The Domain Root ("Naked Domain") May Not Be Optional

One of the most consistently seen complaints, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, involves blog owners who can't get their blogs working, using custom domain publishing.

Thanks to undertrained tech support staff, a common feature at too many registrars, the most common cause of custom domain problems involves failure to use "CNAME" referral - or "CNAME" referral targeting the wrong destination. Both use of forwarding, and "CNAME" referral to the domain root, is seen too often.

www.mydomain.com.  1800  IN  A  64.202.189.170

or maybe

www.mydomain.com.  1800  IN  CNAME  mydomain.com

Please, don't use either of the above address models!

Unfortunately, even with the blog properly published to the "www" alias - and with the "www" alias using "CNAME" referral, targeting "ghs.google.com" - we still see problems. With neither of the above mistakes made.

The most essential requirement, for a stable custom domain, is "CNAME" referral, targeting "ghs.google.com".

www.mydomain.com.  3600  IN  CNAME  ghs.google.com.

or alternately,for Google Domains and similar setups,

www.mydomain.com.  3600  IN  CNAME  ghs.googlehosted.com.

Please, use this address model! This is where a properly addressed domain starts.

Properly setup DNS addresses won't avoid all DNS related problems.

Some domains have properly setup DNS addresses - but still have problems. DNS is a complex - and essential Internet service. Even with DNS addresses properly setup, all DNS servers, worldwide, won't be constantly operational.

Here's one exercise, using my domain, as an example. Click on each of the following URLs, one by one - and examine the map.

https://www.whatsmydns.net/#A/nitecruzr.net
https://www.whatsmydns.net/#A/www.nitecruzr.net
https://www.whatsmydns.net/#CNAME/www.nitecruzr.net

You'll hopefully see a lot of green check marks - and you'll probably see one or two red "X" marks too. Those red "X" marks represent a DNS server, somewhere, returning "404 Not Found" for my domain. Your domain will return similar (probably not identical) results, at any time.

If your domain is properly setup, your potential readers, hopefully near one of the green check marks, should be able to read your blog. The red "X" marks, unfortunately, are a normal part of Internet life.

We may see obvious problems, when looking at the domain root. Mistakes setting up both the domain root, and the "www" host, are well known. But why do mistakes with the domain root seem to affect us, when we access the "www" host?

Some browsers automatically use the domain root and "www" alias, equally.

If Firefox is involved, an improperly setup domain root can be involved in problems. We've known, for many years, that Firefox aliases the domain root and the "www" host. If the "www" host has a problem, Firefox will attempt use of the domain root. When there's a problem with the "www" host, if the domain root is improperly setup, the blog will be offline.

Whenever any problem is reported with a blog published to a custom domain, I routinely check both the domain root and "www" host - even when the blog owner explicitly reports using Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Safari - and even when the blog owner reports publishing to the "www" host.

99% of the time, when the blog owner is able and willing to fix discovered problems with DNS addresses for the domain root, the problem at hand will be solved. That is when we see the benefit of having the domain root and the "www" host aliased, and backing up each other.

Why do we see problems with the domain root, with the "www" alias involved?

Why does a problem with the domain root seem to affect use of the "www" host, for multiple browsers - not just for Firefox? Pick one.

• Other browsers - not just Firefox - alias the domain root and "www" host.
• Some operating systems alias the domain root and "www" host.
• Some DNS servers alias the domain root and "www" host.

Whatever the case, I suggest that DNS addressing of the domain root should not be treated as an option, when setting up a custom domain. If you want a stable custom domain, there are but 3 DNS models, that you can use reliably - instructions provided by Blogger not withstanding.

Having setup either the "Symmetrical" or "Asymmetrical" DNS models, always remember to select the "optional" domain root redirect.

Mysterious Text, Overlaying The Post

A few times recently, we've had reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, of mysterious text, appearing in the middle of the posts.

How do I remove unwanted text appearing in the middle of the page?

Frequently, all that we can see is a mass of text.

Occasionally, the mysterious text has been readable. Extracting key phrases from the text, we can some times locate the source of the mysterious text, in the post code.

Having located the mysterious text, we are no smarter than we were just previously, however.

The mysterious text. In this case, the text is simply unreadable.


In some cases, we've been able to read the text. A text search, in the source code for the page, might turn up this snippet of post HTML code.

<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The project sees local artists joining forces with the University’s smart material researchers to work with local community groups to explore, create and design different applications for smart materials - See more at:
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/MediaCentre/Articles/2013/Feb2013-3.aspx#sthash.JEpPZWbT.dpuf</div>

stcpDiv


The key phrase in the code snippet appears to be the div id, "stcpDiv".

A Google search turns up a few discussions about the mysterious text. It appears that "stcpDiv" is part of a copy protection technique.

STopCoPyDIV

Apparently, this allows source websites to publish content with metadata - the equivalent of a non visible watermark - linking back to the source, when content is copied to another website.

To resolve this, you have to edit the post which contains the "stcpdiv" code in Compose mode, and use the "Remove formatting" tool. Then reformat the entire post.

Alternately, edit the problem post in HTML mode, and find and remove all "stcpdiv" code - one section at a time.

And in the future, never copy formatted content from a protected website.

This is yet one more reason why copying formatted text is not a good idea. If you must copy text, copy it unformatted - then re apply formatting, as necessary, after copying.

With Google+ Based Comments, Moderation Is By Community

With Blogger based comments, only the blog owner is allowed to report abusive comments published against their blog.

You are free to classify or delete comments posted against your blog - but comments posted against somebody else's blog are their business, and their opinion.

With Google+ based comments, moderation is a community exercise. Anybody, seeing an abusive Google+ hosted comment or post, is able to "Block" and / or "Report abuse".

You, the blog owner, have no special responsibilities or rights, with regard to comments posted by someone else, against your blog.

Comment moderation is a community responsibility, with Google+ posts and comments, and with Google+ based comments against Blogger blogs.

• You cannot, unilaterally, declare a comment to be abusive.
• You have no need to spend your time reading comments, and deciding if they are abusive.

Any Google+ member, seeing an offensive post, can mark it.

Everybody has the ability to mark any Google+ post - or Google+ based Blogger comment - as abusive. You can do this, against your blog, as well as against someone else's blog.

You, being a blog owner, have no unilateral decisions to make, to delete or to mark any Google+ post or Google+ based Blogger comment - even if the Google+ post mentions your blog (Google+ based Blogger comment is against your blog).

You can't view every comment or post - even if your blog is mentioned.

If a Google+ post or Google+ based Blogger comment is not published to the public, by someone who has not circled you, you won't even see that post or comment. With this lack of visibility, community based moderation is the only possible solution.

You have no need to read each comment, one by one, and decide if it is abusive. This eliminates the need for individual moderation - and allows all comments to be published, immediately. As a secondary effect, this encourages more comments.

You can spend more time working on your log - and let your readers moderate.

Since you don't need to spend your time reading comments, you have more time to work on your blog. This gives your readers better / more content to read, and encourages more search engine traffic. More search engine traffic leads to more readers, and more comments. Eat, sleep, rave, repeat.

Community based abuse classification allows more accurate and prompt feedback, into the Blogger / Google abuse classification processes. This may help reduce the volume of spuriously classified blogs, reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken

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

As a secondary effect, Blogger Policy Review may be able to more promptly review the blogs that are reported.

Confusion From Feed Gadgets That Don't Display All Feeds In The List

One of the more intriguing subjects of confusion, about feed gadgets, involves gadgets with more feeds in the list then they are set to display.

Occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see the petulant query

Why does my blog disappear from (feed gadgets on) other peoples blogs?

This confusion starts with the question of how often and when we update our blogs, as opposed to how often and when the other blog owners update their blogs. It continues with the little known effect of the difference between how many feeds are in the gadget list, as opposed to how many feeds the gadget is set to display.

A gadget which has 10 feeds in the list, but is set to display only 5 feeds, will display the 5 most recently updated feeds.

A feed gadget will display only the count of feeds that it is set for.

The other 5 feeds will not display - and since the display order will vary according to date last updated, so will the set of feeds displayed. As different feeds are updated irregularly, they become the 5 feeds displayed. The other 5 feeds, updated less recently, will seem to disappear from the display.

This blog has a BlogList with 6 entries (currently) - but set to display the 5 most recently updated feeds. There will always be 1 feed which does not display - and the missing 1 feed, at any time, will be the least recently updated.

Look in the sidebar, for the gadget labeled "THE REAL BLOGGER STATUS - POSTS". Below that gadget, you'll find an unlabeled feed gadget, displaying feeds from 6 different blogs.

What displays, over time, will vary - depending upon recent updates.

If you watch this blog over a period of days or weeks, you'll see 5 feeds display, in an occasionally changing sequence. That sequence, seemingly random, will reflect the 5 feeds most recently updated - and the 6th feed will seem to disappear.

If you are an owner of one of the blogs which are featured, in that feed gadget, you may be occasionally asking yourself

Why does my blog seem to disappear from The REAL Blogger Status, from time to time?

The disappearance will not involve your imagination - just how often you update your blog, compared to how often the other blog owners update theirs.

You can look at the gadgets on your blog - and see the effect on your blog.

Look at the various BlogList and Feed gadgets, on your blog. Do any of your gadgets have a list that's longer than the display number? It's perfectly valid to do this - but if you are doing this, consider that somebody who publishes one of the blogs, that you've featured in your gadget, is occasionally asking himself

Why does my blog disappear from (your) blog?

Blogger Magic - A Blog Within A Blog

One of the most fascinating features of Blogger blogs is the various options to organise our content.

Long ago, I wrote a simple article, Adding A Blogger Blog To A Website. That's become one of the most consistently popular posts, in this blog. Most blog owners have multiple interests, and like to organise their different interests, by subject - and have a different blog, for each subject.

Some people like to have a blog, and a website - and host both the blog and website in one Blogger blog, under one URL. For a small blog / website combination, that's an easy way to start out - and a good alternative, to having multiple blogs / websites.

It's easy to create a Blogger blog, and have the blog host multiple virtual blogs and / or websites.

The simplest "blog" uses a static home page, and the posts accessed from Pages, as "Blog".

A static home page - and all posts accessed as "Blog".

First, redirect the Home page to a static page.

From: /
To: /p/Welcome.html

Then add a simple dynamic "Blog" page, using "Configure Page List" - if you want all of the posts visible from the "Blog" tab.

Caption: Blog
Link: /search/label/

But, there are more possibilities.

Organised right, you can do without an archive section.

Done carefully enough, you can maybe display an entire blog without archive pages.

Have enough sections - and consistently use Jump Break on the posts - may let you fit a dozen or so posts onto one index page.

Some people organise blog content, using static pages.

The most obvious solutions for this need - to some people - is to setup static pages, one page / subject. But sometimes, interests / subjects overlap - and material that's published on one static page (as in one blog or website) might be relevant to another page (or blog / website).

I recommend basing the blog on dynamic content - and dynamic accessories.

The easiest way to make all of the content accessible is to add various dynamic indexing and search accessories. But some static structural accessories are useful, too.

Then, add a Pages gadget, if not already added. You can have a linkbar / tab index - or possibly a linklist, positioned anywhere convenient. Or both.

Start by labeling your posts.

First, add labels, to the posts. You can use either the posts index, or post editor, to add labels. You use the former, to add one label to many posts - and the latter, to add many labels to one post.

With the posts well labeled, decide how you want to display the pages.

Dynamic content lets you display one post, in multiple pages.

Using this blog as an example, this post could be useful in my "Labels", "Magic", and "Redirecting" sections of this blog, to start. Look above, at the toolbar. Do you see the "Magic" button?

Hover the pointer cursor over "Magic" - and see what's there.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/magic

From: /Magic
To: /search/label/Blogger%20Magic

There's my "magic" blog, within this blog.

Magic

Just as easily, I could have "Labels" and "Redirecting".

From: /Labels
To: /search/label/Labels

From:  /Redirecting
To: /search/label/Redirecting

You can separate the "Home" page from the "Blog" page.

Some people want to keep the blog and home page separate. They have 2 labels, "Blog" and "Home". All that they do is publish various posts, to either label - and setup 2 redirects.

From: /Blog
To: /search/label/Blog

From: /
To: /search/label/Home

And there's a blog

Blog

within a blog.

Making things simpler, if you want "Blog" to index all posts (as in an actual "blog"), you don't need to label the posts. Apparently, "... /search/label/ " retrieves everything, instead of nothing.

From: /Blog
To: /search/label/

There are several possibilities for "Home" page content, too.

As an alternate to redirecting the home page to a label search, you can always redirect the Home page to a single post - if that's your preference.

From: /
To:  /2014/07/blogger-magic-blog-within-blog.html

And that is a very basic blog, within your blog.

And you can still use static pages, for truly static content.

And one final detail - add one or more actual static pages. For non changing content, that you don't want ending up in a search engine hit page, add a simple static page.

You may have to add the Pages gadget, using "Add a Gadget".

Most blog owners will use the Pages gadget, to index their dynamic and static pages (such as "posts" and "pages"). If the Pages gadget is not already present in the blog, you may use the dashboard Layout page and "Add a Gadget", to add the gadget. Then, use "Configure Page List" to add the pages created.