Blogger Offers HTTPS For BlogSpot Published Blogs

Today, Blogger / Google made a major announcement which has been coming, for a long time.

Today we're expanding on the HTTPS Everywhere mission and beginning an initial rollout of HTTPS support for Blogspot. HTTPS is a cornerstone of internet security as it provides several important benefits: it makes it harder for bad actors to steal information or track the activities of blog authors and visitors, it helps check that visitors open the correct website and aren’t being redirected to a malicious location, and it helps detect if a bad actor tries to change any data sent from Blogger to a blog visitor.

SSL access to Blogger blogs has been requested, by many blog owners, for years.

The initial offer, which will roll out gradually, will only affect BlogSpot published blogs. It will be voluntary, to give blog owners a chance to upgrade the various accessories and applications.

HTTPS aka SSL initially will be voluntary - and activated from the dashboard Settings - Basic page, when available.


The dashboard, for this blog.



The bad news, for this blog.

If "No" is grayed out, you're going to have to wait - as I must.



The good news, for some blogs.

If "No" is normal, you may select it - and enable SSL, on your blog.


Change "No" to "Yes", and it's enabled. No waiting, no "Save". And if it becomes a problem, you can change it back.

SSL for custom domains is going to require a bit more waiting.

It's going to take a while longer, before custom domains will support SSL.

Don't bother publishing a custom domain blog back to BlogSpot, temporarily, to enable HTTPS. As soon as you re publish to the domain, HTTPS will be disabled.

We'll just have to wait. Blogs published to BlogSpot, though, can be upgraded, as soon as the dashboard option lights up.

Not all readers will want to use SSL.

If you enable HTTPS for your blog, your readers will still have the choice whether to use it or not. Normal HTTP access will continue to work, for people unable or unwilling to use HTTPS.

Not all blogs will be able to use SSL, immediately.

Depending upon what accessories are present, on a given blog, HTTPS may or may not be a good fit. Accessories and features that don't support SSL, when accessed from a blog which uses SSL, will generate "mixed content" errors.

Seeing a lot of "mixed content" errors may not make the visitors to the blog feel at ease. Not all blog owners will choose HTTPS, immediately - even when it's available. Blogs which contain hundreds of Blogger hosted photos - each photo accessed by "HTTP:", and each one generating a "mixed content" error - may not be able to use SSL, immediately.

Street Legal Race Cars, And Similar Web Applications

Almost 2 years ago, motion picture actor Paul Walker and Roger Rojas decided to joyride, take a spin, in suburban Los Angeles California.

What followed was $500,000 + destruction, at speed exceeding twice the posted 45 MPH. Driven in an industrial / office complex, the street legal race car - his buddy Roger at the wheel - left the road, and wrapped itself around a tree.

It takes money to own, and to race, a super car - like a Porsche Carrera GT, that took Paul's life. It takes no money, however, to own a super web application - like a Blogger blog.

One of the problems with Blogger blogs is that - unlike a super car (a toy for the very rich) - they can be owned by anybody.

Blogger dashboard utilities are considerably simpler than they could be.

The Blogger dashboard utilities allow anybody - of widely varying technical skill level - to setup and customise a very intricate web application, called a blog.

The simple controls, in the Blogger dashboard, will fool people. Many blog owners, with no technical skill level, are convinced that owning and operating a Blogger blog actually is a kindergarten level activity.

Using the dashboard, the blog owner will not worry, until a problem occurs.

Happily enjoying the simple controls, a blog owner will cruise along, publishing and tweaking, oblivious to the unseen complexities of the Internet support infrastructure. Eventually, they will encounter an obstacle (similar to a beer can or coyote, in the road); and losing control, come to a sudden and deadly halt.

When it crashes, a blog won't do $500,000 + in damages - but from the way some blog owners react, you'd think they were seeing twice that. Blogs will crash and burn, when people, using their own computers, try to maintain and surf them.

Blogger blog owners have many petty details to endure.

Blogger blog owners are subject to many petty details, which make many owners complain. One such detail would be the mysterious third party cookie requirement, which enables various Blogger features.

Trying to explain to some blog owners that their computers need to allow third party cookies, if they wish for Blogger to ignore their pageviews - or possibly, to allow their readers to comment - causes anger. Probably more anger, than a police officer might have received, had he interrupted the "diagnostic" session, in Santa Clarita.

Mr Rojas, the sign says 45 MPH. Is 90 MPH really necessary?

But seeing Walker in the car, he would probably have simply asked for an autograph, and waved them on with a warning.

Instead - well, you see what happened.

Loss of control.



Some Blogger problems will require technical diagnostic skills.

Unfortunately, for many blog owners, some Blogger features require advanced skill level, such as ability to tune filters and allow cookies - and to read instructions. Dealing with the problems is a lot easier with patience, and understanding - not blaming the people who try to help.

Some tasks will require reading, of instructions written in Adult English - not Kindergarten.

I am technically illiterate - please write instructions in words that use one syllable, no technobabble.

Please, help the helpers - don't demand that they re write their instructions, to suit you. The helpers want to help you - help them to help you.

---

Many blog owners are convinced that operating (publishing) a #Blogger blog is a kindergarten level activity - and they happily publish until they run into a more advanced level problem. Then, they crash and burn.

Spam Review Is Not By Word Of Honour

Too frequently, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, we try to advise blog recovery for a legitimate blog, unrighteously deleted by Blogger.

Occasionally, when advised to

Find a dashboard link labeled "Deleted blogs" / "Locked blogs".

then

Having found the link, you submit a Review request.

The response is

There is no dashboard link, referencing 'deleted blogs / locked blogs'.

There are several causes of this condition - but there is only one real solution. The (would be) owner has to login with the right Blogger account, and find the necessary "Deleted" / "Locked" blogs section, of "My blogs".

The initial "Restore" / "Review" request, for a deleted / locked blog, has to start from the proper dashboard link.

Restore / review requests must be submitted by the owner.
The spam classification / review process requires restore / review requests to be submitted by the blog owner. It is not a "word of honour" system.

This is a simple restriction, in most cases. It does create a challenge for team blogs, multi account owners, people who have lost control of their blogs (and can only publish to them using an author account), and similar scenarios.

If the owner cannot login with the correct account, the blog can't be managed.
Blog recovery cannot be a "word of honour" process. Besides the possibility of malicious hijacking, were restores by the general public an accepted Blogger procedure, some blogs might be restored with no active owner.

If the owner can't manage a (currently deleted) blog, is there truly a benefit to having it restored? If the owner can manage the blog, he (she) only has to login as the owner, and request restore / review (when possible).

There's only 2 possibilities, here.
It's that simple.

• If the link is in the dashboard, you can request restore / review.
• If the link is not in the dashboard, you cannot request restore / review.

Once again, we see that your blog will remain your blog, forever - if, and only if you maintain active ownership.

Revenge Porn Now Recognised As Abuse, By Blogger

Recently, Google publicised advice about a new type of abuse that may be reportable, when present in a Blogger blog.

Our philosophy has always been that Search should reflect the whole web. But revenge porn images are intensely personal and emotionally damaging, and serve only to degrade the victims—predominantly women. So going forward, we’ll honor requests from people to remove nude or sexually explicit images shared without their consent from Google Search results. This is a narrow and limited policy, similar to how we treat removal requests for other highly sensitive personal information, such as bank account numbers and signatures, that may surface in our search results.

Supposedly, "revenge porn" mitigation is limited to removal from Google Search. In one forum discussion, however, the new classification appears to have successfully resulted in an offensive blog being removed from Blogger.

It appears that "revenge porn" is now part of the "Remove information from Google" reporting process.

You may use the "Remove information ..." form, to report "revenge porn".

If you are offended by a Blogger blog - and if the contents of the blog reflect the description

nude or sexually explicit images shared without their consent

You may use the "Remove information from Google" form, to cite malicious blog content.

Please be aware that these reports will be evaluated carefully.

Please consider reality, however. Since this is a new abuse category, any reports most likely will be evaluated very carefully by the staff who process the complaints.

Don't try to stretch the definition, by what you "believe", or what might be considered the case, in extreme circumstances. Submit a complaint, only when the complaint fits the definition of the new abuse category.

Do the right thing, and report "revenge porn" only when it is righteous.

Unlike bogus DMCA complaints, I don't see any suggestion of any penalties for malicious misuse of the form. However, if you intentionally misuse this new abuse category, consider that your doing so may make one of the legal staff spend time evaluating your complaint, while another, genuinely worthy complaint may wait, unattended.

Do the right thing - and only cite the new category when it is, honestly, necessary.

People Who Publish Private Blogs Deserve Privacy

We see an occasional would be blog member, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, bemoaning lack of private blog access.

I used to follow a certain blogger - but found out, recently, that now his blog is blocked & only open to invited readers. I do not know the author and would like an invite.

How do I contact the author?

Lack of access to the fancy clubs and parties, in any city, is a disappointment to many - except the lucky members of the "AAA" list. Private blogs have the same exclusivity. Life is not fair.

Private blogs, in general, are a niche feature.

Blogger has been asked for other private blog improvements, such as increasing membership limit, and has generally declined.

No, private blogs are not that common - and private blogs that need more than 100 members even less so.

More would be members, than private blog owners, want easy owner contact.

The obvious solution, to have a landing page for private blogs, where non members can request membership, comes mainly from non members.

Look in the forum topics, for instance. Find the suggestions "I need a way to contact the owner of a private blog, and request membership!", then "I publish a private blog, and need a way for non members to contact me!!". You'll find more of the former, than of the latter.

Private blog owners make the decision to be private, intentionally.

Many private blog owners (a niche, in themselves) do not care to have a feature that enables non members to harass them, requesting membership. This is similar to the notion that people who want ownership of a dormant blog (URL) should be able to request assignment of the URL.

Private blog owners are given respect, by Blogger.

If you publish an anonymous or private blog - and don't publish a contact point, intentionally - Blogger is not going to force you to provide a contact point. Blogger respects the privacy, of people who have chosen to publish blogs to a restricted reader audience.

Owners of private blogs are given the right, to determine their own destiny. If someone publishes a blog, with no contact point, Blogger isn't going to force them to allow themselves to be harassed.

You may find a contact, if you work hard enough - but Blogger won't help you.

There may be a way to contact the current owner - but the would be member must find the way. Blogger supports anonymity, and privacy - and they won't violate that right that the owner has.

Not All Template Designer "Advanced" Wizards Work

An occasional blog owner reports frustration with various "Advanced" Template Designer wizards, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

I have entered my new colour palette under "template>advanced>" - and the colours will not show up on the blog.

I even checked that the colour values were right under "Edit HTML".

This blog owner wants different background colours, than are provided as defaults - and does not understand why the wizards, that advise

Template applied.

simply don't work.

The problem, with blogs that use a "Simple" template, is that the template does not contain the CSS rules required, to allow the wizards to produce results.

Every "Advanced" wizard uses 3 elements.
Every Template Designer "Advanced" setting wizard requires 3 elements.

1. The GUI wizard (below).
2. The "Variable definitions" section, which defines the GUI wizards (below), and the CSS variables.
3. The CSS rules, that use the variables.

The "Simple" templates omit the necessary CSS rules.
Every template provides #1, and #2. "Simple" omits #3, for various wizards.


At least 3 "Advanced" wizards don't work, with "Simple" templates.



This paragraph of "Variable definitions" code appears to be common to all templates.


This is one known problem "Advanced" wizard group.

<Group description="Backgrounds" selector=".body-fauxcolumns-outer">
<Variable name="body.background.color" description="Outer Background" type="color" default="#66bbdd"/>
<Variable name="content.background.color" description="Main Background" type="color" default="#ffffff"/>
<Variable name="header.background.color" description="Header Background" type="color" default="transparent"/>
</Group>

The group requires CSS rules, which use 3 variables.
For the 3 wizards to work, the template needs CSS rules to use

• body.background.color
• content.background.color
• header.background.color

The required CSS rules just are not present, in "Simple" templates.
Each of the above 3 CSS names are present only in the "Variable definitions" section. In the "Simple" template, there are no CSS rules to make the variables useful.

I've seen this a couple times. Some templates are not complete.

"Simple" is just that.

There are solutions.
There are several possible solutions, in order of reality.

1. Use a different template.
2. Remove the extraneous code from the "Simple" template.
3. Add the necessary CSS, to use the variables defined.

Most blog owners, reporting the problem, will opt for #1 - though I suspect that this omission has caused some confusion that is not reported.

The "My blogs" List Is A Jumble

Every week, we get some hopeful blog owner, with more than half a dozen blogs, naively asks, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger

How do I sort the dashboard blog list?

And there is no answer, other than

You can't.

This is one feature that Blogger just won't provide.

The dashboard blog list is complete chaos.

The list appears to update, when a new post is published - with each blog, in turn, going to the top. Regardless of whether you want any blog, at the top.

• Only a new post.
• Not a new page.
• Not an updated post.

So, if you get your list as you like it, and you can (finally) find all (or even, some) of your important blogs - as soon as you publish new posts into your non important blogs, there you go! Back to the beginning!!


So there's my "My blogs" list, with some of my important blogs (and some non important - and even secret), all jumbled.



And I can click on "View more", and see more blogs - still jumbled, though.


To resequence the list, publish new posts.
If you want to get your important blogs back into the brief list, you gotta publish new posts (after you expand the list, again). And as soon as you can find - and add new posts to your less important blogs - you start over.

If you have a blog cluster, forget about organised updates.
And if you're doing a test that involves more than half a dozen blogs, lots of luck keeping everything organised. Finding any specific blog, with a dozen blogs in the test? Double the project time - and cut down on the coffee!

Let Blogger know that this needs improvement.
We've asked Blogger Engineering for an improvement, no joy. Maybe, if enough blog owners, who care about this, start asking, we'll see an improvement.

See the "Report a problem" button in the lower right corner? See it, use it.

Proactive Content Removal Helps Avoid Problems

We occasionally see a confused content thief / spammer, unsure why the blog was deleted.

I removed all of the content that I was told to remove. Why was my blog deleted?

or

Why was my blog restored, then deleted the following week?

Some blog owners do not understand the consequences of repeated review.

The more times your blog is reviewed, the more completely and carefully the content will be examined.

Any dodgy or unacceptable material, that was passed in an automated review (or first manual review) last week, is less likely to be passed, in this week's second (or third) review.

Repeated review leads to more carefully conducted review.

The more times your blog is reviewed - whether the review is needed because the blog failed review last week - or because the blog passed review, was restored, then deleted again this week - the more carefully Blogger will conduct this week's review.

If you're able, remove anything that's even possibly a problem.

If your blog was restored, the first thing that you should do is examine the content very closely, and remove anything remotely abusive or illegal. If the blog needs review again, you'll want to have less content, that might cause any problems.

Remember, Blogger won't keep deleting and restoring your blog, over and over. After enough reviews, they will delete your Blogger account, treating you as a non repentant abuser.

If your Blogger account gets deleted or locked, your problems become worse.

With a deleted / locked Blogger account, you'll have more problems.

1. Any other blogs that you author (even team owned blogs) will go offline.
2. If your account is locked, you won't be able to request review of any blogs.
3. If your account is deleted, any associated resources (pictures, videos, and such) will go offline. Restored accounts may not restore resources, properly.

If all of this seems unfair, you may be right.

Take action now, if you can.

If the blog was just restored, and you now have control, you need to take action.

1. Remove existing offending content.
2. Appeal the violation (if possible).
3. Stop adding offending content.

Blind content removal requires that all potentially offending material - not just the specific content generating the complaint - be removed. No guidance is given, as to what material must be removed - though you should peruse Blogger Content, and Google TOS, documents.

Incomplete removal, or addition of offensive content, will subject you to more severe punishment.

Don't push the limits. Quit while you're ahead (or even).

Help Your Readers Index Your Blog By Post Title

The "Blog Archive" gadget is used, by some blog owners, to provide a date sequenced post index.

Some blog owners, with smaller blogs, would like their readers to index their blogs by post title - but without the date being involved. They would like a straight alphabetically ordered list of post titles.

Blogger does not have a "Title Index" gadget. It's not hard to make one, however, for smaller blogs.

If your blog has up to 300 posts, you can make a post title index, easily enough.

A small blog, of up to 300 posts, can be indexed quite nicely.
The LinkList gadget, which can sort alphabetically, will let you add up to 300 or so entries (the 300 post limit is anecdotal, not documented). A linklist entry contains 2 values.

• New Site Name
• New Site URL

You could use those values as

• Post Title
• Post URL

And there is your post title index. Be sure to use a linklist - not a textlist.

You can have any number of linklists, in your blog.
Since there are no limits on adding LinkList gadgets, you can, theoretically, add as many as you would like, to your blog.

Each time you publish a post, simply add an index entry for your new post. If your titles were in English, and you had used 4 linklists, to group 26 letters, you could index maybe 1,000 or so posts.

• A - F
• G - M
• N - T
• U - Z

You can probably have more linklists than you can maintain.
Theoretically, you could have one linklist for each alphabetic character, in your language. In English, you could have 26 linklists, each capable of indexing up to 300 title entries.

That would not index 26 * 300 posts, however - as very few blogs will be published, with titles evenly distributed between all letters. Look at your average dictionary (if you have access to a paper based library), and get an idea what proportions may affect your blog.

You would soon reach one or another of several limits, however.

• How much vertical screen space would you devote, to a title index?
• How much patience would your readers have, in visually scanning an alphabetically sequenced title list, in multiple gadgets?
• How much time would you want to spend, locating the right linklist gadget, in an array of n gadgets ("n" being greater than half a dozen or so), to add a new title?

Using a flat title index will be a limited solution.
My suspicion is that even 100 entries, in a single alphabetic list, would be too much for many readers, for easy use. I suspect that a blog of any size would be better off using a search gadget. A direct, indexed, or label search gadget is much more efficient.

But for a small blog, a title listing, using a linklist, should produce an easy to use, instinctive blog content reference. This may be a useful complement, to the archives date index gadget.

GPT (PTC, PTS, PTV) Is Unwelcome, Click Fraud

Some spammers do not appreciate the subtle details of the Blogger anti-spam policies.

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.

We see an occasional spammer lawyer, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue

I checked the official rules. You can check - Blogger never said PTC is not allowed. I'm just promoting PTC, in my blog.

This is a spammer who has not gotten the word.

GPT (aka "Get Paid To"), PTC, PTS, PTV, and any other cute names - all constitute click fraud - and are not welcome, in Blogger.

Spammers like to push the limits.

Blogger is not going to make a list of each name, and say

This is not allowed.

Each time Blogger publishes a reference of problem blog content / technique, the spammer community comes up with a new cute name for another fraudulent, web based activity.

Blogger provided "official" word is quite succinct.

The official word is quite simple.

If your blog was removed it was possibly due to a policy or terms of service violation.

Please look into this and make sure that you are not violating any of Blogger's terms of service or policies, these are taken very seriously.

If you choose to ignore the official word - or the unofficial word - you are entitled to request that your blog be restored, using the dashboard "Restore" / "Review" link.

Properly requested and reviewed, you may see your blog, again.

It's possible that, given a politely requested review, you may get your blog back - for a while. If you continue your activity, we'll probably see you, again, soon enough.

Eventually, your Blogger account will be vulnerable.

If your dashboard lacks the needed button / link, you are probably not using the correct Blogger account. In many cases, this will be because your Blogger account was deleted or locked, for repeated, non repentant spamming.

Gobble, Gobble.

Country Code Aliasing Is A Solution - Not A Problem

Blogger recently expanded a key feature in their infrastructure - country code aliasing.

Like all Blogger features, every time they expand the scope of aliasing, they cause problems. Some of the problems that were caused by the recent expansion of country code aliasing - where they added over 2 dozen countries, in one project - are damaging vulnerable Blogger blogs.

Incidental damage to any blogs, however, should not justify stopping - or impeding - the implementation of redirections, on a worldwide basis.

There are real benefits, to country code alias redirection.

All Blogger blogs may offend somebody, somewhere.

All Blogger blog owners benefit, as country specific domains become common, in the Blogger infrastructure. Every blog, with any interesting content, has the potential to irritate somebody, somewhere in the world.

If your blog were to offend a key government official, in a key Blogger market, to the condition where he gave the ultimatum.

Either that blog goes - or Blogger service goes, in this country!

Which alternative do you think Blogger Management would choose?

If an important government official is offended, your blog could be deleted.

The question

Will Blogger give your blog the axe?

would be more relevantly put as

When Blogger gives your blog the axe, will they give you any warning, so you can save content?

And my suspicion is that they would pull the plug immediately. Then, you will be left to retrieve content from cache, as you're able.

Your blog will be much better off, with an offended government official getting a properly issued court order, and having your blog (just your blog) blocked in her country (just her country).

It's better to have a blog blocked in one country, than deleted.

There are 196 countries in the world, as of right now - and over 50 are subject to alias redirection, under Blogger. Almost any blog owner would gladly settle for having her (his) blog available, in 195 countries, than 0 countries.

Country code aliasing is a righteous feature.

The country code aliasing rollout is a righteous project - no matter how many blogs get incidentally damaged, in an individual country. Please, don't stand in the way, using dodgy workarounds.

And if you must stand in the way, and you later decide to publish to a custom domain, remember to remove your dodgy script - if you don't suffer righteous malware classification, before then.

Fix The Dynamic Template Pop Out Sidebar In Place

Not every blog owner, who likes the dynamic templates, likes the docked sidebar - which pops out, only with the cursor properly positioned.

How do I get the sidebar to remain visible? Nobody knows where it is, with it hidden!

This blog owner is ignoring the need to use all horizontal screen space, effectively, when viewing the blog in some dynamic views.

However, if you really want the sidebar to always be visible, it's easy enough to make it do that.

To make the sidebar, in your dynamic template blog, remain visible, you just add one CSS rule.


So much empty screen space - but where's the sidebar?



There's the sidebar - much better! Magazine view has plenty of screen space, to dedicate to the sidebar.


Add one single line of CSS, using "Add CSS".
If you prefer the latter, use the "Add CSS" wizard, in the Template Designer Advanced menu - and paste the following single line of code.

#gadget-dock {position: fixed !important; right: 0px !important;}

Add a preceding / trailing blank line, if there are any rules already in "Add CSS". Copy and paste - then "Apply to Blog".

That's it. No mess, no fuss.

Check all dynamic views, and make sure that it looks good.
But do test carefully, after applying this tweak. Look at Flipcard and Mosaic views - which are specifically designed to use all horizontal space to display all posts - and decide if you want the sidebar permanently blocking some posts.


This could be a problem, with differently sized photos, if your main view is Snapshot.



This is a problem, if your main view is Flipcard.


Other than the possibility of overlaying some content, this is a simple tweak. And like all "Add CSS" based tweaks, you can remove and re apply it, easily enough.

Note however that this tweak may not work, using custom redirects to block View changes. You may have to choose one tweak or the other.

Domain Registrations Require Email Verification

We're seeing a few blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, reporting new custom domains that don't work - or that worked for a while, then stopped working.

Domains purchased through Google Domains, and other registrars, need ownership email verification.

When you buy a domain, you get various email messages - from your registrar, and your bank, for instance. Some, you file without opening.

Sometimes, you get a third email, that you may not recognise - a demand for email address verification.

Registrars are subject to regulations from ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - the master clearinghouse for all domains. You may get email from ICANN immediately, or days later.

When you purchase your domain, you use your email address for making the payment, and for receiving instructions from the registrar - how to access and use their zone editor. And, you get various email messages.

ICANN requires verification of email addresses, with all registrations.

ICANN requires that all domains have verified owner email addresses. Depending upon how quickly ICANN processes your domain registration, as received from your registrar, they may send you the email verification demand on the same day that you buy the domain - or the next day, or later.

Not everybody responds to the address verification demand, immediately.

Some people may be more alert to incoming email, when they are making an important purchase - but less alert, later. Others may be suspicious of email from unknown sources. Many will respond immediately, to verify (just 30 seconds out of their busy day) - but some will file the email, and never get to it.

When ICANN discovers an unverified domain, they notify the registrar.

When ICANN processes the verifications received each day, eventually they get around to noticing that yours is not in there. Soon, they will inform your registrar that your registration has not been verified. Some time later, your registrar will suspend the domain.

Detection of non verification - and suspension - won't be immediate.

This whole process could take days - or even weeks - but eventually, with your domain unverified, your registrar must suspend your service. And you get complaints from your readers.

Why did your new domain stop working? Where is your blog??

And you echo your frustrations, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

We diagnose the problem.

So, we look at the domain.

I verify proper DNS addresses, using DigWebInterface ("DigWebInterface.com").


DigWebInterface shows us a domain with no DNS addresses. Or maybe a non registered domain.


With no DNS addresses showing, I try Whois ("Whois.Com").

Use Whois. Look in "registry whois", at "Status".

And we see a domain that has been suspended, per ICANN requirement ("clientHold").


If your domain registration is suspended, find the email from ICANN.

So, search back through your Inbox, from the day when you purchased the domain. Look for email, from ICANN.

Eventually, you'll find the verification demand. Hopefully, it won't have expired. Verify your address (far less time than it has taken you, to find all of this out), then contact your registrar and convince them to re instate your registration.

And next time you purchase a domain, you check immediately and frequently, for the ICANN email - and you make very sure that ICANN receives what they require, promptly.

Don't Confuse "Link List" And "List" Gadgets

One useful alternative to the "Archives" gadget, when you want to help your readers index your blog by Title, is a LinkList.

You can make a LinkList in 5 minutes - and you can add a new entry, when you publish a post, in 10 seconds - and index your blog by Post Title.

Just don't confuse the terms "linklist" and "list", when you add a Title index.

To some blog owners, who don't yet understand the difference, "linklist" might seem the same as "list".

This is a linklist (unnumbered).

• apples
• oranges
• pears

If you want to index your blog by post title, you will need a linklist.

This is a list (unnumbered).

• apples
• oranges
• pears

You use "Add a Gadget" to add either gadget - just select the right gadget.

Look near the top of the "Add a Gadget" list.

And there is the "Link List" gadget.

Adding a "Link List" gadget, we get "Configure Link List".


In "Configure Link List", each list entry consists of:

• New Site Name (link caption)
• New Site URL (link address)

You should select "Sort Alphabetically", for "Sorting", to index by title.

Look closer to the bottom of the "Add a Gadget" list.

And there is the "List" gadget.

Adding a "List" gadget, we get "Configure Text List".


In "Configure Text List", each list entry consists of:

• Add List Item (text)

Two gadgets, two purposes. Both useful, just in different ways.

Basics: You Cannot Login To My Domain Account

We see evidence of naivete, about responsibilities of Blogger custom domain publishing, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

Why does Google not support the blog owners properly, with a telephone number to call, so they can fix domain publishing problems?

Some blog owners don't understand the concept of third party products, and Blogger.

Just as your Blogger (and Google) account is your own property, so is your domain manager account.

The domain account, that your registrar provides to you, is your private access to their dashboard.

Your registrar's dashboard lets you manage your domain. A Blogger custom domain is one, and only one, use for a domain, purchased from a registrar.

We each have our own, personal, domain accounts.

You are not permitted access to my domain account - nor I to yours. Nor does Blogger have the need, nor the legal right, to login to your domain account.

Learn how to work with your registrar.

Your relationship, with your registrar, is yours alone. If your domain has a problem, with a Blogger domain or any other blog or website, it's up to you - working with your registrar - to diagnose and fix the problem.

If you write to Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, and ask for help, I'll probably tell you what is wrong - from a Blogger viewpoint. You may have other hosts, besides your Blogger blog, published to your domain - and only you manage those hosts.

Learn how to tell your registrar what is wrong - and what needs to be done.

My having told you what is wrong with your Blogger blog, it's your responsibility to contact a customer service technician at your registrar, tell them what is wrong, tell them what needs to be done, and convince them to fix the problem as you require.

Alternately, you may use your domain account to login to the registrars dashboard, access the zone editor, and fix the problem. It's your domain - and you choose the resolution.

Learn how to access and use the registrar's zone editor.

If you elect to fix the problem yourself, remember the two details about registrar dashboards and zone editors.

1. It's your responsibility to find out how to access the zone editor.
2. It's your responsibility to find out how to use the zone editor.

Every different registrar has different name servers, to distribute the addresses of the domains that they support (including yours) - and every different registrar has a different zone editor, and its own syntax.

If you work with me, and get to the point where you cannot see what to do next, I'll work with you. If you need help accessing and using the zone editor, I'll try to help you.

Alternately, learn how to access the zone editor - and how to make screen prints.

In the latter case, you'll still have to have personal access to the zone editor - and you'll need to make and post screen prints. If you use screen prints, please learn how to produce and provide screen prints properly, so they are useful.

It's to your advantage, to get your domain working properly.

When you buy a custom domain, you want to get the domain working, so you can publish the blog - and so you can publish the blog, with its new valuable URL. Time spent with you making screen prints - and me showing you what the registrar technician did, instead of what is needed - is not time well spent.

Learn how to access and use the zone editor, or how to manage the relationship with the registrar, and spend your time wisely. Get your domain working, and get your domain active.

Maintain A FeedBurner Subscriber List

We've been using FeedBurner Email Distribution for years, to provide a turnkey email based publication distribution.

With any email distribution system, the most essential function, in list management, is to add and remove subscriber entries. FeedBurner gives you that ability - if you look, carefully.

The "Subscription Management" tab in "Email Subscriptions" lets you maintain the subscriber list - when you can find the wizards.


Start from "Email Subscriptions" - "Subscription Management". Look at the very bottom of the page, for "Subscriber Management".

There, you'll see the Email Subscriber Count - and Subscriber Details.



Click on "View Subscriber Details".


"View Subscriber Details" has 3 sections.

1. "Search Addresses" lets you search the subscription list.
2. "Export: CSV" lets you export the subscription list, to a CSV file, in a local folder.
3. The Subscriber List, in 3 sortable columns.

There you find the subscriber list.
Using a combination of "Search Addresses" and sorting the list by clicking on the columns, you can find and remove any subscriptions necessary. You can deactivate / reactivate, or delete, any individual subscription.

The "Status" column helps you identify unverified subscriptions - an important diagnostic, for complaints of non received (and eagerly awaited) email updates. Look for "Active" (aka "Verified"), or "Unverified".

And, using the "Preview Subscription Link" option, under "Subscription Link Code", you can add anybody - yourself or another person - to any FeedBurner feed that you publish. This can be any feed from your blog, or from somebody else's blog.


Click on "Preview Subscription Link".



And you get a form to add an email address, to the subscriber list.


Just try to avoid adding somebody, impolitely, to your feed. And remember that subscriptions must be verified, before they become active.

Basics: You Cannot Login To My Blogger Account

My Blogger account, and my blogs, are my property. Your Blogger account, and blogs, are your property.

This is a concept that not everybody seems to understand. Just as you cannot login to my account, I cannot login to your account - nor can Blogger Support or Google Security login to your account.

If you have a problem with your account, we will do our best to advise you how to resolve your problem - if at all possible. You have to do the work, though.

Maintaining access to your blog(s) - and maintaining content of your blog(s) - are your responsibility.

Neither Blogger nor Google can correct your mistakes, without your action.

Neither Blogger, nor Google, can (legally) login to your account - or return your account to your control, if you have not properly maintained your account. Nor will any helpers, that should be trusted, legitimately request that you provide your email address - or email them, for assistance.

Similarly, any third party relationship - such as your responsibility with a registrar, or maybe with a supplier of third party accessories or software - are your responsibility.

Blogger lets us - and encourages us - publish our blogs anonymously. Blogger provides content guidelines - and Google provides Terms of Service.

Blogger has specific cases where they can report our actions to local authorities.

Blogger / Google states specific examples where they will contact the local authorities and report our possible behaviour.

Child safety: We have a zero-tolerance policy towards content that exploits children. Some examples of this include:

• Child sexual abuse imagery: We will terminate the accounts of any user we find publishing or distributing child sexual abuse imagery. We will also report that user to law enforcement.

Based upon specific cases explicitly stated, it's unlikely that they would generally report our content for miscellaneous reasons, to local law enforcement.

Blogger legally cannot login to our accounts - even to fix a mistake.

Blogger does enforce TOS restrictions, when they classify spam blogs - but even then, they use automated processes. They don't login to our accounts, and retrieve unpublished content - content is classified, only after it is published.

If you unwisely delete a post - or install an unsafe third party template - they can't access your account, and restore your post or repair the template. That is your responsibility. Similarly, they can't login to your domain account, and fix your custom domain configuration.

You are an adult (or are required to be one, legally). Let Blogger and Google treat you as an adult. Please, accept responsibility, for your mistakes.

EU Cookie Compliance, September 2015

Having spent time during July 2015, setting up the EU Cookie Notice Banner - and more time during August 2015, verifying operation of the banner, some blog owners are curious about banner regulation.

Would the cookie notice have to be visible to the visitor as soon as they click onto the blog?

or

Since I don't live in Europe, should I care about the notice?

Both are valid concerns, from blog owners who don't blindly follow the leader, with no reason.

For immediate answers to both questions, I'd start with the Google CookieChoices website.

For more detail, check out The EU Internet Handbook, or maybe IAB Europe Guidance - or the individual country guidelines, listed in CookieChoices. If you live in an EU country, you should be informed.

Google provides us with a basic structure, and we design the content.

From what I can tell, Google is merely doing us a courtesy, in including the automatic banner, when EU readers surf our blogs. I don't think they''re likely to do anything, on their own - if we don't get the banner working, on our blogs.

It is not difficult to get the Google banner working, on most blogs - so why not just use it, and then research the alternatives and effects?

I don't see Google setting up an array of Banner Check bots (one / EU country), similar to the Blogger spam classification botset - just to ensure that each Blogger blog has the required banner, displayed in each EU country. Some AdSense publishers may be vulnerable, since AdSense has an EU user consent policy.

Google leaves it to each blog owner to determine specific cookie advice.

Google requirements are not very detailed.

What do I put in my consent message?

Unfortunately we can’t tell you what your website or app consent message should say because it will largely depend on your own uses of cookies and other information, and the third party services you work with.

and

Where should 'See details' link?

The link in your message may expand the area that contains the message, to offer more information, or it may open a new page that contains additional detail. That new page might be part of your Privacy Policy, or it might be a dedicated cookie policy.

Again, we can’t tell you what to write by way of detail: it will depend on the cookies and other information you use, the other services you work with, and any opt-out controls made available to users of your site.

Most likely, enforcement of country standards will be the onus of each country.

My suspicion is that Google will leave it up to each EU country, to decide if each Blogger blog (and every other website in the world) is up to their standards. Will any EU country actually check every website (and Blogger blog)? Who knows.

If I were you, I'd just go with the Google banner, for now, until you find out what the issues are. Just verify that the Google banner works, on your Blogger blog. Or, you can try any of several third party banners, listed in CookieChoices, that interest you.

Just start by verifying banner operation, on each blog.

Once you know that a banner is operational on your blog, read the detailed advice. It's most likely that

• The EU country enforcement agencies won't check every blog and website, immediately.
• They will check the more active blogs and websites sooner.
• They will check blogs and websites published from their own country, first.
• They will check blogs and websites published from other EU countries, next.

I don't think any EU country is likely to send a hit squad to other countries, to arrest and deport non compliant blog publishers - then ship them to their country, for detention and trial.

Maybe some countries will get court orders, and have Google block non compliant blogs, in their country. Maybe that's why Blogger expanded their country specific domain list, recently.

I suspect that you'll have months of warning, before any action is taken, if your blog is not compliant - if you follow deleted blog reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue. I'll provide periodic updates on this subject, in this blog.

If you use the Google cookie banner, and if you are not in a EU country, you'll probably get hit by a meteor, before you get a trip to Europe to answer for your crimes.

Spam Classification And Review Accuracy Improves

At any given time, we can see a small sample of the Blogger blog universe, as reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

One sample, that we may see, is composed of the blogs which have been deleted / locked, by the Blogger spam classifier - which the owners want restored.

If properly requested by a former owner, we may request review of a blog, that appears to be improperly classified.

We sample the Blogger spam population, using forum spam reviews.

To request review, we submit a blog in a database. The database is read by the Google staff, which hand review blogs classified by the automated processes.

Having submitted a handful of review requests, we wait for the review results. The results of the reviews provide a sample, of blogs being classified, and reviewed.

Seeing a trend of spam review results, we observe what is being classified.

The general trend would be between 33% and 66% of righteous / spurious spam classification ratio (in other words, varying between a 1/2 to a 2/1 ratio). Instinctively, that should be normal - since Blogger tries to get as many spammers out of business - but without disturbing too many legitimate blog owners.

Occasionally, we see the ratio more like 1/9 - or 9/1. Then, we see a predominance of one or two classes of blogs, as reviewed.

1. Blogs not spam.
2. Blogs marginally spammy.
3. Blogs blatantly spammy.

Currently, we are seeing more legitimate blogs, being spuriously classified.

Most recently, we saw a large population of Groups #1 and #2. When review was requested, 95% of those submitted were restored.

There will always be some spam blogs, not classified - that should be. And there will always be some blogs spuriously classified - that should not be.

But when the majority of the blogs for which review is requested, are subsequently restored, that tells us that the Blogger spam classifiers are having to reach deeper into Groups #1 and #2, above. And that implies that Group #3 is becoming smaller. And that Group #3 includes less blogs which blatantly imitate Group #1.

There will always be spammers, trying to discourage spam reviews.

In spite of the devious maligning of the Blogger spam mitigation policies

The Blogger system of preventing spam is full of failures - and the support team don't remove blogs with spam/malware/nudity and other offenses.

We can tell, from the samples, that the system is working. And that of the people who suggest the negatives

The Blogger system of preventing spam is full of failures - and the support team don't remove blogs with spam/malware/nudity and other offenses.

many of them are non self aware spammers, who are lamenting loss of their blogs.

People who want spam classification improved have to request review.

If spam filter tuning is to continue successfully, everybody who is not a spammer, but who is treated as if they are, must request review of their blogs. And the majority of the review requests must produce blogs restored - which gives Blogger details to tighten the filters, and classify less blogs that are legitimate, during the next classification cycle.

Blogger can't tune their filters based upon non responding legitimate blog owners. People who post

My blogs were deleted - but I'm not providing the URLs, because the Blogger anti-spam policies don't work!

Either

• Are spammers, trying to discourage the spam classification and review process.
• Are non spammers who will, unfortunately, never see their blogs again.

Which group each blog owner falls into, remains to be seen. If your blog was recently classified, and you believe classification was unfair, then you have to submit your blog for review.

Recovering A Company Blog, Using Company Email

Every week, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, we see signs of improperly managed company blogs.

The person who developed our company blog left our employment - and did not give us access to the blog. How do we recover our blog?

If the former employee published the blog from a Blogger account that uses cloud based email, such as GMail, the blog may be legally his property.

A Blogger blog is owned by the person who controls it. If your company uses company owned email, however, you may be able to take control of the Blogger account, and the blog.

Company blogs should be company property - but if an employee controls a company blog, it's (legally) his blog.

The question is whether the former employee controls the blog, using a Blogger account based on public email, or on a company email account.

If the former employee used public email, then it's his blog.

If the current blog owner published the blog using a Blogger account that's based on public cloud based email, such as GMail, the blog may be legally his property. This gives you two choices.

1. Contact the owner (former employee).
2. Get a court order.

If the employee used company email, then the blog belongs to the company.

If the former employee used a Blogger account that's based on a company email account, the blog is legally company property. You may have a third choice.

3. Recover control of the blog.

The company network administrator should have access to the email system incoming log. After you use "Forgot?", the administrator can check the incoming log, and look for email from Blogger or Google.

Finding a reference to any incoming email, the network administrator can help you retrieve the incoming message.

In the latter case, the company network administrator is the key.

You will need an email or network administrator who knows how to identify and retrieve incoming email. Given this ability, you have only to open the blog recovery email, and accept ownership of the blog.

The "Follow by Email" Gadget Uses FeedBurner Email

FeedBurner Email Distribution takes any Atom / RSS newsfeed, and sends it out, as email, to all subscribed recipients.

One FeedBurner feed is generated, when you add The "Follow by Email" gadget, to your blog. Like all FeedBurner Email accessories, email is distributed once daily, as selected by the feed owner.

You adjust delivery time for the email feed, using the FeedBurner dashboard.

Start from Publicize, "Email Subscriptions".

Start from the FeedBurner dashboard, for the feed in question. Select the Publicize tab, "Email Subscriptions", then "Delivery Options".

You can "Select Time Zone", then "Schedule Email Delivery" for any of 12 2-hour email delivery time windows.


Email Subscriptions offers a number of options, to customise your Email Distribution service.




Activate "Email Subscriptions", as necessary.

Use "Delivery Options" to set time zone, then select from any of 12 convenient 2-hour windows for email delivery.



Note that if the blog uses a dynamic template, you'll have to add the "Subscription Links" gadget - not "Subscribe by Email". Then, you'll activate the "Email Subscriptions" service, from the Publicize tab, "Email Subscriptions" manually.

FeedBurner Email Subscriptions offers a number of options - but "Schedule Email Delivery" is the key, if you are interested in timely delivery of your posts, as you publish.

Edit the the "Follow by Email" gadget, to easily access the dashboard.

To access the FeedBurner dashboard, just Edit the "Follow by Email" gadget - either from the Layout page, or using the QuickEdit icon. Click on the link "View stats and learn more.".

That puts you into FeedBurner - at the "My Feed" display, with one click. You then select a feed, and you are in the dashboard.

Blog Owners Seeing "Invalid Security Token Error 403"

We are seeing an increasing number of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about problems accessing various dashboard features.

Recently I have faced a problem on my blogs dashboard. The problem is

Invalid Security Token Error 403

How do I solve this?

This blog owner faces the latest variant of the long feared monolithic error, "403 Forbidden".

Like the classical "403 Forbidden", "403 Invalid Security Token" is a network error, informing the client "You are not permitted access to this computer (server)".

Past instances of "403" errors have involved responses by Google, to malicious network traffic, from computers that are not controlled by their legal owners. This symptom was first discussed long ago, in 2007.

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. If you are seeing this error, your details, politely provided, may help Blogger Engineering to identify the cause of the problem.

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(Update 9/10): This problem appears to be resolved.

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Interstitial Warnings Limit Research Options

Besides the problems discussed, when trying to research ownership or retrieve content from deleted and private blogs, we have problems researching ownership and retrieving content for blogs published behind an interstitial warning.

The interstitial warning is actually one reason why private blogs are so hard to research and to retrieve. Any blog, published behind an interstitial warning, becomes a challenge - both for ownership research, and for content retrieval.

Both ownership research, and content retrieval, are a challenge for deleted, locked, and private blogs.

• Examining account / blog recovery options.
• Identifying / verifying blog theft.
• Analysing objectionable content (adult, malware, spam).

Account / blog recovery options.
Account / blog recovery, in many cases, starts with identifying the current blog owner.

The person claiming to be the owner may complain that the blog has been deleted, but there is no "Restore" option on the dashboard, and no email was received. This happens, many times, because the person reporting the problem is either not the owner - or is logged in using the wrong Blogger account.

Blog theft.
To verify blog theft, one must identify the current owner. In cases where a blog has been stolen, then deleted, historical examination is necessary.

Objectionable content classification.
To diagnose or verify objectionable content, we must examine the blog in question. Adult content can be examined or verified by direct content examination.

If a blog is deleted or locked because of malware or spam classification, this too requires historical content retrieval.

All research starts with content examination.
Examination of content is the key.

• Direct content examination, in a browser (proxy or text browser, generally).
• Historical content examination, using a cache retrieval service.
• Feed examination, for issues involving post content.

Direct examination.
With content that is immediately available, we have several options for viewing. We can use a normal browser, a proxy server, or a text browser. When it's necessary to examine code, the normal browser using the "View Source" option, or the text browser, are useful.

Neither a proxy server or text browser will support the interaction with the interstitial warning. Both the proxy server and text browsers will display the warning - but that's as far as you can go. Clicking on the "Continue" button, no more detail is provided.

When an interstitial warning is present, only direct examination is possible. For hazardous or offensive content, the remaining option of direct examination is not desired.

Historical content retrieval.
When a blog has been deleted or locked, direct examination is not possible. For a deleted / locked blog, or for researching ownership history, cached content retrieval is useful. Old copies of blogs can provide useful clues in researching ownership, and in examining content.

With an interstitial warning involved, many cached images consist only of the interstitial warning. Clicking on the "Continue" button, no more detail is provided.

Feed examination.
For issues which involve post content, and with no other option available, we can sometime use posts feed content, using an in browser feed reader like Feedly. Both offensive content, and spam, can sometimes be viewed in a feed reader. In some cases, this may be the only option available.

There are various interstitial warnings.
An interstitial warning comes from several sources.

• Content Warning (hazardous / offensive content).
• Offsite Redirect Warning (incorrectly setup custom domain).
• Private Blog Warning (limited reader audience).

Each of these warnings present different challenges - but all, when present, affect possible success of ownership research and content retrieval.