Security Problems Affect Many Blogger Features

One of the more perplexing problems, in Blogger owner / reader life, involves layered security issues, and filter changes.

Many Blogger features are vulnerable to security filters. The ability to use Blogger commenting, the EU cookie advice banner won't display or won't go away, the infamous Reading List, the Blogger Stats "Don't track ..." option - all require cookies and scripts, that are subject to filtering.

Any filters, on any given computer, can change, at a moments notice - and without intentional action by the owner of the computer. One common complaint by many computer owners starts out

I didn't change a thing! Commenting / the cookie advice banner / my Reading List / my Stats display just stopped working!

In many cases, the owner will be absolutely correct - he did not cause the problem - but he will still have problems with Comments / The Cookie Advice Banner / Post/Page/Template Preview / Reading List / Stats / Template Designer / whatever.

Filters can cause problems, because of various issues which the computer owner cannot control - but which he / she will see.

• Geolocation fuzziness can affect country code alias redirection.
• Newly added country code aliases, by Blogger, can affect country code alias redirection.
• Carrying a portable computer, from country to country, can affect country code alias redirection.
• Ongoing filter updates, by the publisher, can affect any filter, at any time.

The typical computer owner can neither anticipate nor diagnose any of these changes - but they can observe indirect results.

Geolocation fuzziness can be a problem because of country code alias redirection, and apparent changes in computer location.

A computer located somewhere near an international boundary can appear, because of geolocation variation, to be located on either side of a country border. If either country is subject to country code alias redirection, the resulting URL change will affect any filters that are domain based.

An on again, off again filter problem, with only one country subject to alias redirection, will be caused by apparent movement of the computer between countries.

Newly added country code aliases, installed by Blogger, can be a problem because of redirections, which were previously not existent. Computers located in a country which is newly subject to alias redirection will have unanticipated problems with domain based filters, from URLs reflecting the new country code.

Carrying a portable computer, across / near international boundaries, can contribute to either alias redirection issue. The computer owner will be aware of the location change - and may suspect that some problems may be caused by the location changes - but will be unlikely to understand how the problems might be avoided.

Ongoing filter updates, made by the publisher, can be a problem because of changes that will be completely unexpected. This problem will affect every computer in the world, periodically. The changes, made by the various security product publishers, will not be known or understood by the computer owners - and they will happen automatically, without the knowledge of the computer owner.

Many computer owners are not even aware of the presence of security products on a given computer - so subtly are the security products provided, these days.

Ad Blockers, Anti Malware / Anti Spam Protection, Performance Optimisers, and various Security Suites (such as whatever Microsoft is packaging, at any time) - all of these products contain filters. And Blogger / Google, because of their necessary use of multiple domains, provides features that are vulnerable to the filters.

With any of these problems, the simplest diagnosis starts with checking / correcting browser cookie filters - and continues with checking / correcting browser script filters.

You Cannot Publish Your Blog To A Website SubFolder

Occasionally, a new blog owner will want to make a blog part of his website.

Long ago, before custom domain publishing became a Blogger option, it was normal to publish a blog into a website subfolder. FTP Publishing let anybody publish a blog as "www.mywebsite.com/blog".

But FTP Publishing ended, shortly after custom domain publishing replaced it. And now, publishing to a subfolder is not an option.

With custom domain publishing, you can still publish a Blogger blog as part of a website - you simply publish to a domain host, not a subfolder.

1. Add the DNS address for "blog.mywebsite.com", to the domain.
2. Publish the blog to "blog.mywebsite.com".

This is an "additional virtual host". It is one of the three standard DNS models used, in Blogger custom domain publishing.

The domain host is sometimes referred to as a subdomain - though generally, you will use a virtual host in the domain. It may be possible to simulate the URL of "www.mywebsite.com/blog", using a custom redirect.

With the blog published to the domain, you have a domain cluster. You then add the blog as part of the website.

With the blog part of the website, you continue to publish the blog, with informative, interesting, and unique content. The key phrase here is "continue to publish".

Custom domain publishing - while slightly more complicated than FTP publishing setup - provides a more stable experience, for your readers. And isn't that why you setup a blog, in the first place - for your readers?

The Mysterious Reading List Becomes Even More So

This week, we're seeing a noticeable increase in reports about problems with reading list content.

People are, once again, reporting empty reading lists - and many deny the suggestion that computers used by the readers might have anything to do with the problem. Neither filtered cookies / scripts, nor using the wrong Blogger account, appears to be involved in some of this weeks problems.

One account owner reported having cleaned her Reading List - and after having removed just one entry from the list, the Reading List content became visible, again.

This suggests that the owner may be following too many blogs - or possibly, following one blog which recently increased feed size. Either could be true, based upon the common complaint.

I didn't change anything! It just stopped working, last week, on its own!!

The problem, as reported, resembles the different causes of the earlier discussed dynamic template problems.

Unfortunately, there is no Reading List setting, similar to the adjustable "Timeout" variable in the dynamic templates, that might easily provide relief from the Reading List problems.

If an excessively large reading list is responsible for this weeks problems, the problem could have either of two causes - and each cause could have different success in diagnosis.

• Simply following too many blogs.
• Following one blog, which now has a relatively large newsfeed.

Some people may be simply following too many blogs. This should be easy enough to diagnose, and to treat. If enough people, complaining of the problem, are able and willing to state their Reading List size, we can simply recommend that they each reduce Reading List size - by deleting one entry at a time, until the problem goes away and their Reading List shows content, again.

Other people may be following one blog, which now has a relatively large newsfeed. The size may be caused by meta content caused by Base64 encoded images, or by use of Microsoft Word, in composing posts.

In either case, identifying a problem blog in ones Reading List, by visually scanning the Reading List content, may not be easy. Every helper in the forum knows how subtle a Base64 or MSWord problem can be - when diagnosing auto pagination problems, for instance.

In the latter case, it's unlikely that simply un following single blogs, one at a time, will be consistently useful. One blog, with Base64 or MSWord content, could be the size of half a dozen properly formatted blog newsfeeds.

Identifying a problem blog won't be an easy task. The problem blog, in any one Reading List, could be the blog most recently followed - or it could be one that has been followed for months or years.

We should also point out that if your computer filters inappropriately or you are using the wrong Blogger account, you won't be able to use Blogger: Manage Blogs I'm Following - or even Google Friend Connect: Sites I've joined - because neither will list blogs being followed by an improperly identified account.

At any rate, we now have a new Rollup Discussion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, where we are requesting details from everybody who is experiencing this problem.

While we wait for action by Blogger Engineering, everybody experiencing this problem is strongly urged to contribute their details to the Rollup Discussion. Problem diagnosis being as it is, any one person, contributing their details, might contribute the one essential detail that leads to successful diagnosis of the problem.

Blog Accessories, And The Mobile Template

Some blog owners don't care much for the mobile template.

A few blog owners simply think that the mobile template is just too plain looking.

Where are all of the gadgets?

These blog owners express a concern which is not too hard to resolve. If you want gadgets to be visible on a mobile display, make the gadgets visible. Of course, it's up to you, to not add too many gadgets, and make your blog impossible to read.

By default, most gadgets are blocked, from appearing, when the blog is displayed in mobile mode.

Only Header, Blog, Profile, PageList, AdSense, Attribution will be displayed on mobile when the mobile attribute is 'default.'

You may have to add mobile="yes", to the template code, for any other gadget.

<b:widget id='FeaturedPost1' locked='false' mobile='yes' title='An Important Update' type='FeaturedPost' visible='true'>

It is not too difficult to override the block, for gadgets that are not enabled.

You have to use Template Editor, to add the mobile setting.

Use the Template Editor, and find the entry for each gadget. This is one case where you cannot just add mobile="yes" as part of the HTML gadget code.

Add / edit the "mobile" attribute, for any gadget that you want to appear in mobile mode.

mobile="yes"

Some gadgets can be made to appear only in mobile mode.

Using the "mobile" attribute, it is possible to have various gadgets appear in mobile mode, only.

mobile="only"

This would allow you to have two versions, mobile and non mobile, of gadgets which can be added in duplicate.

<b:widget id=”PageList1” locked=”false” mobile=”no” title=”Page List, non mobile” type=”PageList”/>

and

<widget id=”PageList2” locked=”false” mobile=”only” title=”Page List, mobile” type=”PageList”/>

This example would let you index specific pages, to be displayed in mobile mode, for instance.

Now your blog can have distinctly different displays, in mobile mode, and in non mobile mode.

Nude Celebrity Blogs Are Not Allowed In Blogger

We've had some photo / video blogs under review recently, and confirmed as TOS Violations.

The citations were first seen late last year, and associated with the "Jennifer Lawrence" / "Anna Kendrick" celebrity leak photos scandal.

We're asking Blogger Support for details of the policy - but right now it appears that Google is now forbidding any "nude celebrity" photos or videos, after their public relations problems surrounding the Jennifer Lawrence photos.

Besides being considered pornography by some, "nude celebrity" photos constitute a DMCA violation (some celebrities may consider their photos to be commercially valuable), and invasion of privacy (photos were taken without consent).

Google was, as noted, unsuccessful in getting the Jennifer Lawrence photos completely removed from search engine cache - but that does not mean that they will allow similar content, or links to content, in their servers. And using the Jennifer Lawrence episode as a learning experience, they are being prudent in forbidding similar nude photo / video distribution.

The "nude celebrity" policy is part of the Blogger Content policy, under "Adult Content: Exceptions".

There are some exceptions to our adult content policy:

• Do not use Blogger as a way to make money on adult content. For example, don't create blogs that contain ads for or links to commercial porn sites.
• We do not allow illegal sexual content, including image, video or textual content that depicts or encourages rape, incest, bestiality, or necrophilia.
• Do not post or distribute private nude or sexually explicit images or videos without the subject’s consent. If someone has posted a private nude or sexually explicit image or video of you, please report it to us here.

Apparently, the consent issue will protect both celebrities, and non celebrities, alike.

Google cannot control the Internet, in general - so it's unlikely that "nude celebrity" photos will eve be erased from the Internet, completely. People being what they are, there will always be demand for these photos - and where there's demand, there will always be supply. And Google accepts search content from other search engines.

Spammers being what they are, some "nude celebrity" content, and worse, will always be problematic, to Blogger and Google. However, the new policy, and improved TOS Violation detection, will enable Google to make such content short lived.

If you wish to provide or link to nude celebrity photos or videos, in online content, please don't use Blogger blogs to host your content.

Use Mixed Case URLs, When Publishing, Carefully

This blog is "blogging.nitecruzr.net".

If I wanted to dress up the URL slightly, I might tell you it's "Blogging.Nitecruzr.Net". Either URL should work, for reading the blog, equally well - with the domain setup properly.

Both blogs published to "blogspot.com" - and to non BlogSpot (aka "custom domain") - URLs are subjected to unexpected mixed case variations, from time to time.

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Please note! This blog is written in the "English" language, which uses the "Latin" alphabet. In properly composed "English" / "Latin", case sensitivity is important.

Please - if you don't understand the issues of "case sensitivity", research!

See the Wikipedia article "Case sensitivity" for details, if your native language is not "English" - or you don't understand the importance of "case sensitivity", "lower case", "Mixed Case", and "UPPER CASE".

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The Blogger computers do not all handle mixed case URLs, equally well.

If you want reliable performance, use lower case URLs consistently!

If you want your blog - or your domain - to operate reliably, so your readers can view your posts, you should publish using lower case URLs.

This post is titled "Use Mixed Case URLs, When Publishing, Carefully". Look at the URL, for this post, as published by Blogger.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2015/01/use-mixed-case-urls-carefully.html

If you publish your blog using all lower case letters, in the URLs, your readers will have a better chance to read your blog.

I can advertise my blog as "Blogging.NiteCruzr.Net" - or even "BloggerStatusForReal.BlogSpot.Com" - if I like. My readers can read this blog using "blogging.nitecruzr.net", "Blogging.NiteCruzr.Net", or even "BlOgGiNg.NiteCruzr.Net".

Well written code will canonise mixed case, to lower case.

Most computers will know that a URL "BlOgGiNg.NiteCruzr.Net" should be read as "blogging.nitecruzr.net". Conversely, if I was to publish as "BlOgGiNg.NiteCruzr.Net", how easily would "blogging.nitecruzr.net" be converted to "BlOgGiNg.NiteCruzr.Net"?

Each reader, loading this blog in their browser, picks up the canonical tag in the blog header - and the browser will continue by reading this blog as "blogging.nitecruzr.net". When the time comes, the search engines, using the canonical tag, will index the blog as "blogging.nitecruzr.net".

Where it matters, though, is that the blog is best setup - and published - as "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com", and "blogging.nitecruzr.net". You should do likewise, when you publish your blog - whether to "blogspot.com", or to your own private custom domain.

Domain Ownership Verification May Not Be Required

Not all blog owners, publishing a blog to a custom domain, will be required to verify domain ownership.

Originally, this was not the case. When ownership verification was added to custom domain publishing, in 2012, every use of the Publishing wizard - even for domains previously purchased using "Buy a domain" - would require a new "CNAME".

Since many registrars limit the number of address entries / domain, the new "CNAME" meant half the maximum number of hosts / domain. Of course, most blog owners patience ran out long before the magical maximum - but there was always that spectre hanging over every custom domain.

Recently, the domain ownership verification requirements changed.

Now, instead of requiring ownership verification for each host, only publishing to the domain root generates the apocryphal "Error 12" and variants. Some blog owners, publishing to non root hosts, or trying to publish with spurious addresses, find their domains published without even the hint of verification.

Successful domain publishing requires you to add righteous base DNS addresses, and get the domain working.

• If you add righteous base DNS addresses, and the domain works without ownership verification, ownership verification is not required.
• If you add righteous base DNS addresses, and ownership verification is required, instructions for adding the second "CNAME" will be provided, when you publish to the domain.
• If you add spurious base DNS addresses, the domain is not going to work - even with ownership verified.

Start by setting up a new domain with righteous base DNS addresses, then Publish to the proper address.

If you get the base addresses right, you may be given instructions for the second "CNAME". If so, you return to the zone editor, add the second "CNAME" using the instructions, and repeat the Publishing wizard. If the Publishing wizard indicates success

mycustomdomainblog.blogspot.com redirects to www.mydomain.com

you are almost done.

Use a text proxy and verify that the domain is now operational. If the text proxy shows a problem, check your base DNS addresses - and correct if necessary. Allow for proper DNS latency, and check domain operation again.

If any doubt or confusion, start a new topic in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, and request assistance. Let us help you, before you try using a spuriously setup domain, and maybe avoid the old corrupt domain.

Key already exists for www.mydomain.com

Why subject yourself to needless pain and suffering?

Just don't worry, needlessly, if you don't get the well known "Error 12" when you hit "Save", and see

mycustomdomainblog.blogspot.com redirects to www.mydomain.com

Verify operation of the domain, and start getting the domain indexed by the search engines.

Blog Owners, Using Older Versions Of Internet Explorer, Unable To Upload Photos

We have a small but vocal group of blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, who report that they are unable to use Post Editor, to upload photos.

When trying, they get an error

Do you want to open or save resumable (1.61kb) from www.blogger.com?

Right now, it appears that the problem is common to older versions of Internet Explorer.

The blog owners willing to provide details, about their browser, appear to be using Internet Explorer V8 or V9.

It is possible that the owners having a problem with IE V9 are using Blogger with Compatibility View enabled - which effectively gives them IE V8. Noting that Internet Explorer V8 is considerably out of date - and is now not supported by Blogger - it's possible that the primary cause of the problem simply involves use of IE V8 (or V9 with "Compatibility View").

We have a Problem Rollup Discussion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, where we are requesting details from everybody who is experiencing this problem.

While we wait for action by Blogger Engineering, everybody experiencing this problem is strongly urged to contribute their details to the Rollup Discussion. Problem diagnosis being as it is, any one person, contributing their details, might contribute the one essential detail that leads to successful diagnosis of the problem.

Alternately, you might consider upgrading Internet Explorer - or disabling "Compatibility View", for "blogger.com".

Google+ Comments Are Open To Everybody

One source of occasional confusion, seen in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, is about Google+ and the lack of control.

We have discussed the lack of commenting moderation options - but that's just a small part of what you don't get.

Under Settings, then Posts and comments, I don't have the same choices as shown.

This blog owner is used to the array of comment settings, that seem natural, to somebody using Blogger comments.

With Google+ comments, you get one setting, under "Posts and comments" - Comments.

Comment Location

Everything else is part of Google+, and stream behaviour.

Anybody who can see the blog can publish a comment.

Besides the lack of moderation options, the lack of control over who can comment can be disconcerting. With Google+ Comments, anybody, who has an Exciting Google+ account, can comment - just as in the Google+ stream, anybody can post anything they wish.

Unless you, the blog owner, are in a Circle that's addressed by a commenter, you won't even see a non Public comment - even if your blog is mentioned. This leads to more confusion.

Why does the comment count go up for this post - even with no comments visible?

Google+ will count comments that you may not get to see. This too can be disconcerting. Anybody can comment, on your blog - and you can't see the comments. Comment moderation is left to the people who can see the comments.

Google+ Comments only work for public blogs.

But there's a more intriguing oddity. We are told to use Google+ for distribution of private blog posts - but you cannot use Google+ Comments on a private blog.

Google+ hosted comments only work, with public blogs. With a private blog, you use Google+ to distribute the posts - but you can only use Blogger hosted comments.

Since automatic post sharing only works for Public shares, you have to manually share each post - so you can select the appropriate Circles to view each individual post.

If you have a private blog, your readers can discuss your blog posts, in their streams - but nothing will show up on the blog. And, they can view the blog - and possibly comment there - but nothing will show up in their streams.

Don't Try To Split The Custom Domain Root URLs

Some blog owners publish both a blog and a website - and combine the two in the domain root / www host address pair.

This technique, while apparently reasonable, will eventually lead to confusion from the blog readers - and / or anguish by the blog owners.

Some readers, using a browser or DNS client that aliases the domain root and "www" host, will find that the website will come up, when the blog is referenced, or vice versa. And some blog owners may find, once more, another case of "Another blog ..." / Key already exists ...", when examining or publishing to the domain.

In neither case will the blog owners or readers be pleased.

We've known, for a while, about browsers and possibly DNS clients, that alias the domain root and the "www" host.

The domain root and "www" host are aliased, in some systems.

The practice of aliasing the domain root and "www" host has been common, with some webmasters, for years. Firefox - and possibly other web browsers and some DNS clients - have used the domain root, and "www" host, to back each other up.

The standard DNS setup for custom domain publishing, as provided by Blogger "Buy a domain", included a set of "A" addresses to define the domain root - and a "CNAME" to define the "www" host - whenever "Buy a domain" was provided as an option for Blogger blogs.

We've seen domain aliasing cause problems, with improperly domain root setup.

I have advised many custom domain blog owners, who have purchased domains directly from a registrar, to add the 4 x "A" records (when not defined - or when improperly defined), when reporting a "404" from the "www" host. Many times, the "404" has been resolved - even with the "www" host already properly defined, in DNS.

If you split your domain between a blog and a website, your readers may suffer.

If a domain is defined with a (non Blogger) website published to the domain root, and a Blogger blog published to the "www" host - and there is a problem accessing the "www" host - some browsers / DNS clients will automatically try accessing the domain root. This will happen, without decision by the computer owner.

If your reader is trying to access the blog (published to the "www" host) - and the browser displays the website (published to the domain root), this will lead to confusion.

It may seem like the domain root and "www" aliases are separately addressed domain components - but this may not, in reality, be true. The sanity of your readers many make this an important issue.

Besides the three supported Blogger configurations, there are an additional three variants, which support a non Blogger website combined with a Blogger blog. For best results, use one of the three identified configurations.

Blogger Support Won't Play Wheel Of Fortune With Us

Long ago, Blogger Support used to provide personalised account recovery service, to blog owners who had forgotten their account names and passwords - and give "hints" in open forum discussion, reminiscent of the popular TV game show, Wheel Of Fortune.

But reality intervened - and now, everybody who wants to recover access to a Blogger account / blog must use one of the automated account / blog access recovery tools- however defective they may appear to be.

We have seen several sad stories, played out in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

Round #1

An unhappy "blog owner" would request assistance.

I forgot the password. Can somebody help me recover access?

Blogger Support would email recovery instructions to "whatever @ gmail . com", and advise the "blog owner"

I emailed your reset instructions to "w***e*** @ g**** . com".

Sometimes they would get the reply

That does not help me. Can I buy a vowel?

Blogger Support, always optimistic, would give it another go.

I emailed your reset instructions to "w*a*e*** @ g**** . com".

then

I emailed your reset instructions to "w*a*e**r @ g**** . com".

Finally, the successful "blog owner" would reply

Thank you so much! I am so happyyyyyyyy!!!

But the story did not always end there.

Round #2

The next month somebody would report

My blog disappeared from my dashboard while I was in the hospital, in a coma. I now want to tell everybody how I am doing - but my blog is now full of spam, and nobody can read it!! Whatever can the problem be?

And the blog mentioned in Round #2 turned out to be the same as in Round #1.

Round #3

The final verdict would be that Blogger Support, while playing "Wheel of Fortune" in Round #1, had been playing with a hacker, who was then able to steal somebody else's blog.

Bonus Round

After that happened a couple times. Blogger developed the recovery tools, and wrote the final FAQ. And, stopped providing real time, personalised advice.

And that is that. You cannot prove that you are the owner of the blog, because you cannot communicate directly with Blogger Support. You have to use the tools provided - and / or search each email account, persistently.

Blogger Support will not play "Wheel of Fortune" any more. Everybody is urged to never reveal their email address, to the world.

In some cases, the blogs would be deleted, as new spam hosts - but ownership is seldom recoverable.

Bankrupt

Your best solution, now, is to start a new blog - then combine the two blogs, in a blog cluster.

Spam Review Requires Triage

If you are a fan of any TV medical dramas - or if you have any medical background, you probably know the term "triage".

In a medical setting, triage is applied to conditions where multiple patients are present, and far outnumber the medical staff available to provide immediate treatment. When a "triage" technique is needed, one doctor examines each patient, briefly, and places each in one of three categories.

1. Immediate care needed, and beneficial.
2. Immediate care not needed. Treat when cases of #1 priority are complete.
3. Immediate care not needed, or useful. Treat when cases of #1 and #2 priority are complete.

We have a "triage" dialogue, for spam review. The dialogue uses 3 progressive screenings, to place a blog in one of three Categories.

1. Spam review needed.
2. Spam review not needed.
3. Spam review not beneficial.

Each progressive reply determines what succeeding reply is appropriate.

Prescreening: Request automated spam review.
The triage process, and manual spam review, is most effective when preceded by an owner requested automated review, using the dashboard "Appeal" / "Restore" / "Review" buttons. This is most likely to happen when the blog owner is able to login, using the right account - and will be possible only when the owner account is not deleted or locked.

Category 1: Spam review needed
This category includes blogs that were deleted by Blogger as suspected spam hosts, are being reported by the owner, and are likely to be restored by Blogger Policy Review staff, when presented to them. Blogs in this category will pass all 3 forum screenings.

Category 2: Spam review not needed
Not all deleted blogs were deleted by Blogger, as suspected spam hosts. Blogs may have other status.

• Deleted by Blogger, for other reasons.
• Deleted by people, not Blogger.
• Not deleted, at all.

None of those blogs will benefit from spam review. The 3 forum screenings help us identify blogs in this category.

Category 3: Spam review not beneficial
Not all blogs, deleted by Blogger, will be restored - even if reviewed. The 3 forum screenings help us identify blogs that will not pass review by Blogger Policy Review staff, and give us the clues and details that can help us convince the novice spammers that continuing to publish a given blog - or requesting review of a righteously deleted blog - will not benefit them.

Screening #1
The first screening helps us establish 3 details.

1. The blog was deleted by Blogger.
2. The blog is a suspected spam host.
3. Review is being requested by the owner.

We can deduce these 3 conditions, given two crucial details by the owner.

• The BlogSpot URL.
• A screen print of the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list.

A thoughtful blog owner, including both details in the opening post in the topic, will avoid the first screening altogether.

I am sure that this is a frustrating experience - and I thank you for writing here, for advice. Impolite treatment of genuine blogs, however, is an unavoidable side effect of Blogger protecting all Blogger blog owners, against people who will try to misuse the Blogger service.

Please, read the linked articles, and help us to help you. This will give you a better idea of the basic requirements for abuse / malware / spam review.

[FAQ] Does The Blogger Abuse Mitigation Policy Violate The Rights Of The Blog Owners?

Screening #2
The second screening gives the blog owner a chance to review the blog in personal memory, and decide whether the blog may have actually been righteously deleted. It uses a set of FAQs developed jointly by Blogger Support, and Top Contributors.

Malware / Spam Appeal Guidelines - January 2015

If your blog(s) have been unfairly classified as a hacking / malware / porn / spam host, we apologise. Nobody gains, with genuine, non spam Blogger blogs being deleted or locked falsely. Given the fact that automated malware / spam detection is not yet a perfect science, Blogger Support is always willing to investigate any reports of false positive reviews, politely posted here in the forum.

That being said, before you request an appeal, it's worth describing a few examples of what Blogger regularly removes, as part of its zero tolerance policy to abusive / inappropriate content: Read the FAQ, for a list of examples.

[FAQ] What Blog Content Is Considered Abusive, By Google Spam Mitigation Policy?

Done honestly and properly, Screening #2 helps everybody avoid any unnecessary third screening and subsequent review request - and Blogger Policy Review staff, Blogger Support staff, Top Contributors, and blog owners can all spend their time more productively.

Screening #3
The third screening - when content from the blog can be found in search engine cache - gives the helpers and blog owners a chance to jointly examine blog content, structure, and style. We try to determine why the blog may have been deleted, and whether it will be useful to continue - and what details to provide to Blogger Support, that might encourage Blogger Policy Review staff to favourably review the blog, and restore it.

I found a copy of the blog, in cache.


Please examine the copy, by clicking on the link above - and examine screen prints, below. Is that typical blog content?

The Review Request
Having passed all 3 screenings, the blog is passed to Blogger Support with documentation - and subsequently, to Blogger Policy review for final evaluation. Following favourable evaluation, the blog is restored.

This is a long, and seemingly ceremonial process. In reality, it enables best use of available time, with all 4 groups of people involved.

1. Blog owners.
2. Blogger Policy Review.
3. Blogger Support.
4. Top Contributors.

The triage process will be the most successful, when everybody is polite, prompt, and responsive.

Google+ +1 Counts Disappearing From Posts List

This week, we have a number of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, from blog owners who like to monitor the Google+ +1 counts, for their posts, using the dashboard Posts list.

The ability to observe, at a glance, the +1 count for any given group of posts is useful - and popular with some folks. I use it, myself, with newer posts in this blog.

Unfortunately, my Posts list shows no +1 counts for recent posts, for some Posts lists.

It appears that pagination of the Posts list affects ability for any Posts list to have the +1 counts displayed.

In some cases, +1 counts will not display, for a paginated Posts list, on the first display page of the list. Subsequent display pages, seen by hitting the ">" button at the top, will show +1 counts for the posts.

In other cases, +1 counts will display, for a paginated Posts list, on the first display page of the list. Subsequent display pages, seen by hitting the ">" button at the top, will not show +1 counts for the posts.

Posts lists which are not paginated (have only one display page) do not seem to be affected by the problem.

Blogs with smaller "All posts" lists, and blogs with smaller Posts Label lists, may not show the problem - so not all blog owners will observe the problem. Also, owners of blogs which receive few +1s - and who do not use Google+ for posts distribution - will probably not observe the problem, either.

You may be able to examine this effect on your blog, by choosing Labels which have more, or less, than the number of posts compared to the Posts display page size (100, 50, 25, or 10) - and by changing the Posts display page size, to a different number.

We have a rollup discussion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, where we are attempting to diagnose the spread of the problem. If you find your blog affected by this oddity, and are able to answer a few questions, your input could be useful.

As always, I will respectfully request that you keep your replies, in the rollup topic, brief and relevant. And please read the first post in the topic, for instructions how you may participate in the diagnosis of the problem.

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(Update 2015/03/09): This problem appears to be resolved.

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Reading List Use Requires Recognition Of The Owner

Last year, we saw a number of reports from Blogger account owners with empty Reading Lists.

When first reported, the common observation mentioned "one entry". Recently, we found out what the one entry was.

All I get is Blogger Buzz - which I could care less about!

The account owner does not know that Blogger Buzz is automatically a part of every Reading List.

The fact that Blogger Buzz is being seen indicates that the personal portion of the Reading List is actually empty. This is similar to problems removing Reading List content, and suggests that the account owner is not being recognised.

There are two possible reasons for a Reading List being completely, constantly, and inappropriately empty.

• The owner is using the wrong Blogger account.
• The browser being used is subject to a cookie or script filter.

Wrong Blogger account being used

It's not hard to recognise an empty Reading List (or one with just one entry, which was not requested).

We've been discussing problems resulting from having additional Blogger accounts (intentional or non intentional) for many years. If someone sets up a Reading List for one Blogger account, then uses a different account, there will be no Reading List for the second account.

If the owner then sets up a Reading List for a second (third, ...) account, unless very lucky, there will be tiny differences between the two Reading Lists. If the account owner is just using Blogger to read blogs - and does not own any blogs - it is possible that other accounts could be used. The owner may occasionally notice miniscule differences, but never bother to diagnose the differences.

Cookie / script filter, preventing identification

Whether the account owner is using the intended account, or an additional account - if the account can't be identified, Blogger can't generate a Reading List either.

If the script, which identifies the owner, doesn't run - or if the cookie identifying the owner can't be read - a Reading List can't be generated. Cookies and scripts can be filtered, for various reasons.

Thanks to ever changing security needs, and unannounced updates to many security products, a filter which worked yesterday may not work today. People unaware of security updates won't think to check the update log for any security product - and some may not be aware that they have security products that can cause problems.

The end result

There are several reasons for an unreliable Reading List - but this will generally result in inconsistencies over time, or partial displays. An empty Reading List has definable causes, with predictable results.

If the Blogger account cannot be recognised, Blogger won't show a Reading List - other than the sometimes unwelcome Blogger Buzz entry.

Add Your Blogger Blog To An Existing Domain

We periodically get queries from anxious blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger.

Can I use an existing domain, that I own for my website, to publish my Blogger blog?

The ability to use an existing domain, for publishing a Blogger blog, is one of the neatest features of Blogger custom domain publishing. It's also one of the least obvious options.

Publishing a Blogger blog, into an existing domain, is easy.

1. Add a DNS address, for the new URL, to the domain.
2. Publish the blog, to the new URL.
3. Manage the traffic, as part of any newly published custom domain blog.
4. The blog content is hosted by Blogger / Google.
5. The blog address is hosted by your DNS host / registrar.

The new domain URL will be most successful, if you understand the limitations.

DNS Addressing
Hoping that the "blog" domain URL is available, you would add a "CNAME" to the domain.

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

That is the DNS address entry for the URL "blog.mydomain.com", which will point to "ghs.google.com.". This example uses an extracted Dig log to describe the required DNS address.

That is how you add a virtual domain host, for your blog. There will be a few limitations.

• You probably won't be able to publish to the domain root, or to the "www" host. Those addresses are generally used by the website.
• If either the domain root or "www" host is used by the website, do not try to address the other.
• If the DNS host does not permit "CNAME" referral, you won't be able to create a virtual host - and you won't be able to publish your blog to the domain.

Like the normal task of setting up a custom domain, setting up an additional host in an existing domain is exceedingly simple - if you understand the rigid simplicity. Just add one host, using "CNAME" referral. For best results, do not attempt innovative addressing techniques, such as publishing to the domain root or "www" host, if either is already being used.

Since you're adding a host to an existing domain, you may not get instructions to add a second "CNAME" - even if Blogger instructions imply that you will. If you don't get instructions, you don't need a second "CNAME".

Don't try to use an alias pair - the option to refer an alias to the published URL only works, consistently, for the domain root / "www" pair. Just add a single new host, using "CNAME" referral to "ghs.google.com".

Please note the format of "ghs.google.com." The "." after "ghs.google.com" is not decorative. Be aware of how you would enter "ghs.google.com,", properly, using the zone editor provided by your DNS host / registrar.

Blog Publishing
Having added the correct virtual host DNS address to the domain, publish your blog.

Traffic Management
Get to work and manage the migration of blog traffic. For best results, combine the blog and website.

Blog Hosting
The blog content continues to be hosted by Blogger / Google - with the existing address continuing to work, and with the content unchanged. The new blog address is hosted by the DNS host or registrar.

Account Owners Can't Maintain Their Reading Lists

We've been seeing suggestions, for years, that the Reading List is unreliable.

Many Blogger account owners have reported the mysterious disappearing Reading List. A few have reported a second problem - inability to remove blogs from the Reading List.

Few account owners connect the two problems. The two problems may each affect different account owners. Of the few affected by both problems, not many are likely to see them as having a common cause.

Aggressive cookie / script filters contribute to both problems with the Reading List.

Inability to identify the account owner affects using and maintaining the list.

Both the empty Reading List, and inability to remove Reading List entries, may result from inability to properly identify the account owner. Since the Reading List is unique to each account owner, lack of identification, caused by cookie / script filters, can lead to either problem.

Most account owners can recognise a problem with displaying the Reading List. This problem - even with the cause unknown - is obvious. It's not hard to recognise an empty Reading List.

What's not so obvious, though, is that an account owner, if not properly identified, can't successfully accomplish removal of a blog from a Reading List. Only the owner of the account can request removal of a Reading List entry for that account.

The dashboard Reading List - and the Followers gadget - complement each other.

The Reading List complements the Followers badge. The Followers badge, found on many Blogger blogs, lists everybody who Follows the host blog.

The Reading List, found on many Blogger account owners dashboards, list the blogs which an account owner is Following. In order to remove a given blog from the Reading List, the account owner must stop Following that blog.

You can use either a dashboard script, or a Followers GUI, to un Follow a blog.

The process for Un Following a blog starts from a link on the Followers badge, or in the Reading List. Both the link in the Followers badge, and in the Reading List, lead to scripts that are subject to cookie and script filtering.

In order for you to Un Follow a blog, using the Followers gadget on the blog, you have to identify yourself using the correct Blogger / Google account. When you remove a blog from your Reading List, you are identified by your login cookie - if the cookie is present and is readable - and if the script is allowed to run.

When the un Following is actually done will affect success of the process.

Some scripts run while the account owner is present - and those scripts may return an error message, while the account owner is watching, indicating a problem. Other scripts may run while the account owner is not present. Those scripts, when not successful because of cookie or script filters, can't display an error message, because the account owner is not watching.

In the latter case, the account owner starts the process of deleting a blog from the Reading List - and later finds that the blog was not actually deleted. And then wonders why the blog is still listed.

And this is why.

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Account Owners Can't Remove Blogs From Their Reading Lists
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2015/01/account-owners-cant-remove-blogs-from.html
Account Owners Can't Maintain Their Reading Lists
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2015/01/account-owners-cant-maintain-their.html

Don't Backup Your Blogs, By Duplicating Them

THis month, we have several reports in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue from owners who make backup blogs.

Why was my blog deleted, by Blogger, as spam?

Some blog owners innocently create multiple blogs, to back up their main blog.

Unfortunately, having multiple blogs with the same content may make the blogs look like a spam blog farm - and Blogger detects and deletes spam blog farms.

I've been advising blog owners, for years, that Blogger blogs need informative, interesting, and unique content, to survive as Blogger blogs.

Scraped blogs - whether you scrape your own, or another person's - are a bad idea.

The general focus on "unique" is intended to discourage scraping. Blogger Help: Spam, phishing, or malware on Blogger discusses spam blogs.

Spam blogs cause various problems, beyond simply wasting a few seconds of your time when you happen to come across one. They can clog up search engines, making it difficult to find real content on the subjects that interest you. They may scrape content from other sites on the web, using other people's writing to make it look as though they have useful information of their own. And if an automated system is creating spam posts at an extremely high rate, it can impact the speed and quality of the service for other, legitimate users.

In the past, Blogger has been focusing on blog owners who steal the work of other blog owners, ie, "scraping" - or who copy by permission, ie, "syndication".

Blogger Content policy defines scraping more explicitly.

Examining Blogger Content Policy, we see the problem expressed more vividly.

Spam: Spam takes several forms in Blogger, all of which can result in deletion of your account or blog. Some examples include creating blogs designed to drive traffic to your site or to move it up in search listings, posting comments on other people's blogs just to promote your site or product, and scraping existing content from other sources for the primary purpose of generating revenue or other personal gains.

Having backup blogs can look like "blogs designed to drive traffic to your site or to move it up in search listings". This is a technique, used by spammers. Why bother to write content? Just use some of the clones, as clones - both to backup each other, and to boost search engine results.

Duplication of content, online, hastens classification as spam.

Backing up a Blogger blog actually duplicates Bloggers efforts. Blogger / Google stores content - ie, your blog - in a cloud of servers, worldwide. If any one server goes out of service, the others are there, to provide immediate backup. You will, likely, never even notice if any one Blogger server goes down.

Alternately, a blog owner might backup a blog because of the spammer publicised unfair blog deletion policy. Here, the blog owner is playing into the spammers hands. If backup blogs were permitted, spammers could publish their spam blog farms with impunity.

Here, what the blog owner wants to plan for by having duplicates, unfair deletion, actually hastens the unfair deletion. This will happen, even if you make the "backup" blog private.

Classification of duplicate content, as abuse, isn't spurious.

If you think about it, a blog classified as spam, because of multiple clones, isn't actually spuriously deleted. If your blog gets a spurious classification, as a possible spam host, you have to appeal the classification. Creating a new blog, with identical content, just makes you look like a non repentant spammer - and increases your vulnerability.

If you want to retain comments and posts, export to an offline file. Just don't spread duplicate content across the Internet.

Google Domains Is Not Yet Available, Worldwide

Some would be domain owners are reporting the sad truth about Google Domains.

I tried to use a Google Domains invitation, and got a refusal.

We're sorry. You appear to be in a country where Google Domains is not yet available. You may search for domains, but you will not be able to purchase a domain unless you have a U.S. billing address. Learn more

Get notified when Google Domains is available in your country.

So thanks anyway!

Google Domains is currently a beta product - and as such, is only available to USA residents.

This is a normal strategy, used by Google - beta products are typically deployed on a country by country basis.

Google Domains offers distinct advantages, over "Buy a domain" and registrar direct domain purchases.

• They will control the purchase - and offer a more stable bank payment process.
• They will control the DNS infrastructure - and offer a more stable setup process, and ongoing blog access.

Deploying a bank payment network, and a DNS infrastructure (to name two details), on a world wide basis, won't happen immediately.

It's all too easy to overlook the international issues, when dealing with Blogger and Google. My apology to those of you who were unduly excited, for nothing.

Have patience, your time will come.

Stats Logs, And Cached Page Access

Some blog owners like to validate their Stats displays, using third party visitor logs like StatCounter.

Since Stats displays aggregated page view counts - not individual visitors - a blog owner will find many discrepancies between Stats and StatCounter. One observation might involve Stats indicating periods of no activity, where StatCounter shows an interesting visit.

A visit, registered by StatCounter - but not by Stats - indicates an apparent problem with Stats. Or, so the blog owner might think.

StatCounter displays page views, by counting clicks on the readers computer.

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(Note): Please observe that "page views" come from both dynamic pages ("posts") and static pages ("pages") being accessed. When I refer to "page views", don't get confused about dynamic pages ("posts") vs static pages ("pages") - "page views" apply to both.

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Stats displays page views, from the Blogger servers. If a page being accessed, by a reader, is already in cache on the readers computer, there will be no access to the Blogger server, and no Stats activity.

This discrepancy can contribute to confusion about visitor count. If two readers, sequentially sharing a public computer, access the same blog page, StatCounter may indicate two visitors.

If the first reader does not cautiously clear the computer before vacating, the second reader will access the page from cache - and will not register Blogger server activity. Stats will show no page views, indicating a second reader.

If a computer is being used with other people waiting for a turn, a reader may not have a chance to clear the computer before giving control to a second reader. The busier the computer, the greater the chance that Stats and StatCounter may show an apparent discrepancy.

There will always be differences between Stats and any other visitor log - just as there will always be differences between any two visitor logs, in general. A discrepancy is not always an inaccuracy.

Use Of Internet Explorer V11 Causes bX-w7tr63 Error

We have numerous blog owners report that they cannot access their Blogger dashboards.

Every time I login to Blogger, I get

We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
When reporting this error to Blogger Support or on the Blogger Help Group, please:
Describe what you were doing when you got this error.
Provide the following error code.

bX-w7tr63

What should I do?

The only answer here is to reply

Don't use Internet Explorer V11.

In Blogger Help: Compatible browser and operating systems, we notice, quite conspicuously, the absence of Internet Explorer 11, from the table.

Blogger works with the following browsers and operating systems:

The most current version of Internet Explorer listed is V10, with the annotation

* For best results, turn off Compatibility View.

If you have a computer with Internet Explorer V11, you're going to need a third party browser - Chrome or Firefox. Otherwise - sorry - you won't be able to use Blogger.

Apparently, IE V11 contains too many internal changes, for Blogger Engineering to update the dashboard utilities, so IE V11 will be reliably usable - Compatibility View enabled, or disabled. Blogger has simply decided to not support IE V11, until they can properly update.

Like the predecessors, "bX-rjv21c" and "bX-sf96g4", this bX code can be cleared only by action of the blog owner - who must use a different browser, to access the Blogger dashboard.

Google Domains DNS Addresses Setup

After too many years of Blogger blog owners struggling with setting up their custom domains, Google is now selling domains - though right now, in a select number of countries.

Having ended "Buy a domain", and its problems - and now dealing with blog owners setting up domains purchased through numerous registrars, and those problems - Blogger / Google has cleaned up the domain purchase and setup process.

This year, we see Google Domains - where Google actually registers domains, and can control the DNS hosting. And, they have developed a clean and lean dashboard / zone editor, for maintaining their domains.

I setup a Google Domain, several months ago.

Adding DNS addresses to a recently purchased Google Domain is quite simple. Start by logging in to Google Domains.

Once you login, you have the Google Domains dashboard Home page. Find your domain, in the list - and select the "DNS" icon,for your domain.

That gives you the "DNS" dashboard, for your domain. This is also known as the "Zone Editor", in some instructions. Scroll to the bottom of the "DNS" dashboard, and "Custom resource records".

There are the 4 x "A" + "CNAME" entries. You will have a different domain - but your address entries will be otherwise similar to what you see (with either "ghs.google.com.", or "ghs.googlehosted.com.").


Add the first address entry. Paste "216.239.32.21" into the box labeled "IPv4 address", and hit "Add".

Add 3 more addresses - "216.239.34.21", "216.239.36.21", "216.239.38.21" - in the same way. Then, change "@" to "www", select "CNAME" in place of "A" in the pull down menu, enter either "ghs.google.com.", or "ghs.googlehosted.com." into the address box, and hit "Add" for a 5th time.

Checkout the zone editor, for your domain. It should be identical to what you see, above. This is the well known "asymmetrical" DNS configuration, provided by "Buy a domain", not so long ago.

I don't think manual DNS address setup could be much simpler.

Custom Domain Purchase, And Zone Editor Access

We periodically see signs of naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about registrar dashboard access.

How do I add addresses to my domain?

or

How do I move my domain, to Square Space (Tumblr, WordPress)?

or

How do I terminate my automatic yearly domain registration?

Too many blog owners treat their registrar accounts as other blog owners treat their Blogger accounts.

When it becomes time to access the registrar's dashboard (or zone editor) too many blog owners are unprepared. Having not bothered to access the zone editor previously, they have no idea how to start - and since they now have a real need to change registration options, change DNS, migrate the domain, ... they panic. And after panicking, they blame Blogger for not telling them, long ago, to setup and maintain the registrar dashboard access account.

In some cases, neither Blogger or Google had anything to do with a domain purchase. Identifying domains purchased directly from a registrar, some time in the past, can be the first challenge, when dealing with a panicked domain owner.

There are 3 different ways that a domain may have been purchased.

1. Directly from a registrar.
2. From a registrar through Blogger / Google, using "Buy a domain ..." (Blogger) or a Google equivalent.
3. From Google, using Google Domains.

Registrar direct purchase
The process of buying a domain directly from a registrar - with registrar provided dashboard / zone editor access - is the method most used currently. It is also the method which presents us with the most challenge.

• All registrars do not provide the right options / services, for hosting a Blogger custom domain.
• Some registrars have helpful tech staff, who provide bogus advice, and ignore Blogger instruction.
• When help with correcting a bogus setup is needed, we cannot provide as complete advice, because we are not familiar with all registrar dashboards.

One of the benefits of custom domain publishing is that a Blogger custom domain is capable of working with almost every registrar in the world - and this becomes its biggest weakness.

If this will be your first domain, I recommend Google Domains - if you live in the USA. Registrar direct is a good choice, for experienced domain owners - but not for novices.

Theoretically, a Blogger custom domain is capable of working with any non Google website, in a domain cluster. Not all Google competitor services are this versatile; some services require the use of specific registrars or name servers.

Universal registrar compatibility is an advantage for Blogger - and a disadvantage too. That aside, when it comes time to renew or migrate a domain, purchased directly from a registrar, the blog owner has only to contact the registrar directly. Neither Blogger Help, Blogger, or Google is involved with registrar direct purchases.

Buy a domain
The most popular purchase method, which is no longer available. is "Buy a domain for your blog" (aka "Buy a domain") - or a Google equivalent, used by some blog owners. "Buy a domain" was a popular Blogger dashboard option, for several years. It offered an attractive package price of $10 USD for the domain, with several options that would be extra cost when buying registrar direct.

Besides the popular purchase price, "Buy a domain" provided automatic setup of the 4 x "A" + "CNAME" configuration, aka "asymmetrical" DNS configuration - with registrar dashboard / zone editor not involved. When it worked properly, domains purchased were turnkey operations. You could buy a domain now, have the blog online in 15 minutes, and have the search engines start indexing in 2 - 3 days.

"Buy a domain" did have several drawbacks, though.

• The online purchase process required two parallel processes - bank payment and DNS configuration. The two processes did not always work together.
• The purchase could be made from a limited number of countries, because the electronic international banking process did not support all countries.
• Registrar access, for "Buy a domain" purchases, was provided through the Control Panel / Google Apps dashboard. Setting up Control Panel access, using the Google Admin login, and the Google Apps domain account, was not a simple task.

Google Domains
Now, we have a third purchase method - Google Domains. A Google Domains purchase only involves the domain registration, with DNS setup done by the blog owner, using a clean and lean dashboard / zone editor. This makes the electronic banking more reliable, both domestically and internationally. Instead of using Control Panel / Google Apps, Google Domains uses the standard Google "One account" login, and the Google account that most blog owners will use for Blogger / GMail / YouTube etc.

Google Domains is a vast improvement over both registrar direct and "Buy a domain" purchases, even though it requires DNS setup by the blog owner - though right now, for USA residents only. The Google Domains dashboard / zone editor is easier to use than either of the dashboards provided by eNom and GoDaddy, the "Buy a domain" registrars. And both the flaky eNom DNS service, and the bogus GoDaddy DNS setup advice, will become things of the past.

With Google Domains using a standard Google "One account" login, neither the registrar login, nor Google Control Panel / Google Apps, will be involved to access the Google Domains dashboard / zone editor.

Inviting Comments To Your Blog Is Not Cut And Dried

Blog owners are periodically asking themselves

How do I invite my readers to leave comments?

Some blog owners think of commenting as the most important way to get new readers.

One of the most seemingly insignificant components of the Blogger template is the link to invite the readers to leave comments. This is not a simple feature - it varies according to where the comment form is placed, and to different language and style decisions.

Variations
There are four comment form placement options, for Blogger blogs.

1. Embedded.
2. Full page.
3. Pop up window.
4. Dynamic template.

There are two display contexts.

1. Main page view (archive retrieval, label search).
2. Post page view.

The placement option, added to the display context, creates a combination of various needs for phrasing the simple caption, which I will call for example

Please, leave a comment!

That simple invitation can vary according to the the nationality of the blog owner, and to the nature of the blog.

Blog Language
Comments is an English word. Every blog that's published in a non English language has a different word for "comments".

• en français: commentaires.
• in italiano: commenti.
• en español: comentarios.

And some languages phrase plurals significantly.

• 0 comments.
• 1 comment.
• 2 comments.

Very few blog owners publish a blog in (USA) English, and want the blog captioned with "1 comments", or "2 comment".

Long ago, somebody decided that inviting comments would be easier, if a blog with 0 comments was captioned with "No comments". Then, another grammar expert (lawyer?) decided that "No comments" could be interpreted by some people as "We don't want comments!".

Blog Nature
Then, some blog owners don't like the word "comments", they feel that the word should be changed, to reflect the nature of their blog. For my blog, "Chucks Musings", I would use "musings", instead of "comments" (but with dynamic templates, that option is not yet available). Other blog owners have used "dreams", "introspections", and "wanderings" (to name a few).

Form Placement
One of the most controversial features of comments is the limitation of displaying the individual comments, and the comment form, only beneath the individual posts. On the main page, for all comment placement options, you will see the comment caption "No comments", "1 comment", etc - which then links to the display of existing comments - and to the form to publish a comment.

All existing placement options now display existing comments only beneath the individual posts. With the full page and popup window options, a link captioned "Post a Comment" then leads to the comment form itself.

With the full page and popup window form, for the convenience of the owner and reader, existing comments are displayed there also. And, wherever the comment form is displayed, so must be the hated CAPTCHA form.

The Reader's Language
To further the confusion, some blog features are automatically translated into the readers language - when the reader is logged in to Blogger / Google, and when the reader's login status and Blogger profile can be determined by the blog display. In some cases, the readers location is used.

Sometimes, both the blog owner and reader could read / speak different languages, neither being English. Not every world citizen understands "Please, leave a comment!" - or even "Post a Comment". And some blogs are published in French - and read in both Italian and Spanish.

The Tower Of Babel
The Tower Of Babel is not going away, in this lifetime.

Not All bX Error Codes Are Temporary

Everybody who has owned or read a Blogger blog, for more than a week, surely knows about the infamous bX codes - and has probably asked how to fix one.

Some people have fixed one - but immediately, seen another. Others have seen theirs go away, then later discovered that the blog is broken.

Some folks see the errors as major problems, others minor annoyances.

it's disheartening to see that the bx error code problems are still existing.

Not everybody realises that the codes are not the problems - they are simply a method to identify the problems. Many Blogger problems cannot be identified easily in language.

Many problems, many "solutions"
There are many known "solutions" for the codes, because there are many different problems, with many different causes. Here, we have 5 examples.

• Some codes are caused by an inconsistency in private data. These codes can generally be cleared by "clearing cache, cookies, and sessions".
• Some codes are caused by over enthusiastic template customisation. These codes can be cleared by getting a new template, or restoring the template from backup, for the blogs that are issuing the code.
• Some codes are caused by bogus custom domain addressing, for the blogs that are issuing the code. These codes can be cleared, only, by correcting the DNS addressing, for the blogs that are issuing the code.
• Some codes are caused by trying to use an unsuitable browser. Right now, Blogger does not support Internet Explorer V11 These codes can be cleared only by using a different browser.
• Some codes are caused by dodgy Blogger code. These codes cannot be solved by blog owners or readers. The bX codes, in many cases, are simply from Blogger Engineering adding "break points" into their code, so they can diagnose a known problem.

Above, we see just 5 examples. There is one rule, which you may want to consider, when diagnosing bX codes.

There are no rules, in diagnosing bX codes.

That is the plain truth.

History
Before they started issuing bX codes, Blogger would simply issue one universal error, that was incredibly annoying, to everybody seeing it.

We apologize for the inconvenience, but we are unable to process your request at this time. Our engineers have been notified of this problem and will work to resolve it.

Replacing that error, with the unique bX codes, was so simple - and elegant. The program, that issues a bX error report, simply takes the address of the failure point in the Blogger code library, where an unacceptable condition has occurred, and hashes the address into a 6 character alphanumeric code. And there is the bX code. Yes, that simple.

Blogger keeps a database listing of bX codes that are currently active, and a running count for each code. When a given code becomes more noticeable than others, an engineer simply uses the 6 character code to locate the failure point in the Blogger code library, and diagnoses the cause of the error. Fixing the code will vary, depending upon the cause of the code.

A hypothetical example
If you add an extra "<div>" tag in your template code, using the Template Editor, it's possible that the Template Editor code may detect it, and specifically advise you.

Don't add a "<div>" tag there!

In many cases, through, an extra "<div>" tag won't be noticed until you try to save the changes - or even until a reader views the blog under specific conditions. Either of the latter two cases may result in another bX code.

When you report your bX code in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, if other people have reported that same code, it's possible that we might have a known solution, ready for you.

Don't add a "<div>" tag, there!

In many cases, though, you will be advised to

Restore the template from backup - or get a new template from the dashbooard Template wizard.

In either case, though, the advice to get a backup or new template is not a solution - it's a workaround. The proper solution is for you to figure out what you did, that was wrong, and correct what you did.

In some cases, if we see enough of the same code, as we do now with the "bX-w7tr63", currently being reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue - we may advise you.

Blogger cannot support you, using Internet Explorer, right now.

Internet Explorer V11 has too many internal changes, for Blogger Engineering to update the Blogger dashboard utilities, and remove all known problems. That may be vaguely similar to the problems where we alternately advise.

Restore the template from backup - or get a new template from the dashbooard Template wizard.

In either case, we provide most advice based on feedback from other blog owners.

Reality
Be aware that each bX code may have a different solution. Be wary of advice that simply instructs.

Most bX errors are temporary and will usually go away on their own.
You may read [FAQ] What Are The Mysterious bX Codes? and try clearing your cache and cookies.

Some errors may go away, on their own - but most require somebody to take some action. Not all that many are temporary.