"Delete permanently" Means Delete, Permanently

For a long time, blog owners have been requiring the ability to delete their blogs.

In the beginning, people would delete a blog - whether intentionally or mistakenly - then change their mind, or realise their mistake.

I did not really want to delete my blog.

And the inevitable question.

How do I get my very important blog back? Surely, it's in your computer somewhere??

But this question was not always answered, with encouragement.

Too often, Blogger Support would be forced to give the bad news.

You deleted it, and it's gone.

Blogger added the "Deleted blogs" dashboard list.

Eventually, Blogger Support tired of providing negative answers - and Blogger Engineers added the "Deleted blogs" display, to the dashboard.

A blog, deleted by the owner, and listed under "Deleted blogs", can be recovered by the owner, when desired - up to 90 days from deletion. Unfortunately, the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list was not the final solution.

Some blog owners did not want a deleted blog listed, under "Deleted blogs".

Some people would delete a blog - then sometime later, learn that the blog was not really deleted.

I deleted my blog - but now I see it listed, under "Deleted blogs". How do I delete my blog, so it does not exist?

And the answer.

Wait 90 days - and it will be removed.

But that answer did not always satisfy.

I can't wait 90 days - I want it deleted, now!

And for that requirement, there was no answer.

Blogger recently added the "Remove permanently" option.

Recently, Blogger added the "Delete permanently" option, to the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list. Now, a deleted blog can be removed immediately, at the discretion of the blog owner.

• A blog, when deleted, goes offline - and is moved to the "Deleted blogs" list.
• If the owner wants the blog restored, he can use "Restore blog".
• If the owner wants the blog gone, he can use "Delete permanently".

And, as noted in Blogger Help: Back up, import, or delete your blog

• When you delete a blog: you have a short period of time to restore it if you change your mind.
• When you permanently delete a blog: all of your blog information, posts, and pages will be deleted, and you won’t be able to restore them.

And one additional advice.

Note: After a blog is permanently deleted, the blog’s URL cannot be used again.

The "Delete permanently" option can't be reversed.

The option "Delete permanently" has final and immediate results.

• The blog is removed from "Deleted blogs".
• The blog contents cannot be restored.
• The URL can never be re used.

In the words of the philosopher,

He's dead, Jim.

End of story.

Let's examine the deletion sequence.

Here's my dashboard home page - showing my test blog, awaiting deletion. Compare this display, with my test blog, deleted.

Here's my test blog - "Delete Blog Test".

Go to the dashboard Settings - Other page, and click on "Delete blog".

There is the "Delete blog" wizard - and a chance to "Download Blog".

So, click on "Delete This Blog".

And, it's deleted. But what does that really mean?



Here's my dashboard home page - showing my test blog, deleted. Compare this display, with my test blog, awaiting deletion.

Now, we see "Deleted blogs" has 1 entry.

And there is my test blog listed, with two choices - "Permanently delete" or "Undelete".

Unfortunately, "Undelete" won't work, for me.



We do get an on screen warning, before permanent deletion.

We do get a warning, before deletion. "Deleting Nitecruzr Delete Blog Test is permanent and you won't be able to undo it"

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A #Blogger blog, once deleted, can be restored within 90 days - if "Delete permanently" is not used. Once "Delete permanently" is used, the blog and all content is gone - and the URL can never be used, again.

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Verify BlogSpot And Domain URLs

Whenever dealing with any problem with a blog, you should verify the URLs involved.

Some of the most baffling problems, with blog connectivity, identity, or ownership, can start from simple typographical errors. This possibility will involve both native "blogspot.com" and custom domain URLs.

The Publishing wizard window, in the Blogger dashboard Settings - Basic page, is essential for identifying errors. Whether you paste or type a URL into the registrar's zone editor, the Publishing wizard, or the browser address window, you can make a mistake. Checking the Publishing wizard is as important as examining a Dig log extract - or as viewing an HTTP trace.

Verifying the URLs involved, in the dashboard Publishing wizard, is as important as examining a Dig log extract, or an HTTP trace.

This will be the case, when dealing with various "blogspot.com" connectivity problems, researching a custom domain problem, or a dashboard or ownership problem.

Both screen prints, and text copies, are very useful - and not redundant.

Both a screen print, and a text copy, of the Publishing window (and / or the browser address window) is very useful, when diagnosing connectivity problems - or possibly, researching ownership issues, or similarly vanished blogs. And with a custom domain, similar detail from the registrar zone editor is useful.

A text copy of the contents is needed, to avoid having to re type the URL - and maybe cause a different problem when comparing the URL. And a visual copy of the Publishing wizard is good, to identify the context of any problem.

Let's look at two blogs - and what we need to examine / verify.

My test blog, published as "nitecruzr-test-ssl.blogspot.com".

Here, we see a "blogspot.com" URL, in the browser address window.

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

Here, we see the Blogger dashboard Settings - Basic page, for a "blogspot.com" published blog.

And the Publishing display, for a "blogspot.com" published blog.



And essential text details, from Publishing, for a "blogspot.com" published blog:

nitecruzr-test-ssl.blogspot.com                                 Edit

If you are requesting assistance with your native Blogger blog, the latter details, in both a screen print and text copy, will be useful.

My blog, published as "blogging.nitecruzr.net".

Here, we see a custom domain URL, in the browser address window.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net

Here, we see the Blogger dashboard Settings - Basic page. for a custom domain published blog.

And the Publishing display, for a custom domain published blog.



And essential text details, for a custom domain published blog:

blogging.nitecruzr.net                                                 Edit
bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com                               redirects

With a custom domain published blog, always click on "Edit", and make a second screen print.

The second page of the Publishing display - which only applies to a custom domain published blog.

You maybe have seen this display, similarly formatted, in an infamous "Error 12" or similar display.



The latter display is seen, frequently, in an "Error 12" et al domain ownership verification demand.

And the domain root redirection, properly selected.



More essential details, for a custom domain published blog:

Third party domain settings
http:// blogging.nitecruzr.net
  X   Redirect nitecruzr.net to blogging.nitecruzr.net.

If you are requesting assistance with your custom domain published Blogger blog, the latter details, in both a screen print and text copy, will be useful.

And a zone editor display, for my domain "nitecruzr.co.uk".


A zone editor display, from GoDaddy. Every registrar will have a different display.


Comparing the URLs in the browser window, and in the Publishing window - and in Dig logs and zone editor displays (for custom domains) - we can identify typographical errors, and other mistakes. Typographical errors can be a cause of various problems, when publishing blogs to custom domains - and to "blogspot.com".

Some problems result from failure to copy and paste, properly. They can be as challenging to diagnose, as failure to observe registrar name server syntax.

Having verified the URLs, in some cases, you will continue with an affinity diagnosis, and with a differential diagnosis. This is all part of my simple 12 link test set.

You, the blog owner, may consider "duplicate" and "redundant" to be synonyms. When we research a blog problem, "duplicate" != "redundant". Many confusing problems have been solved, by comparing combinations of various above details - and by finding inequality, in one or more displays.

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Diagnosing problems with #Blogger blogs can require careful diagnostics, using details found in dashboard screen prints and detail text copies, in Dig logs, and in HTTP traces. All details must be carefully compared, both visually and using text extracts, to diagnose some problems.

Much of this may seem superficial, to experienced support analysts - yet be obscure to some blog owners.

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Confusion About Blogger / Google Support Policies

We're seeing confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about unfairly limited Blogger / Google support policies.

Why can I not Follow my favourite blog, without using a Google account?

and

Why must I upgrade my computer, to be able to use Chrome?

Some blog owners and readers take the support policy limits personally, as if Blogger / Google is punishing them - or their readers - for not using the right account to login, or not upgrading their software.

Every different account host - and every different browser or operating system - requires more unique code, that must be provided by Blogger / Google, in their libraries.

Blogger / Google are trying to make their products efficient and stable.

Blogger / Google is trying to make their applications and browser more stable. More stable products yield happier users, and more users.

Complex code libraries, caused by the need to support every different non Google account (previously supported by Blogger), and every different operating system of every age, cause Chrome and Followers to be slow and unstable. Slow and unstable applications and browsers yield unhappy users, and less users.

More complex code libraries require Blogger / Google to spend more time updating their code, for every change made outside Google.

Which choice makes more sense?

1. Less complex applications and browsers, less time spent maintaining less complex code libraries, more customers, more satisfied customers.
2. More complex applications and browsers, more time spent maintaining more complex code libraries, less customers, less satisfied customers.

My money says Door #1 makes the most sense, from a business viewpoint.

Efficient and stable applications require effort by users, as well as coders.

Blogger / Google simply can't support every different non Google account in their applications, and every different browser and operating system, and maintain a business. People who want to use Blogger and Google have to make some effort, and help Blogger and Google to help them.

Blogger cannot support non Google accounts, and provide an efficient and stable Followers gadget.



If you try to update Chrome - and you see advice

Sorry, you can't update Chrome, using this operating system.

or if you (or your readers) try to Follow your blog, and see

We're sorry, the site owner has blocked you from joining this site.

Neither refusal is Blogger / Google being petty, and forcing you (or your readers) from having unlimited choice, capriciously. This simply represents Blogger / Google making a tough choice, and trying to provide efficient and stable products, for their customers who are willing to make some effort.

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Some blog owners do not understand the need for #Blogger and #Google to support use of a limited range of non Blogger / Google products, in their various features. Support policy for products like the new Followers gadget, which now supports only Google accounts for Following - and Chrome, which supports only newer versions of Windows operating system - are not understood.

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Using A Killfile, To Filter Blogger Comments

We periodically see hopeful - yet naive - requests from blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger, asking about comment moderation improvement.

How do I add a disruptive commenter to a killfile list - and never see his/her nonsense ever again, without moderating every comment, being published?

This would be a popular feature - if it could be provided, in any way that would achieve results.

Using a killfile, to filter disruptive / malicios commenters, is not a likely possibility.

Anybody who does not want to be identified can comment as desired.

It is not possible to reliabily identify a comment publisher, who does not wish to be identified.

• Blogger / Google identity.
• IP address.

Disruptive individuals can't be identified, with any chance of success. Anybody who wants to publish comments can do so, using multiple accounts, and / or IP addresses.

Both Blogger / Google accounts and IP addresses can be easily cloaked.

Using either multiple Blogger / Google accounts - or IP addresses - is a trivial exercise for anybody who is determined enough to persistently publish unwanted comments.

Given the impossibility of identifying people who don't provide effective identification, Blogger is unlikely to provide a feature that would accomplish nothing - and possibly interfere with legitimate commenting.

The only solution for blocking unacceptable comments will always involve collaborative, fuzzy filters, trained by each blog owner.

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Some #Blogger blog owners would like to use a killfile, to filter unacceptable comments. They don't understand that anybody who wants to persistently publish disruptive or malicious comments can easily mask their identity - and make killfile use an exercis in futility.

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Hosted AdSense Accounts, And Blogger

Some Blogger blog owners are confused by the ability to use AdSense, with various Google and non Google services.

I monetized my YouTube videos - but when I try to sign up for AdSense, it says I need a website. So I went to Blogger to make one - but it says that I now have to buy a domain. How do I start?

The blog owner has an AdSense account - but it's Hosted by YouTube. And you can't use a YouTube Hosted AdSense account, with native Blogger.

In general, hosted accounts are useful only under the service that hosts them - and only "blogspot" published Blogger blogs can be used with a Blogger hosted account.

Rules for Blogger, and for non Blogger, content are complicated. Each service has different standards.

• An AdMob hosted account is good, only with AdMob, on a mobile computer.
• A Blogger hosted account is good, for a Blogger blog, when published to "blogspot.com".
• A YouTube hosted account is good, only with a YouTube channel.

These are rules which affect Blogger published content. Rules for Non Blogger published content are not symmetrical.

AdMob Hosted AdSense Accounts.

If you want to use a Blogger blog with a AdMob hosted account, you have to fully activate your AdSense account.

Blogger Hosted AdSense Accounts.

With a Blogger hosted account, you can only use a blog published to "blogspot.com". To use a Blogger custom domain published blog, you have to upgrade your Blogger hosted account.

YouTube Hosted AdSense Accounts.

With a YouTube hosted account, you have to upgrade your YouTube hosted account, to monetise a Blogger blog.

Interestingly, if you start with an approved and verified Blogger hosted account on a properly qualified blog, you can use that account to monetise a YouTube channel. You just can't go from YouTube to Blogger so easily.

Fully Activated AdSense for Content.

To upgrade to AdSense for Content, you need a properly qualified top level domain website - and a verified address with an AdSense PIN.

• Blogger custom domain published blog.
• Non Google hosted top level domain published website.

You need to plan any upgrade, carefully.

As I have observed previously, standards for publishing to an AdSense for Content account are much higher, than for a hosted account. You need to plan any upgrade, for a Blogger blog using a custom domain - or when you're using any other AdSense account.

The end result here is that AdSense Help Forum: Blogger, YouTube, Partner sites will not go away, from lack of questions. The online forums will always be needed, for answering AdSense hosting and upgrade questions.

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Some #Blogger blog owners, enjoying successful AdSense use with AdMob, YouTube, or other hosted accounts, want to add AdSense ads to their Blogger blogs. They do not always understand the complications involved, in the upgrade.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/adsense/partner-sites-eg-youtube/jB3MjTjNl_A

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/G3cdbaKFSyM

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2016/03/you-cant-use-hosted-non-blogger-adsense.html

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Stats "Don't Track" - You Cannot Satisfy Everybody

Blogger recently redesigned the Stats "Don't track ..." option - and removed third party cookies from the picture.

The "Don't track ..." wizard is now accessed from the blog URL. The wizard still produces cookies - but they are ordinary first party cookies, which are much less feared than third party cookies.

But, every silver lining has a cloud.

In making the "Don't track" wizard accessed under the blog URL, Blogger created a new requirement - which is no more understood, by some blog owners, than "third party" cookies.

"Don't track" now runs scripts from the blog URL, instead of the Blogger dashboard.

In order for a blog to observe - and preserve - the "Don't track" setting, any computer that the owner uses has to permit first party cookies - and all scripts - from the blog, instead of from the Blogger dashboard.

Since "Don't track" is designed to be used by the blog owner, this new requirement should not be a problem. Every blog owner should be able to trust herself / himself, to not add dodgy code to his / her own blog.

Many security products block scripts from personally owned blogs.

Unfortunately, general security practice is to block scripts from "blogspot.com", "blogspot.xx" (for every "xx" for every country local domain"), and preferably for blogs published to custom domains.

You can trust scripts from "blogger.com", and the Blogger dashboard. You cannot trust the individual blogs, since you cannot trust every blog owner. Even if you could trust some people not to intentionally try to hack your computer, you cannot trust everybody to not stupidly install malicious software from a very convincing hacker, providing one more "gotta have this" blog accessory.

And since you cannot trust the individual blogs, you will have filters. And those filters have to be adjusted, to trust your own blogs - if you want to ignore your own pageviews.

Some blog owners add security software, and don't know how to maintain the filters.

There are too many Blogger blog owners who have installed protective software on their personal computers - without knowing how to adjust the filters, in the protective software. And some of those owners think that it is a Blogger responsibility, to provide them instructions, how to adjust the protective software on their own computers - when only they are capable of knowing what they installed.

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The new version of the Stats "Don't track" option is an improvement, because it no longer requires third party cookies - and involves the associated security risk. Unfortunately, it now requires blog owners to permit scripts, from the blogs themselves.

This is not a security risk, in that only personally owned blogs need to be trusted - but the blog owners do need to know how to adjust the filters involved. And not everybody with a computer knows how to configure their security accessories.

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With AdSense, Ads Are Not Based On The Minimum

One sign of confusion, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners, involves new blog publishers, who want to immediately add ads, after starting their blogs - and need reassurance, about how soon they will be seeing income.

What is the actual qualification level, for AdSense?

This is a question, from somebody who probably does not understand the AdSense approval process.

If AdSense is run properly, final approval is not based on any fixed minimum. There are too many different blog / website subjects, and advertising targets, to have a consistent minimum across all product lines.

I've seen too many blogs with very little content - significantly below the often stated "minimum" of 50 posts, 100 - 200 words / post, showing ads - to believe that there really is one common minimum qualification level.

Some of the experienced helpers in the forum seem to suggest a very restrictive "qualification level".

100 posts, 500 to 1,000 words / post.

There are more blogs that will never get ads - even after being given approval.

Qualification is based on supply vs demand, for each blog subject.

My suspicion is that the qualification level is based on what ads are being sold (by the ad managers) vs what blogs and websites are being offered for ads (by the owners).

It would make no sense to qualify a blog about automobiles, based on current standards for selling ads about bicycles.

• At any time, these may be more blogs about bicycles, than about automobiles.
• Automobiles cost more than bicycles, so it's likely that one automobile ad click is worth more than one bicycle ad click.
• Next month, there may be more advertisers selling ads about bicycles (in San Francisco), than about automobiles (in Los Angeles).

Approval is based on blog and post size - ads are sold, based on a variety of details.



Qualification is based on a combination of details.

At minimum, I would bet eligibility for ads is based on a combination of metrics - including current demand.

• Post count.
• Post length.
• Post subject.
• Blog language.
• Blog location.
• Demand for ads of a given language, location, and subject.

If a given ad manager is prepared to pay for 5 blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles, the best 5 blogs, based on current metrics, will be "qualified". This week, some blogs with 50 posts may be chosen to host ads.

Next month, with the Tour de France scheduled for San Francisco, there will be more market for ads about bicycles there. With more ad managers paying for ads about bicycles in San Francisco, blogs about automobiles in Los Angeles will have less demand.

Automotive blogs may be chosen based on 75 posts / blog and 200 words average / post - and some blogs about bicycling in San Francisco, being more in demand, may be chosen with 25 posts / blog and 100 words average / post.

Work on your blog more - and your blog will host ads sooner.

To anybody asking

What post count, post length, traffic level is required, for qualification?

I would suggest a different approach.

Work on your blog - and don't spend time asking about qualification level.

What you need, to make serious bucks, is going to be more that mere qualification level. And ad managers want to pay for ads hosted on blogs that will be in business longer, and deliver relevant traffic consistently - because that's where more paying customers originate.

And blogs that make more money have owners who are better motivated to publish more - and stay in business longer.

Better / more content --> More earnings --> Better future --> Preferred for ads

That's your qualification levels.

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Some #Blogger blog owners want to host AdSense ads on their blogs - with their blogs immature, and lacking content. They ask about qualification levels, rather than look at how valuable their blog may be (or not) for hosting ads of a given subject.

They ignore the concept of supply and demand - even though that's very likely as important as blog subject - or size.

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Empty Or New Blogs Can Be Classified As Spam Hosts

We're seeing a few recent reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from owners of empty and / or new blogs, about spurious spam classification.

Very few owners of empty or new Blogger blogs understand why their blogs should be classified as possible spam hosts, by the Blogger anti-spam processes. Most blog owners seem to think that only blog content is considered, in spam classification.

Spam classification considers many characteristics of a Blogger blog, in classifying any blog as a possible spam host.

Blog post content is an obvious - but not the only - factor in spam classification. Given previously observed behaviour of spammers, many characteristics of blogs, besides simply the extracted and analysed content, are used in classifying possible spam blogs. Using fuzzy spam classification techniques, one might also consider

• Accessories and decorations, on the blog.
• Addresses used, in setting up multiple blogs.
• Overall behaviour in Google, by the owner.
• Past posting habits of the owner.
• Previous classification of similar blogs.

Some spammers obscure their activity, with gratuitous Google activity.

Some spammers are active in multiple Google activities and features. It's possible that some spammers even try to make their spam in Blogger harder to detect, by spreading their activity across other Google services - even when non abusive in other Google services.

Some spammers may not realise that activity in other Google areas can be tracked, and included by Blogger spam classifications processes.

Blog publishers, enjoying similar activities, may be spuriously classified.

Blog owners who use one or more techniques involved in setting up and maintaining spam blog farms may be classified as spammers - and their blogs then classified as possible spam hosts.

The term "blog owner" must itself be considered fuzzily, as some spam blog farms contain blogs owned by multiple Blogger accounts and profiles. Some Blogger accounts, similar to known spammer accounts - even with no blogs owned, or with empty blogs published - may then appear as possible spam hosts.

Empty blogs may still provide clues, which suggest spammy purpose.

Empty blogs, that appear similar to blogs in known spam farms, may themselves be classified as possible spam hosts. Various details such as blog name, blog design, and use of various blog accessories and features, can make a blog appear similar to known spam blogs - with no other content.

As long as spammers exist, some Blogger blogs will be spuriously classified.

Given the need for Google to reduce the volume of spam blogs, fuzzy spam classification might use any of the above details, in classifying any empty or new blog as a possible spam blog. This will, unfortunately, lead to spurious spam blog detection.

The possibility of spurious classification cannot prevent classification, in general.

Given the ability of spammers to publish multiple blogs in the Blogger name space, classifying empty and new blogs is necessary, in making it possible for Google to keep up with spammy activity. This technique enables publishers of genuine blogs to have their blogs viewed as righteous Internet content - not as one more blog, in a sea of spam.

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When You Setup A Custom Domain, Please Know And Observe Your Limits Of Expertise

Too many blog owners, when they setup a custom domain for their blog, do not consider the details.

We see signs of the problem, too often, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Can someone give me step by step instructions for setting up a custom domain with xxxxxxx registrar? I contacted xxxxxxx customer service - and they told me a lot of things I didn't understand! Would it be easier just to transfer the domain to GoDaddy?

The short answer here would be

Yes, it would be easier just to transfer the domain to GoDaddy.

Unfortunately, that answer is not completely correct - and the correction may leave you with a broken domain.

Too many blog owners, eager to setup a non BlogSpot URL for their blog, do not consider the details involved, when they bypass "Buy a domain".

Part of the blame, for this problem, has to fall onto Blogger's head. People using "Buy a domain", for their first domain purchase, see the domain purchase as such a simple process. They never become aware of the complexities involved in a domain purchase, until they setup their second domain, and decide to "roll their own".

Let's look at the levels of experience needed.

• Beginner: Use "Buy a domain".
• Intermediate: Use the Google Apps or Google Wallet wizard - or alternately, buy a domain from one of the 8 identified registrars.
• Advanced: Buy a domain, directly, from any of the thousands of registrars, worldwide.

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As of 2013 June, "Buy a domain" is not offered, as part of "Add a custom domain" - although blog owners, in the USA, may use Google Domains. This will leave people outside the USA with one option - "Advanced".

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Beginner blog owners are strongly advised to use "Buy a domain". Choose an available domain, provide payment details, and your domain is setup. Wait until Transition expires, and get to work referring your readers, search engines, and other Internet services, to your new, non BlogSpot URL.

Intermediate blog owners, able to understand simple instructions, should be able to use the wizards provided by Google Apps or Google Wallet. Alternately, Blogger provides reasonably complete and simple instructions for setting up a domain with the 8 most popular registrars.

Advanced blog owners are free to choose any registrar, of the thousands out there. But beware! You are on your own, when you do this.

• Use of any non designated registrar does not free you from the constraints of the three custom domain models.
• It will be your responsibility to determine the syntax used by the Zone Editor, that's provided by the registrar.
• It will be your responsibility to ensure that the registrar, that you choose, can provide the required DNS address entries.
• It will be your responsibility to verify the precise sequence used, in any DNS host / registrar setup task.
• It will be your responsibility to research the details, before you start.
• Once you have purchased the domain of your choice, that domain will remain with that registrar, for 30 to 60 days. Very few registrars let you buy a domain - then immediately transfer registration.

So choose your registrar according to your needs - and according to your skill level. Don't start a custom domain project, before verifying that your experience is complete. Make the right choice, before you sign on the dotted line.

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Custom Domain Publishing, And Spam Classification

We see the naive question sometimes, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about avoiding spam classification by publishing to a non BlogSpot URL.

Can I keep my blog from being deleted, by publishing to a non BlogSpot URL?

This is a complex question, because custom domain publishing provides several possibilities. But will the possibilities provide an opportunity for avoiding spam classification?

Custom domain publishing, in its simplest form, offers only one immediate benefit.

• The ability to publish to a non BlogSpot URL.

Even when the Blogger blog is published to a non BlogSpot URL, the blog is still subject to spam classification. The Blogger spam classification process, which looks for spammy content, will look for spammy content in any blog, regardless of published URL.

If your blogging activity is centered around several different subjects, as mine are, you may do well to make several different blogs.

• Blogger blogs.
• Cooking.
• Microsoft Windows networking.
• Miscellaneous jokes and musings.
• Reminiscences of days long gone.

Having created a cluster of Blogger blogs, you can aggregate a cluster more easily by publishing each to a different host, in a domain. This is merely one technique, used in a strategy to combine multiple blogs and websites.

Given the ability to separate blogs of different content, you may be able to avoid one known reason for spam classification.

Large blogs with multiple, unfocused / unrelated subjects.

If you host malware or spam in your Blogger blogs, however, you won't necessarily avoid classification. Since a properly published Blogger custom domain blog starts with a BlogSpot URL - and since the BlogSpot URL remains active, even with the blog published to the domain URL, the blog will still be subject to the spam classification process.

>> Top

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Blogger Cannot Provide Advance Warning Of Deletion

One of the more intriguing tales, in the never ending saga of malware and spam interdiction, would have to be the confusion about the proper procedure for deleting or locking blogs, when suspected of hosting malware or spam. We periodically see, as part of a "Please unlock my blog!" request in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, the naive suggestion.

It would be better if Blogger Support had immediately alerted me of this problem, before deleting my blog!

The irony here is that, from a purely "customer service" viewpoint, I have to concur with the principle here.

It would be better, if Blogger Support could do this. Like many "it would be better" observations, this is probably never going to happen.

What would happen, if Blogger were to provide advance notification of any malware / spam classification? Many spammers would certainly appreciate this option - to remove the dodgy content, before the blog is deleted or locked. The typical spammer would have several options.

1. Remove the dodgy content, immediately.
2. Copy the entire blog to a second blog in the spam blog farm, and wait until receiving advance notification for that blog. Lather, rinse, repeat.
3. Possibly, do nothing. Later, claim indignantly

   I never got the notification!

   and hope that the kind souls at Blogger Support would give him another chance, since he had not been properly warned.

Option #1, used wisely, could even be used to "map" out the current spam mitigation strategy, and let spammers publish hundreds of spam blogs, staying below the radar. Essentially, we would see self whitelisting of spammy blogs. What spammer would not go for that, in a second?

Besides the spammers benefiting hugely from advance notification, not all genuine blog owners would benefit. Not every blog owner uses a properly registered Blogger account, or will read email from Blogger Support.

So, we have two downsides to the option of advance notice.

• Spammers would love it.
• Not every non spammer would appreciate it.

I, for one, don't see an upside - or certainly not any upside with benefit to counter the downsides.

In Utopia, there would be no spammers, and no need for any of this. Unfortunately, the Internet will never be part of Utopia.

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Everybody Won't Get Proper Notice About Their Blog

One problem that we're seeing in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken involves blog owners, who recently discovered their blogs deleted or locked, by Blogger - and without any notice received.

The account actions may be required with the blog deleted for a suspected TOS Violation, such as hosting malware, porn, or spam - or locked because of "suspicious activity" on the Blogger account.

Why was my blog deleted? I never got proper notice!

Too many people depend upon email notification - and may not receive proper notification, in all cases.

Blogger provides a dashboard based malware / porn / spam classification notification / recovery process, which may not be available for everybody. Similar to malware / porn / spam classification, there will be issues with DMCA violation notification.

This is also a problem when accounts are locked for "suspicious activity", and when blogs are locked for hosting malicious third party gadgets.

There are several reasons why some blog owners won't get notification of their blogs being deleted or locked, by the various Blogger / Google security processes.

Nobody should expect advance warning of any action being taken.

Besides notification limitations, nobody should expect to get advance warning of action being taken - as this would simply encourage the intentional spammers to never request review. Intentional spammers, if permitted, would play 3 Card Monte, endlessly, with their spammy blogs.

Both the notification, and advance warning, limitations contribute to confusion about the various Blogger / Google security recovery options. All email based notifications may not be properly delivered.

The owner of any email account, which may not deliver email properly, is still responsible for reading any important email messages.

Some blogs are owned by accounts which use intentionally bogus email addresses.

Too many Blogger blogs are owned by Blogger accounts which are based on inactive or nonexistent email addresses. Owners of these blogs will never see email notification, when they - intentionally or not - make themselves anonymous.

Some email clients may misfile an incoming email message.

In other cases, some people may get the email notifying them of problems - but their email program may misfile the email, in a folder which they may not check, regularly. In some odd cases, somebody other than the owner may get the email.

Blogs owned by teams will be subject to action against any one member.

In team blog ownerships, any blog owned by the team is subject to action, against the Blogger / Google account, used by any team member. Blogs affected will simply disappear from the dashboards of all team members - with no opportunity provided for appeal or review.

Some blog owners maintain too many Blogger and email accounts.

Finally, too many blog owners maintain multiple Blogger / Google accounts, and are not completely sure which Blogger account may own a given blog. These owners may not even see the dashboard based "Deleted Blogs" button / link, because they will be logged in to the wrong Blogger account.

Each blog owner is responsible for any problems, regardless of cause.

Not all of the above scenarios are entirely the fault of the blog owners - but the blog owners are the ones who will have to deal with the resulting problems. It's possible that this may seem unfair - but it's reality.

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Stats Time Ranges, And Pageview Count Recalculation

Periodically, we see evidence of confusion about Stats and the pageview counts, as provided in the various displays and time ranges, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

My pageview counts keep going down!

or

My counts go up during the day - but in the afternoon, they drop to zero!!

or

My counts keep going down! There's no end to the drop!!

All of these complaints - and more - involve blog owners, who don't understand the relationships between the displays and time ranges.

We've explored the results of the ongoing referer spam war, of normal viewer activity, and of the daily pageview count reset which applies, periodically, to all blogs. Besides those 3 issues, there is some confusion about the relationships between the various time ranges.

There are 6 different displays - and opportunities for confusion.

1. The Dashboard "Overview" page.
2. The Posts "All time" per post pageviews count.
3. The Stats "Overview" page.
4. The Stats "Posts" page.
5. The Stats "Traffic sources" page.
6. The Stats "Audience" page.

The 4 Stats display pages each offer 5 different "Time range" displays.

• Now (the last 2 hours).
• Day (the last 24 hours).
• Week (the last 7 days).
• Month (the last 30 days).
• All time (since May 2006, when Stats pageview counts were first extracted) - though possibly missing one year or another.

Some blog owners try to compare the Stats "Overview" histogram (in its 5 time ranges), with the "Overview" counts ("today", "yesterday", "last month", and "all time history"). Unfortunately, the graphs and numbers are recalculated (by Blogger) on various schedules.

• Some are recalculated on a minute by minute basis.
• Some are recalculated hourly.
• Some are recalculated daily (but not necessarily at midnight, for everybody).
• We have no idea of the timings involved, for "Popular Posts" re ranking.

Confusion arises, when a blog owner refreshes a display, without understanding when the numbers behind the display may have been recalculated, relevant to reader activity.

• When reader activity occurs, the graphs / numbers (when refreshed, following a recalculation) will indicate an increase.
• When reader activity expires from relevance, the graphs / numbers (when refreshed, following a recalculation) will indicate a decrease.
• When reader activity is removed because it was bogus, the graphs / numbers (when refreshed, following a recalculation) will indicate a decrease.

Note that Stats bases its figures on access to the URL - not to the blog - and recalculates each display when requested, as far back as 2006. If you just changed the URL of your blog, you may see pageview counts which reflect access to another blog.

The different time ranges may not balance, when a URL change is involved.

Like the inability to balance the various per post pageview counts, the task of balancing the various graphs and numbers may be beyond the ability of some blog owners. Each count or graph has to be considered in its own context.

Comparing any two displays, in context with each other, simply may not be a useful activity.

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Fluctuations In Stats Pageview Counts And Newer Blogs

Some owners of newer Blogger blogs spend time reading their Stats logs, and worry that their "All time" pageview counts don't always go up - they go down, too.

Why do the counts go down? Is there one number, that I can believe?

They don't understand that with Stats, you need to look for trends - not absolute readings. In the beginning, fluctuations are more obvious, and trends are less obvious.

Thanks to the referer spam war, and to normal visitor activity, even the "All time" numbers will go up and down - for newer blogs, which have less genuine and constant visitor traffic. And the constant rise and fall is scary - until you get used to it.

Newer blogs have less established readers, which makes spikes in both the periodic referer spam, and normal visitor activity, more visible.

With the 4 limited time ranges (Now, Day, Week, and Month), the spikes will "move" in and out of context - and make pageview counts in these time ranges fluctuate. When a spike in numbers "moves in" to a time range, the pageview counts will rise, suddenly. When a spike "moves out" of a time range, the counts will fall, just as suddenly.

With newer blogs, the fluctuations exert a "double whammy".

1. The fluctuations are more visible, because overall genuine visitor activity is lower. Less readers = less visitor activity.
2. Worrying over the fluctuations takes time away from working on the blog. Less time working on the blog leads to less blog content, attracts less new readers, and leads to less visitor activity.

More experienced blog owners know to use Stats to watch for trends - not immediate numbers.

The answer here is simple. Monitor Stats periodically - not constantly. Watch for trends, and learn how to interpret the trends. Spend more time working on your blog, because that's where the value of your blog lies.

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The Internet Has Created Various Opportunities For Conflict

Most physical threats used to require physical proximity, to be seriously considered by the authorities.

Before the Internet became a reality, if you were to report a crime which involved a physical threat to you or some one whom you knew, chances are that you would be reporting a friend or relative - or at least a neighbour or somebody geographically close to you.

Now that the Internet is part of our daily lives, many Blogger blog owners, readers, and comment publishers - all of who use the Internet for various networking activities - have no idea of the possible international challenges involved in their activities. With the Internet involved, these dangers can come from somebody in another city, state, or country, who is a complete stranger to the potential victim.

Many people, offended or threatened by an abusive comment or post in a Blogger blog, immediately report their concern, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

The assumption made is that Blogger, when informed in the forum, will immediately remove the offensive or threatening content.

Not everybody realises that the varying nature of any given abuse, even when expressed in a Blogger blog, won't always be the responsibility of Blogger / Google to provide action. Some abusive content will require contact, with somebody in your local area.

Some abuse can be handled by your reporting it to Blogger / Google - and other abuse must be handled by the courts system - lawyers and judges, or by law enforcement.

• Assault, or serious threat of imminent physical damage / death, is a criminal issue, and should be handled by your local police.
• Battery, or actual physical damage / death, is likewise a criminal issue, and must be handled by your local police.
• Copyright Violation / DMCA Action is a civil issue, and is being handled by a public clearinghouse, ChillingEffects.
• Defamation (ridicule, slander, trash talk) is a civil or criminal issue, and must be handled by a lawyer and the courts system.
• Impersonation (identity theft) is a Google TOS issue, and can be reported using the Google Content Removal procedure.
• Harassment is a mild type of assault. It's generally a civil offense - and should be handled by a lawyer.
• Spam is a Google TOS issue, which generally cannot be reported, as it is automatically detected by the Blogger / Google Spam Classifier.
• Stalking is a criminal offense in many locales. It is a type of assault - and if you feel seriously threatened, may be handled by your local police.
• There are a variety of other Blogger / Google TOS issues, which are reported using the various Blogger / Google Abuse Reporting procedures. And, there are a variety of other civil and criminal issues, which must be handled by the courts system, and / or your local police.

You are responsible for reporting any offense accurately, and to the right agency - not solely to Blogger / Google. The above list is based upon USA legal terms. Other countries may use different definitions.

You need to understand the differences between Defamation and Impersonation, and other abuses, before attempting to report any threat to Blogger / Google. And, take action depending upon the medium used by the threat. Blogger / Google won't accept complaints about comments - as comments are jointly the property and responsibility of the blog owner, and of the comment publisher.

If the courts are involved - and the judgement is in your favour, you will need to submit a court order to Google.

The bottom line here is that some Internet conflicts may take time and effort to resolve. The courts system, which is currently based locally and nationally, may have to evolve, as the Internet brings strangers together - and creates opportunities for conflict.

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Blogger Won't Censor Comments, Or Accept Abusive Comment Reports

We have seen this question, periodically, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?

When will Blogger provide me with the option to block an abusive commenter, from my blog?

This is a request that simply cannot be fulfilled.

The issue of blocking individual commenters won't be solved by a new Blogger feature.

• It's technically impossible.
• It's contrary to Blogger policy.

Any abuser of Internet services (aka "hacker", "spammer", or "troll"), with any ability, knows how to create multiple Google accounts without effort. Blogger Engineering is unlikely to spend time developing a new feature ("Block this comment publisher") that will simply provide you with a false sense of security, have no effect in the long term, and require an unproductive use of their time.

If you realistically feel that a comment publisher represents a legal and physical threat to you, you should report the threat to your local police agency. Other than physical threats, Blogger regards comments as a "freedom of speech" issue. Comments published on your blog are jointly the property - and the responsibility - of the comment publisher, and you.

As the blog owner, you are allowed to choose which comments publish, or remain published, on your blog. You can moderate before, or after, comments are published.

If any comments offend you, moderate or delete them promptly. Concentrate on publishing your blog, and ignore the abuse. Eventually, the person abusing you will get bored, and move on.

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You Cannot Have The BlogSpot URL With Your Business Name, If That URL Is In Use

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Blogger Supports Their Customers

Every week, in Blogger Help, we see the cries of frustration.

Many years ago I had a Google account with a "gmail.com" e-mail address. But I deleted this account, because I didn't need it anymore. Later, I wasn't able to login to Blogger, to delete my blog. And I also wasn't able to remove it by contacting Blogger. Why doesn't Blogger support their customers?

The point being overlooked here is that both Blogger and Google do support their customers.

Blogger / Google, like every commercial enterprise worldwide, simply supports their active customers more than their not-so-active customers.

1. They have millions of customers, who spend much time maintaining and publishing their blogs.
2. They also have some customers, who start blogs, and leave them dormant for many years - then require assistance recovering access to their Blogger accounts, because they have forgotten the account name or password, and the backup email address can't be used.

Considering that Blogger / Google is not a non profit organisation, and needs to support customer activity, which group of customers should they support most readily?

Blogger / Google wants to encourage us to maintain and to publish our blogs regularly.

Blogger can't support inactive blog owners, to the needed level.

People who don't use their services regularly, then demand special assistance when needing to use their services, are not going to receive the same level of support.

1. People who use Blogger regularly will develop a level of proficiency - and won't require special assistance as much as those who don't use Blogger regularly.
2. People who use Blogger regularly simply require a working Blogger interface, and a level of security that keeps their blogs under their control. People who don't use Blogger regularly need a different and more complicated Blogger interface - and a lower level of security, so they can continue to access their Blogger accounts.

The needs of the few (who don't use Blogger regularly) have to be considered against the needs of the many (who do use Blogger regularly).

Blogger can't support inactive owners, over active owners.

Recently, we had a series of well organised hijackings of actively published Blogger blogs.

After Blogger / Google recognised this ongoing threat - which endangers all Blogger blog owners - they tightened down their security, and restricted assistance to those needing help recovering access to their Blogger accounts. People who don't use Blogger regularly don't understand the reasoning behind this reduced level of assistance, and increased level of security.

Unfortunately, understand it or not, we all have to learn to live with it - if we wish to continue publishing Blogger blogs.

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