choose to share to Public, or to any (or all) of your circles.

If you share the URL of a post in your blog to Public, everybody who is viewing a stream, which includes you, may see your Google+ post. If you share the URL to specific circles, everybody in those circles, and who is viewing a stream which includes you, may see your Google+ post.

If you publish a comment, and choose to share it, you have a stream post.

If you publish a Google+ comment to a post in your blog, and choose "Also share on Google+", that comment will become a Google+ post.

If you share a comment to Public, everybody who is viewing a Google+ stream, which includes you, may see your Google+ post. If you share a comment to specific circles, everybody in those circles, who is viewing a Google+ stream which includes you, may see your Google+ post.

When you view comments in your blog, you may view only Followers.

If you are viewing a post in your blog, you can select the "Circles" icon, and view all comments made by people in your circles, against that post, that you may see - or you can select the "World" icon, and view all comments made by everybody, against that post, that you may see. Anybody else, viewing a post in your blog, can do the same.

If you're publishing a comment against a post in your blog, you can choose to "Also share on Google+". Anybody else, viewing your blog, and publishing a comment, has the same choice.

Google+ shows all posts about your blog, on your blog.

The purpose of Google+ Comments, in Blogger, is to include Google+ posts, about your blog, on your blog.

For example, if there's a public Google+ discussion about one of your blog entries, those comments and replies will also appear on your Blogger blog.

If you do not want to include Google+ comments, about your blog, on your blog, you don't need to enable Google+ Comments.

If you do decide to use Google+ Comments on your blog, be aware of the known problems with Google+ Comments.

You can revert back to Blogger comments - but you won't see Google+ posts.

You can revert the blog back to Blogger Comments - but if you do this, no comments made using Google+ Comments will be visible on the blog, to anybody, from the blog.

We should also mention the issue of Blogger vs Google+ comments - and that you can choose one or the other, at any time. With the blog using Blogger Comments, it will not display any comments made under Google+ - and with the blog showing Google+ Comments, it will not display any comments made under Blogger. If you change back and forth, expect to lose comments.

Also, Google+ comments are based on the URL, not the blog. If you change the URL - as either a BlogSpot to BlogSpot change. or a custom domain publishing - you should also expect to lose comments. The comments will be out there - and with a properly setup custom domain, will direct to the blog - but the comments won't be visible against the blog posts.

Your Google Apps Account, And The New Administrative Google Login

In some cases, the earlier provided procedure, for accessing the limited access domain administrator account, may not work, for your Google Apps domain.

If you have trouble with providing both the account name and password, you will need to reset the password using the Google administrative reset. Instead of the wizard at "accounts.google.com", you will need the administrative reset wizard, at "https://admin.google.com".

A Google Apps administrative account reset uses the same set of initial displays, as the previously discussed limited access account reset - and it offers the same opportunities for confusion. Be prepared to add the appropriate Google account (whether GMail, or non GMail based) to the login menu, as necessary.

When you request administrative account reset, you first try the using default account name.

For my domain, if it had been purchased after November 2012, the default account name would be "bloggeradmin@nitecruzr.net". Yours will be "bloggeradmin@yourdomainURL" - whatever "yourdomainURL" actually is.

Domains purchased before December 2012 will apparently still use a Google Apps token sent in email or linked from Google Wallet.

If possible, use two browsers - one browser for Blogger and other Google activity like GMail, and the second for the Google Apps session. For best results, first clear cache, cookies and sessions (yes, all 3!), and restart the second browser.

Use the same account name, as advised - just substitute the administrative reset sequence.

https://admin.google.com/

Click on "Need help?".

Select "I don't know my password".

Enter your limited access Google Apps account name.
In most cases, you will go into the expected administrative account reset sequence.

With a mature account, where you have previously setup a custom administrative account, "bloggeradmin@yourdomainURL" may not be accepted. Now, you must try an extended administrative account reset.


If the limited access account, for your domain, is not operational, don't panic.

Return to the previous screen, and select "I don't know my username".

Now, you have other details to provide.


Whether you use the standard administrative reset - or the extended administrative reset - Google will send a password reset email message, to the backup email account associated with the domain. The email account should be the one used by the Blogger account, under which you purchased the domain.

Other than the previously enumerated cases where you can't use the recovery email address, this should be a reasonably straightforward process.

1. Access the new Google Administrator Login screen.
2. Click on "Need help?".
3. Request password reset.
4. Access the right email account.
5. Open, and execute the password reset email.
6. Hopefully, you're done.
7. If necessary, return to the previous screen.
8. Select "I don't know my username".
9. Provide additional details.
10. Go to Step 3.

Once you're in the Admin Console, you can check / set the auto renewal option setting, or you can retrieve the login instructions to access the registrar's zone editor - or do whatever else you need to do.

The next time you need to access the Admin Console, try to remember the previously set account name and password. And, if you feel up to it, add recovery options to your administrator account.

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"go.blogger.com" / MMS / SMS Blogging Is Deprecated

We're seeing a few queries recently, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about a little used option in mobile blog publishing.

Is "go.blogger.com" down? I'm trying to claim a mobile token, but having no success.

This blog owner, like a few others, is trying to use a dying Blogger feature.

"go.blogger.com", and MMS / SMS, was the Blogger solution for blog publishing using "mobile" phones, provided several years ago.

SMS is a protocol used for sending text messages between computers, that was used on "mobile" phones, before most "mobile phones" became just pocket sized computers using "cellular" (3g, 4g, etc) networking.

You can think of SMS as the original "Chat" protocol, used before cellular Internet service became the normal communications service.

With smart phones and cellular Internet, we use apps, browsers, or email.
With the gaining popularity of using "smart" phones with cellular service, most people will publish blogs using either a browser on the phone, email (and "Mail-To-Blogger") on the phone, or (for supported phones) the "Blogger" app.

Blogger Support told us that MMS / SMS was deprecated.
Recently, I asked Blogger Support if "go.blogger.com" and SMS based blogging had any future. The reply was bleak.

So that feature has been deprecated.

Basically, Blogger has moved onwards - and is trying to support mobile blogging using modern equipment and services.

SMS was never 100% available and reliable - even in USA infrastructure.
Even when people in the USA were using "go.blogger.com" and SMS for blog publishing, SMS was a constant problem. SMS is a proprietary protocol, provided by various phone carriers, over the individual cellular networks.

Even with SMS in the USA, years ago, there were some cellular services providing SMS, that did not work with Blogger. SMS outside the USA is worse - and globalisation of Blogger made this a problem.

Nowadays, not every cellular service provides SMS. Most cellular Internet providers focus on regular Internet service. If you want to "chat" with somebody, you use a normal "chat" client like GTalk - or now, Google Hangout.

Use Mail-to-Blogger or browser for best results.
If your "smart phone" (or mobile computer) supports email over voice, you can use Mail-To-Blogger. If not, you'll need a modern and supported phone, with cellular Internet service - if you want to publish your blog using your phone.

Market Your Blog, To Those Who Are Interested

We see many questions in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about blog content, and (lack of) appreciation by the readers.

Occasionally, people become concerned about activity of the people reading their blogs - why they get so many new visitors (but nobody returns later, to read more), or why the main page is so well read (but nobody reads the archived posts).

In other cases, they wonder why the blog was deleted - even though it had the required warning protecting it - or maybe why the content warning is there. And sometimes, they may wonder why so many people read the blog, but nobody comments on the posts.

If your blog just uses Stats, to provide you reader activity statistics, you'll probably be only concerned with visitor activity, and pageview count.

If you use an actual visitor activity log, like SiteMeter or StatCounter, you may also look at new / return visitor ratio, or pages read / visitor count. In both cases, you're examining visitor interest.

Try to advertise your blog, where it will be appreciated.

Visitor interest starts with how you advertise the blog. You get good visitor interest when you advertise the blog where it will be welcomed, and in a style where your advertisements will be welcomed.

People who don't like your blog may read the first page, then go elsewhere. If they read more than the first page, they will probably be doing that so they can report the blog, for TOS Violation or similar. This is why some blogs are unrighteously clasified as abusive.

No matter how objectively you may write a blog discussing alternative lifestyles, if you advertise your blog where Bible Belt USA Conservatives may gather, the best result that you may see is "single pageview" visitors.

Objections may lead to "adult content" or "spam" accusations.

Occasionally, we'll see a problem report that starts out with a common complaint.

Why was my blog deleted? I don't spam.

When we're able to retrieve a cached copy of the blog, we'll agree with the owner.

Some blogs, deleted as abusive, will have a little known problem.

Commercially funded adult content.

Other times, the problem will be more subtle.

I set the "Adult Content?" flag to "Yes"! Why am I getting complaints? (Why was the blog deleted?).

The "Adult Content" interstitial hampers - but does not block - access.

The problem here starts with the nature of the "Adult Content" warning.

Not every blog owner realises that the warning is only advisory. Anybody, no matter their age or religious preference, may (by accident, or intentionally) click on "Agree". Having clicked, they may be subject to a faceful of content which is not in their best interest, or which they do not appreciate.

If you advertise inappropriately, you may not enjoy the results.

If a link to your blog appears in the wrong forum discussion, or on the wrong website - either a Bible Belt forum or School Children's website - don't be surprised if your blog continues to get content complaints. And in some cases, we'll see you in the forums.

Why was my blog deleted? I don't spam.

Be sensitive to both the stated, and unstated, policies where you post. If your blog contains controversial material, be very conservative about how and where you advertise. Publish properly targeted posts, with unique content, for the best future of your blog.

Diagnose Problems Using Affinity Testing

When you go to the doctor to report a health problem, you'll likely tell him

Doctor, I have a pain.

and he will likely ask you

Where does it hurt?

If you tell him

My stomach hurts.

he will probably ask

When does it hurt?

and

How long has it been hurting?

None of these are formalities or mere protocol, they are systematic problem identification procedures. We diagnose problems with Blogger, using similar techniques.

If you write in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue and report

My readers can't access my blog.

or maybe

I can't access Blogger!

you'll likely get similar questions.

With enough people reporting the same problem, we look for an affinity.

If enough people report a similar problem and provide useful details, we can identify an "affinity" to the problem. This may help Blogger Support to isolate a segment in their code base, or an errant server in their network, that's causing your problems.

If you report

Some of my readers can't access my blog!

you might be asked

Where are your readers located, who can't access your blog? Where are your readers located, in general?

and maybe

What language do your readers speak?

and

What language is the blog published in?

and

When was this problem first observed?

and

When was this problem last not observed?

None of these questions are asked, by the "doctors" in the clinic, or in the Blogger Support forums, as an attempt to annoy you, or to show off. And as simple as they sound, they are actually lead ins to much more complicated diagnostics, or maybe to referrals to other specialists.

Affinity and differential testing complement - but do not replace - each other.

Affinity testing compares multiple tests, and asks which tests produce the same results. Similarly, differential testing compares multiple tests, and asks which tests produce different results.

One of my simplest "tools" which I may use to identify an affinity would be my simple 12 link set. That set of 12 links (which vary according to your initial problem report) represents a carefully chosen set of addresses.

Some addresses, in the link set, are in the Blogger / Google hosting space - and others may be outside Blogger / Google. Systematic analysis of the results of trying each link, one after the other, can lead to any of several different diagnoses.

Some of the links look similar - but with "inconsequential" details. The details represent a test, to see if known features might be part of the problem. None of these tests are redundant, or trivial.

Start by verifying the URLs involved.

Make a screen print, and a text copy, of the Blogger dashboard Publishing wizard, at Settings - Basic. Some Blogger problems are solved by identifying simple typographical errors.

You can have your readers use the 12 links - and provide results to you.

If you have readers complaining of a problem with your blog, you can email the list of links to your readers, and have them click on each of the links, and report results. If the problem comes and goes on your computer, you can click on each of the links, repeatedly. By combining and comparing the results, you can identify an "affinity".

If you are given that list of links, as a reply to your question, and you're able to say (for instance)

I can access only #4 and #5 ("0001-100").

or maybe

I cannot access #2 and #3, but I can access #1, 4, and 5 ("1001-100").

you are well on the way to a diagnosis. On the other hand, if you can only reply

Some of the links get me nothing.

you are not as well on the way to a diagnosis.

The "New Question" dialogue collects similar demographic details.

Blogger provides a simpler (and no more consistently observed) affinity dialogue, at the top of the "Post a question" wizard, in some forums.

• Your Blogs URL:
• Browser(s) used:
• Location:

When properly answered

Your Blogs URL: http://blogger-status-for-real.blogspot.com/
Browser(s) used: Firefox V3 / IE V8
Location: California USA

There are good clues, that may help the helpers, or Blogger Engineering, to identify a new problem - and may help them to help you faster. On the other hand, a frequently seen set of mildly amusing "answers"

Your Blogs URL: blogger-status-for-real.blogger
Browser(s) used: i dunno, it came with the computer
Location: planet earth

are less useful.

It's your choice what details to provide, to the forum helpers. In the same way, you get to chose whether to tell your doctor that you've started smoking, again.

Confusion About Ownership Of Comments, With Blogs Using Google+ Comments

We're seeing a few problem reports, about ownership of comments, published against blogs using Google+ Comments, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Why can't I delete comments?

or

Why can't I reply to comments?

or

Why don't I get notifications of comments, posted against my blog?

These blog owners do not understand who owns the comments, when they are posted against their blogs.

With Blogger Comments, the comments are jointly owned by the blog owner and the comment publisher. With Google+ Comments, on the other hand, the comment publisher has sole ownership of a comment published - even if that comment references your blog. This ownership policy does not please all blog owners.

Comments on a Blogger blog are treated the same as Google+ posts, with a Blogger blog using Google+ Comments.

You are the owner of a Google+ stream post, that you publish.

If you publish a Google+ post, and mention somebody else's blog or blog post (or website, in general), you own that Google+ post. That Google+ post is exclusively yours to delete or edit - and to set reply (aka "comment") permission. In your Google+ Settings wizard, you can set per circle permissions, who can comment on your public posts (or reply to your public comments, against a blog).

A Google+ comment, mentioning your blog, is somebody else's stream post.

If somebody else comments on a post in your blog, they own that comment (Google+ "post"). That Google+ post is exclusively theirs to delete or edit - and to set reply ("comment") permission. In their Google+ Settings wizard, they can set per circle permissions, who can comment on their public posts (or reply to their comments, against a blog).

Along with confusion about comment ownership, there is confusion about comment visibility, with Google+ Comments.

Stream post ownership is not affected by content, ie reference to your blog.

If you see a comment from another person, published publicly or to a circle which includes you, it's still their comment (or Google+ post) - their reference to your blog is simply not relevant. Their "comment" permissions control your ability to reply to their comments - again, their commenting against your blog is not relevant.

1. You cannot delete or edit comments made by other people.
2. You cannot reply to all comments made by other people.
3. You cannot even see all comments made by other people.
4. Even comments which you can see, you may not be able to forward, or reply, depending upon per comment setting by the publisher.

Again, all of this applies whether or not the comment references your blog.

Community moderation gives every Google+ comment reader the same rights.

If you object to a comment, published to your blog, you can report that comment as "spam or abuse", just as any other Google+ member can do. With Google+, abuse reporting is a community activity. You have no need to "moderate" (either before, or after publishing) any comments, made against your blog - except when convenient.

Concentrate more on your blog, and less on comment spam.

If you do decide to use Google+ Comments on your blog, be aware of the known problems with Google+ Comments.

The TextList Gadget Now Lacks A URL Option

We're seeing a few reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about broken TextList gadgets.

I cannot add a URL, linking to the Title of my posts, using the "Configure TextList" wizard. The 'Add URL' option is missing from the "Configure TextList" wizard.

Similar to the shared design between the "HTML" and "Text" gadgets, it appears that the "LinkList" and "TextList" gadgets shared features.

Having fixed various Blogger accessory gadgets, it appears that Blogger Engineering has removed or updated some odd gadget features.

One previously discussed change, which received mixed reviews, was the positioning of new entries in the LinkList gadget. Now, we're seeing that the odd option, to add a URL to TextList entries, has been removed.

If your blog uses a TextList in the function of a LinkList, it's possible that you may be seeing this omission too. Barring the chance that Blogger Engineering can be persuaded to reverse their recent change, you may have to start a new LinkList gadget, and update your new gadget with the necessary URLs.

It appears that Blogger is redesigning some of their "multi personality" gadgets - and realigning or removing some options that may be redundant, given the context of the specific gadgets.

If the gadget redesigns affect your blog, that may be a change to which you may have to adjust.

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Blogger Templates Cannot Be Easily Validated, Using Public Diagnostic Tools

We see panic, exhibited by many blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I used the W3 Template Validator, and got hundreds of errors! Is my blog broken?

This blog owner, like many others, does not understand the differences between W3 Standard HTML / XHTML, and Blogger HTML / XML.

The unpleasant truth is that, ever since Blogger released the Layout class templates, in 2007, Blogger has been providing templates that can't be successfully validated using HTML / XHTML standards. Blogger has a lot of features that don't validate, according to public standards.

That's not to say that the W3 Template Validator, and similar online analysis tools and code validators won't be useful, in helping you proactively check your blog for problems.

If you've tweaked your template, and / or added various HTML based accessories, you may find a few informative entries, in a typical validation report.

Upon examining the validation report for this blog, I can find more than a few references to various accessories and tweaks that I've made in the past, which I can identify. Some of the 498 errors (as of today) can maybe be fixed - but many can't.

If you want to look for problems with your blog, start by creating a test blog, using the same template that you have. Then, run the validation of your choice against your test blog. The report that comes from your test blog, you can use as a baseline.

Take your baseline report, and compare it with the report for your working blog. Unless you've done a lot of customisation to your blog, you'll find a lot more errors identified on both reports, than not. You can (maybe, should) fix the problems which are unique to your working blog - and you may have to walk away from the others.

Like the frustrations caused by referer spam, which you learn to live with, I may have to ignore some coding imperfections. Your blog may be the same.

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All Mobile Computers Are Not Created Equal

We've seen a few questions about comments, supposedly published - but vanishing, when using a mobile computer, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

This symptom, as reported, reminds us of the long ago reports of "vanishing comments" - but using desktop computers.

At least one of the folks who isn't able to comment said she was attempting to do so from her mobile phone. Is Blogger now losing comments from mobile devices?

The answer here is not quite so ominous, though the situation is still frustrating - to both the blog owner, and the various visitors.

Blogger comments are offered in three "desktop" computer styles, selected by the blog owner.

• Embedded, positioned below the posts.
• Full screen, on a separate page.
• Popup, in a separate, miniature window.

Each of these choices have their own special advantages and disadvantages, which vary in relevance, according to the blog reader population.

On a "mobile" computer - and with the "mobile" template enabled, there is yet a fourth style.

• Embedded, in a special "mobile" dialogue.

The comment entry process, in general, involves at least four distinct steps.

• Authentication. Where required by the blog owner, and / or preferred by the blog visitor, the visitor may provide personal identification.
• Entry. The comment is entered, and edited.
• Preview. The visitor can view the comment, as entered, before actually publishing it.
• Verification. Where required by the blog owner, the visitor solves a puzzle, aka "CAPTCHA", to prove that he/she is not using an automated script.

Entry and Preview goes back and forth, at the preference of the comment publisher, until satisfied.

Depending upon the "mobile" computer and template in use, any of the four comment entry styles may be a problem, for any of the four steps identified. If you are familiar with the comment entry process, in general, consider the various controls and objects involved - and when each object is presented to the visitor, attempting to publish a comment.

Consider three different possible ways of presenting the various controls and objects, involved in publishing comments.

• Everything "visible" simultaneously, with the display zoomed out so everything is visible. On anything but a large screen tablet, you would probably need a magnifying glass, to read the captions, instructions, and labels.
• Everything "visible" simultaneously, but with most objects off screen, until each is needed. Scrolling is done using finger gestures, not using scroll tabs - and it's never obvious where any "missing" objects may be, at any time.
• Everything visible in sequence, one step at a time. Extra controls, to move forward and backward in the sequence, are required. To someone not familiar with the comment entry process, in general, some controls may not be obvious.

None of these three options provide perfect solutions. Even being experienced in the commenting process, I have found no obvious excellent choice, when using a "mobile" computer.

Besides the various control and display issues discussed above, consider the effects of cookies and scripts, which may or may not be supported by any given "mobile" computer - and layered security, which is a challenge, on every computer. Both may be a special problem, on "mobile" computers.

Until "mobile" computers are developed, with controls and displays equal to (better than) to those of "desktop" computers, I suspect that there will always be problems with commenting on "mobile" computers - just as there are problems with use of "mobile" computers, and with commenting on all computers, in general.

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One Spurious Technique For Publishing Your Blog Anonymously

Some blog owners wish to publish their blog anonymously.

One of the most obvious ways to achieve anonymity - and one of the least useful - is to not publish your name, in your blog posts.

Edit the "Blog Posts" gadget, in the dashboard Layout wizard, and de select "Posted By".

This solution will immediately remove your name from any posts published by you - as long as a dynamic template is not involved.

The dynamic templates, as with the blog posts newsfeed, do not reference the "Blog Posts" selections. This will be a problem, for achieving anonymity.

No blog, even with the "Posted By" option un checked, will be anonymous - if you publish a blog posts newsfeed.

This is the URL of this blog.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/

This is the URL of this blog, using a dynamic template.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/view

You - or any reader - can do the same with your blog. This will be a problem, if you use the "Posted By" selection in "Blog Posts", to make your posts anonymous.

Now, checkout my anonymity test blog - in non dynamic view.

http://nitecruzr-test-anonymity.blogspot.com/

And checkout the first post, in dynamic view.

http://nitecruzr-test-anonymity.blogspot.com/view

D'Ohh!

If you truly want to publish your blog anonymously, there are several issues which you need to consider - all of them necessary. The "Posted By" option is not part of these issues - since it has no effect on anonymity, in the blog posts newsfeed.

Having considered all of the issues required to achieve anonymity, consider the issues where true anonymity can be a problem. Blogger supports our right to publish our blogs, anonymously - and will not break our right to anonymity.

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Your Google Apps Account, And The New Google Login

In the not so distant past, explaining how to login to Google Apps was a painfully tedious process.

If I wanted to login to the Google Apps account for this domain, "nitecruzr.net", I would construct a URL in the browser address window (or use a bookmark)

https://www.google.com/a/nitecruzr.net/ServiceLogin

The URL for your domain would be different - and explaining the difference was frequently a nuisance, in the login sequence instructions.

When explaining how to login to a recently created limited access Apps account, I would focus on the account reset process.

For this domain, "nitecruzr.net", I would access the account reset wizard as

http://google.com/a/cpanel/nitecruzr.net/ResetAdminPassword

or possibly

http://google.com/a/nitecruzr.net/ResetAdminPassword

Again, your URLs would differ. Maintaining separate bookmarks, for each different domain, was a time sink.

With the new Google Apps integrated account login, all of that has changed.

If possible, use two browsers - one browser for Blogger and other Google activity like GMail, and the second for the Google Apps session. For best results, first clear cache, cookies and sessions (yes, all 3!), and restart the second browser.

To reset login to the limited access Google Apps account for this domain, you simply go to the standard Google login screen, using the second browser.

https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin

You then click on "Need help?". On the next screen, select "I don't know my password", and enter the limited access Google Apps account name, for your domain.

For my domain, if it had been purchased after November 2012, the default account name would be the limited access "bloggeradmin@nitecruzr.net". Yours will be "bloggeradmin@yourdomainURL" - whatever "yourdomainURL" actually is.

Domains purchased before December 2012 will apparently still use a Google Apps token sent in email or linked from Google Wallet.

Enter the appropriate account name, click "Continue", and follow instructions.


Click on "Need help?".

Select "I don't know my password".

Enter your limited access Google Apps account name.
After you submit the password reset request, Google will send a password reset email message, to the backup email account associated with the domain. The email account, for a new Apps account, should be the email account used by the Blogger account, under which you purchased the domain.

The only problem which you can have is if the necessary email account can't be accessed.

• Being overly secretive, and basing the Blogger account on a bogus or inactive email address.
• Having the Blogger / Google account deleted for abusive practice.
• Never bothering to remember the email account and password.

In either case, without access to the right email account, you won't be able to reset the Google Apps account password - and you won't be able to gain / regain access to your Google Apps domain administrator account, aka the "Admin Console", for the domain in question.

Other than that one possible problem, it should be a straightforward process.

1. Access the new Google Login screen.
2. Click on "Need help?".
3. Request password reset.
4. Access the right email account.
5. Open, and execute the password reset email.

Once you're in the Admin Console, you can check / set the auto renewal option setting, or you can retrieve the login instructions to access the registrar's zone editor - or do whatever else you need to do.

If you're logging into Apps for a second time, and you remember the account name and password, it's simpler still. Access the new Google Login screen, enter the domain administrator account name and password, and login. Now, Google Apps is just one more Google application - but with its own unique account name.


If you remember the domain admin account name and password from last time, just login - and you're there.

Again, always open Google Apps in a second browser.

Other than the need to use a second browser, logging into Google Apps is now a series of bookmarks and simple scripts.

In some cases, you may not be able to use the limited option account reset sequence. Don't panic! Google also provides an expanded option administrative account reset process, for these situations! As an alternative, try Google Help: Domain Registration through Blogger.

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Comment Notification Email, And Spam Classification

Comment moderation, and comment notification, have long been optional features of Blogger Commenting.

The sequence of comment moderation email, and comment notification email, was simple.

• If comment moderation was selected, moderation email was sent to all blog administrators. Any one administrator could then select to Publish, or to Reject, a given comment.
• If comment moderation was not selected, each comment was simply Published, immediately.
• If comment notification was selected, notification email was sent to all recipient email addresses, when any comment was published.
• All blog administrators could Delete any comment, after it was published, at their discretion.

When the new comment moderation system was provided, in 2010, comment moderation changed. As the comment filters became trained, some comments were automatically rejected - and sent to the Spam queue - and that is where the current problem starts.

With the new comment moderation system, spuriously filtered comments never generated notification email - and this was a problem.

Comments sent directly to the Spam queue could be moderated, and Published, at the discretion of the blog administrators. Comments which were not Published remained in the Spam queue - and never generated notification email.

As the filters in the new comment moderation system became trained, false positives became a problem. Comments, spuriously filtered as Spam, generated no notification email.

Blog owners, accustomed to moderating comments after they were published, and receiving no notification email from comments which went straight to the Spam queue, complained of lost comments.

Listening to complaints from the blog owners, Blogger Engineering changed the sequence of the comment moderation and notification emails.

• If comment notification is selected, email is sent to all recipient email addresses, as soon as a comment is submitted for publication.
• If comment moderation is selected, moderation email is sent to all blog administrators.
• All blog administrators can Delete, or mark as Spam, any comment, before or after Published, at their discretion.

With comment notification email being sent immediately, this leaves recipients of the email occasionally confused. Comments immediately judged as Spam by the filters, or later by a blog administrator, will still generate email.

Recipients of comment notification email, not seeing a given comment published, who are blog administrators, can check the Spam queue - and in some cases, choose to Publish a comment which is spuriously filtered as Spam. This helps to train the filters - and later, see less spuriously filtered comments.

Recipients of comment notification email, not seeing a given comment published, and who are not blog administrators, will have to notify a blog administrator, who can check the Spam queue. In some cases, again, the administrator can choose to Publish a comment that is spuriously filtered as Spam.

As a blog owner, you need to properly select the moderation and notification options, to satisfy your personal needs. And, help to train the filters, by active and prompt moderation of each new comment.

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Google+ Comments, And The Display Order Option

Blog owners have been asking for this option, for years.

How do I setup comments, so the latest comment displays at the top?

For a long time, the answer has always been "You can't.". This response does not satisfy anybody.

This option is finally here. With Google+ Comments, your readers can choose either "Top comments" (default), or "Newest first". The latter choice shows the latest comments at the top of the comments display.

If you are able and willing to use Google+ Comments for your blog, you can now provide this option, to your readers. This is in my opinion, the first unique and useful feature offered by Google+ Comments.

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Custom Redirects, And The Mobile Template Redirect, Are Not Compatible

We've recently seen a few reports about problems with custom redirects, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I want to redirect my blog URL to a static home page. With a redirect in place, mobile computer users can't access my blog. Mobile browsers display an error, mentioning too many redirects.

This problem is being reported by owners of blogs both published to BlogSpot, and to non BlogSpot domains.

When published to a non BlogSpot domain, the problem is present even for domains properly setup.

Some advice, given in the forum, suggests use of forwarding, instead of referral, as a solution. This advice is a problem, for 2 reasons.

• Forwarding cannot be used with blogs published to BlogSpot.
• Forwarding is not a good solution for custom domain publishing.

---

(Update 2014/11/01): By adding one additional custom redirect, you can have a redirected mobile home page. Even a different mobile home page, if you like.

---

For blogs published to BlogSpot, there are just two choices.

1. Disable the redirected home page, and do without the custom home page.
2. Enable the custom redirected main page, and do without mobile access to the blog.

For blogs published to a custom domain, there are, supposedly, three choices.

1. Disable the redirected home page, and do without the custom home page.
2. Enable the custom redirected main page, and do without mobile access to the blog.
3. Use forwarding, instead of referral, to redirect the domain to the blog.

Forwarding comes in two versions, with differing effects from the two versions. Neither version of forwarding is beneficial, to Blogger blogs.

• DNS forwarding results in the blog being indexed under the BlogSpot URL, by the search engines. The blog's readers will be able to use the (forwarded) domain URL, to access the blog - but all search engine references will mention the BlogSpot URL.
  
  With some access to the blog through the BlogSpot URL, and other access through the domain URL, blog reputation will drop, similar to blogs newly published to a new URL. Both reputation and traffic will do the same.
• Frame forwarding results in the blog being visible within an IFrame. No indexing of the blog, by the search engines, will take place, with blog contents visible inside an iframe. Search engine reputation will drop even worse with DNS forwarding.

Not all registrars offer both versions of forwarding, so you may have to take what they offer - and accept the resulting loss to the blog.

As a workaround, until the problem is fixed, you can return to the previous technique for making a static home page.

Basically, blog owners may have to choose between having a custom home page (for desktop access), and having the blog accessible through mobile browsers (for mobile access) - or using the workaround. And everybody has to wait, patiently, until Blogger Engineering can come up with a better solution - to make custom redirects, and the mobile browser redirect, work together.

Updating A Text Gadget, On Your Blog? Be Careful!

The schizophrenic nature of the HTML / Text gadget continues to confuse some blog owners.

Recently, we're seeing claims about broken Text gadgets, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I hit the Save button, and nothing happens! Why is my Text gadget not working??

Too many blog owners are causing their own problem, because of confusion about the caption in the gadget update wizard.

The header of the HTML / Text wizard is the only visible difference, between the "HTML" and "Text" gadgets.

You'll see "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) or "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget), as the gadget header. The rest of the gadget will be the same, for both gadgets - and this is why some gadgets, being updated, appear to be broken.

The difference between entering HTML, and Text - using either the "HTML" or the "Text" gadget - will be seen in the caption, to the far right of "Content".

The difference between entering HTML, and Text, is not relevant to the actual gadget being added or updated. This problem exists for both "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) and "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget).

The caption will read either "Edit Html", or "Rich Text" - for both "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) and "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget).

• If you want to add / update code (HTML / JavaScript), you will want the caption to read "Rich Text".
• If you want to add / update text (Rich Text), you will want the caption to read "Edit Html".

Examine the formatting toolbar, to the left of the caption, as you click on the caption, to understand this.

Here are 4 views, showing the same gadget:


This is the HTML gadget, in HTML mode.

This is the HTML gadget, in Text mode.

This is the Text gadget, in HTML mode.

This is the Text gadget, in Text mode.


Why is this relevant to the problem, being discussed? Just this - HTML is simply fancy text, with tags (special keywords and symbols). The tags make the difference, between HTML and text.

HTML, properly entered, requires opening and closing tags, properly paired.

When you enter HTML, the tags have to be entered properly, in pairs and in the right sequence. If HTML tags are not entered properly, you can have various problems with the blog, as displayed. One of the possible problems is the long known dropped posts / sidebar section.

Template Editor provides diagnostic messages when mistakes are made.

Part of the confusion here involves people who are used to editing post or template content, using "Edit HTML". When you use post editor, or template editor, and you try to Save with broken HTML, you get various diagnostic errors, telling you that you have a problem. When you add or edit an "HTML" / "JavaScript" / "Text" gadget, and you try to Save with broken HTML, you get no diagnostic error. The gadget wizard just sits there, showing "javascript:void(0);" - and you think that the gadget is broken.

When you use the post editor, and you enter HTML improperly, you get various diagnostic error messages - and you are instructed to fix your tags. When you add or edit a gadget, and you enter HTML improperly, in "HTML" mode in the HTML / Text gadget, the "Save" button becomes in operative - and you think that the gadget is broken.

If you enter text, in HTML mode, you will create HTML syntax errors.

When you add or edit a gadget, and you enter Text, which contains HTML - and you enter the HTML improperly - and you are accidentally in HTML mode - you have a problem. Remember.

• If you want to add / update code (HTML / JavaScript), you will want the caption to read "Rich Text".
• If you want to add / update text (Rich Text), you will want the caption to read "Edit Html".

This is how the "HTML" and "Text" gadgets work.

If you add a Text gadget to your blog, the caption will read "Edit Html" when you are adding text. If you click on "Edit Html", you will see "Rich Text" - and you will then be in HTML mode.

Rich text, in HTML mode, will also generate HTML syntax errors.

When you add or edit a gadget, and you enter rich text, in HTML mode - and the rich text includes HTML keywords and symbols, you will have broken HTML - and the "Save" button will be inoperative. And, you will have a "broken" Text gadget. This is one of several possible causes of problems seen when adding / updating the HTML / JavaScript / Text gadgets.

Is A Custom Domain URL More Valuable Than A BlogSpot URL?

We see the question, about relative value of a custom domain, periodically in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

Does a custom URL actually have value, over a normal BlogSpot URL?

Some people wonder if a custom URL isn't similar to a custom ("vanity") license plate, for your car.

Personally, I can think of 3 reasons why a custom domain might be more valuable, for your Blogger blog.

• Some people believe that having your own domain makes your blog more individual and interesting - and they may be more likely to visit your blog when presented to them, in a search list.
• Since domains are not free, there are less dormant domains than dormant BlogSpot subdomains. It may be easier for you to get the relevant domain of your choice, than the relevant BlogSpot subdomain.
• A properly chosen domain URL may be easier for people to remember, than a BlogSpot URL.

Some people believe that their car is more fun, if it has a license plate that properly reflects their personality.

We know that Blogger blogs, published to a custom domain, have no special qualities. Is the address so special?

Maybe the belief makes the value. People who buy non BlogSpot URLs are not doing so to waste time or money, they do so because they believe that they will benefit. Many people, who read the advice / content of the people who buy non BlogSpot URLs, will also believe that non BlogSpot URLs have value.

Those people will pay more attention to a non BlogSpot URL, than to a BlogSpot URL, when they see a SERP entry that references a non BlogSpot URL - simply because they believe that a non BlogSpot URL has more value than a BlogSpot URL.

Why did Blogger provide the custom domain publishing feature, originally? They did so because:

1. Non BlogSpot URLs are more valuable than BlogSpot URLs.
2. People believe that Non BlogSpot URLs are more valuable than BlogSpot URLs.
3. People who buy Non BlogSpot URLs believe that Non BlogSpot URLs are more valuable than BlogSpot URLs.

Possibly, #2 and #3, together, make the answer self fulfilling.

People believe - therefore, it is true.

That said, a custom URL will have more value if you set it up properly - and if you manage the new URL, carefully.

Blog Owners Report "isExperimental: Required field must not be blank" When Using Blogger

We're seeing a number of blog owners, reporting a new problem with their Blogger dashboards, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I am seeing an new error in the Live Preview section of the Template Designer.

The following errors were found:
isExperimental: Required field must not be blank

Upon examination of the URL window in the browser, the source of the problem is seen.

draft.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx#templatehtml

It appears that we are seeing one more reason why routine use of Draft Blogger is not a good idea.

People who are seeing the "isExperimental" error have only one choice - stop using Draft Blogger for template customisation.

Many of the blog owners reporting this problem have previously selected the option to use Draft Blogger, by default. When this is the case, returning to standard (non Draft) Blogger is not complicated.

• From the dashboard home page, next to the blog list, find the gear icon.
• Click on the gear, then on "Edit User Settings".
• On "Edit User Settings", and under "General", de select the option to "Use Blogger Draft".
• Log out of Blogger, clear cache, cookies, and sessions, restart the browser, and log back in again.

Having reset the redirect option (if necessary), always login using "www.blogger.com", instead of "draft.blogger.com".

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