Now, You See It - Now, You Don't

Some blog owners create a post, with content that should be visible, only when required.

The post contains a question - accompanied by the answer to the question. The question should be viewed, without the answer being visible, to make the reader think about the answer. This is called, by many, a "spoiler".

Not everybody knows how to construct a spoiler. Some blogs use JavaScript - painful to construct, and maybe not effective for every reader. Security conscious blog readers may block scripts from Blogger blogs - and either your spoiler is visible, immediately - or never becomes visible.

Neither of the latter scenarios make the post a lot of fun to read.

You don't need JavaScript, to make a spoiler.

This is fortunate, because not every reader is going to allow scripts, from every blog. Personally, I block JavaScript, in general - and enable only for my own blogs - and for specific websites, like the Blogger dashboard and most Google pages.

If the blog posts have a solid white background, you make the post text white.

Examine a post, in my text blog.

Two spoilers - both blank.

Click and drag across the first spoiler - and see the first answer.

Click and drag across the second spoiler - and see the second answer.



The spoiler code is not complicated.

What would YOU do?

What Lancelot chose is hidden. But - make <span style="font-weight:bold;">your</span> choice before peeking. To see the answer, highlight the area indicated, by clicking the mouse and dragging the cursor between the arrows.

The answer is here ==><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Noble Lancelot said that he would allow <span style="font-weight:bold;">her</span> to make the choice herself. Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.</span><==

Now - what is the moral to this story? To see the answer, highlight the area indicated.

The answer is here ==><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">If you don't let a woman have her own way, things are going to get <span style="font-weight:bold;">ugly</span>.</span>==

Hoping that your blog does not use a semi transparent floating background over a multi colour background, just make the text the same color as the background. Then, instruct the reader to click and drag the cursor, to highlight and make the spoiler visible.

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A #Blogger blog post which contains a question and answer section is fun to read - but not every blog reader will benefit, with posts that use JavaScript, to hide text content.

An easy way to hide content is to make the text the color of the background. The reader can click and drag, to highlight the text, when then is visible.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2011/10/cookies-vs-scripts-two-types-of-server.html

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2009/04/many-faces-of-google.html

</span>

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Avoid Use Of FeedBurner "Password Protector"

Some Google products contain features that have limited usefulness, when applied to Blogger blogs.

FeedBurner has a feature, "Password Protector", which may be useful, to newsfeed readers that support HTTP authentication. Within FeedBurner, we have the "Email Subscriptions" service - which does not support feed authentication.

Your readers will be required to use newsreader or aggregator software that supports authentication to view your feed.

Some Google, and non Google, services will have a problem, with a FeedBurner protected feed.

Newsfeeds, published by Blogger blogs, are supposed to be publicly accessible.

A blog with designated readers will not produce a newsfeed. Blogger does not support authenticated newsfeeds.

To use Password Protector, look on the FeedBurner dashboard, under the Publicize tab, for "Password Protector". Enter a Username and a Password, and hit "Activate". But don't do this, without knowing the downsides.

Password Protector uses a single username / password combination. All blog readers will use the same username.

FeedBurner warns us of possible problems, caused by this service.

Important: This service prevents our Email Subscriptions service from delivering email updates from your feed, and it will also password protect your feed's content when redisplayed using our Headline Animator graphic. This graphic itself becomes password protected, which is undesirable if you wish to use it to promote your site/feed. Therefore, we recommend not using Headline Animator or Email Subscriptions, and this Password Protector service, with the same feed.

From what I can see, Blogger Reading List may ignore the authentication requirement. People may use Reading List, and view the blog feed, redirected through FeedBurner - even if not authorized.

We know, however, that email subscriptions will not work, with a protected feed. Looking at an HTTP trace of the feed from my test blog http://techdict.nitecruzr.net, we see a symptom of the problem, with this option.

http://techdict.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://techdict.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

Sending request:

GET /feeds/posts/default HTTP/1.1
Host: techdict.nitecruzr.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS armv7l 7834.70.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/49.0.2623.112 Safari/537.36
Referer: http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 74.125.28.121

• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:

HTTP/1.1·302·Found(CR)(LF)
ETag:·W/"32e869db-18a9-4ccf-8ad9-dbded29f2b25"(CR)(LF)
Date:·Wed,·27·Apr·2016·15:04:06·GMT(CR)(LF)
Content-Type:·text/html(CR)(LF)
Server:·blogger-renderd(CR)(LF)
Expires:·Wed,·27·Apr·2016·15:04:07·GMT(CR)(LF)

Cache-Control:·public,·must-revalidate,·proxy-revalidate,·max-age=1(CR)(LF)
X-Content-Type-Options:·nosniff(CR)(LF)
X-XSS-Protection:·1;·mode=block(CR)(LF)
Location:·http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChucksTechWorld(CR)(LF)

This appears to be just a redirected blog posts newsfeed, targeting a FeedBurner published feed.

Here, we see a normal redirected blog posts feed.

But what happens, when we try to open the feed?

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/ChucksTechWorld&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=TXT

Sending request:

GET /ChucksTechWorld HTTP/1.1 HTTP/1.1

Host: feeds.feedburner.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS armv7l 7834.70.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/49.0.2623.112 Safari/537.36
Referer: http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 172.217.0.14

• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:

HTTP/1.1·401·Unauthorized(CR)(LF)

WWW-Authenticate:·BASIC·realm="FeedBurner·feed·ChucksTechWorld"(CR)(LF)

The "HTTP Viewer" service does not support feed authentication (and only works with "HTTP:" protocol). And, we see the result.

It's possible that this feature will be useful, with feeds that are used outside Blogger (noting the Reading List ability). If you're publishing a Blogger blog, however, you're not likely to get any useful result.

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Owners of #Blogger blogs, which use the FeedBurner "Password Protector" service, may find that the service delivers less protection - and some interference - other than the service name suggests. It would probably be best to avoid use of this service.

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Buyer Beware - Don't Buy Pre Published Blogs

Don't develop a blog, that's simply designed to host AdSense ads - and avoid pre published blogs, in general.

Blogs and websites that are blatantly designed as ad hosts are classified as "MFA" ("Made For Ads") - and are never accepted as AdSense hosts. AdSense, and Blogger, want blogs with quality content - informative, interesting, and unique.

Legitimate and useful blogs start with content that is important to the blog owner.

Blogger, some time ago, explicitly prohibited sale of blogs.

Either Blogger will delete the blog as spam - or AdSense will classify it as "MFA".

If you buy a blog, "blogspot.com" or custom domain, with content already in place, it will probably contain copyrighted material. If Blogger does not delete / lock it as spam, AdSense will probably classify it as "MFA" - and the blog will never display ads.

Blogger blogs are based on personal interest. When you buy a pre published blog / domain, you're buying somebody else's discarded personal interest.

Most people who sell blogs do so after learning that what they have won't host ads or get traffic. Pre used blogs are frequently subject to disapproval, by AdSense - or DMCA / Spam classification, by Blogger.

If you do the research, you'll find out why the previous owner sold it to you.

You'll probably end up with a disabled AdSense or Blogger account - and doing the research, you'll find out why the previous owner sold it. It's like a "lemon law" car. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is just that.

You would never, knowingly, buy pre worn underpants. Why would you buy a pre published blog? Start with an available URL, and add your own content. That's how you get content, reputation, and traffic.

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#Blogger blogs are supposed to be based on personal experience or interest - using content that's informative, interesting, and unique. Purchasing a previously published blog, with content left in place, violates that principle.

A smart blog owner starts with an empty blog - using an available URL, and adds content.

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Blogger Magic - Check / Edit FeedBurner Feed Details

Whenever you have a problem with FeedBurner - or need to change details, the "Edit Feed Details" wizard is an essential tool.

It's a very simple display - just 3 data elements - but it's a pretty useful 3 elements, if you use FeedBurner with your blog..

The FeedBurner "Edit Feed Details" wizard is an essential tool, when researching a FeedBurner problem.

Start from the FeedBurner "My feeds" display - and select a feed in the list.

"Edit Feed Details" is at the top of the feed dashboard.

Start from the feed dashboard.

Click on "Edit Feed Details".

And there is the "Edit Feed Details" display.



Here, you can view, and edit:

• Feed Title.
• Original Feed URL.
• FeedBurner Feed URL.

Feed Title.

You can change the feed title here - or in the service settings.

Optimize - Title/Description Burner lets you change to title used in the feed itself. Publicize - Email Subscriptions - Email Branding lets you change the title used in the email based feed service.

You may want to check the blog title, also.

Original Feed URL.

If you change the URL of your blog, or want to use a different blog, you can use the FeedBurner Feed URL ("Original Feed") to make the change transparent, to everybody who Follows your blog using a FeedBurner service. The original feed URL may change - but the FeedBurner Feed URL does not have to change.

FeedBurner Feed URL.

Besides changing the title, you can change the feed URL ("Feed Address"), if you need.

Simple changes / powerful results.

These are simple changes - that can have powerful results.

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Any #Blogger blog owner who uses #FeedBurner to distribute / modify content of a newsfeed, or an email subscription, needs to know and use the "Edit Feed Details" dashboard wizard. The ability to change the feed title, the blog feed URL, and / or the FeedBurner feed URL, at will, makes this a useful wizard.

https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/oUYseDHCerU/discussion

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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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Blogger Magic - The Custom Domain Root Redirect

When you setup a custom domain, for a Blogger blog, the DNS addresses are the most important issue.

A close second in importance, to righteous DNS addressing, is redirecting the domain root to the published URL. We see frequent problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

Why does my domain only work, with the "www" in the address?

The domain root provides a backup to the published URL, in many domain setups. If the domain root is not redirected, and DNS for the "www" or other published alias is down, the domain is down.

With the proper DNS addresses in place, redirecting the domain root is a very simple process.

Start from Settings - Basic.

Start from the dashboard Settings - Basic page.

Click on "Edit" in the Publishing "Blog Address" wizard.

With this blog, I have the option to select "Redirect nitecruzr.net to blogging.nitecruzr.net."



You can only redirect the domain root - no virtual hosts.

Generally, you would publish to "www.mydomain.com" - then you would have the option to "Redirect mydomain.com to www.mydomain.com".

Note that you can only redirect the domain root - even if you publish to a virtual host, such as "www.blog.mydomain.com". "blog.mydomain.com" and www.blog.mydomain.com" are separate hosts - and cannot be aliased.

Whatever you have, the option will work best, when you start with righteous DNS addresses.

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Given righteous DNS addresses, publishing a #Blogger blog to a custom domain will produce a more stable blog, with the domain root redirected to the published URL. As the blog owner, you need to be sure to select the redirect option.

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Would Be Followers Being Blocked By Blog Owners

This month, we have a few reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about problems Following some blogs.

Why am I being blocked, from Following?

Some would be Followers are taking this personally. Please, don''t do that.

What you're seeing (maybe, when trying to Follow this blog, too) is not an owner initiated conspiracy.

The Blogger Followers gadget rewrite is taking shape.

If you're trying to use a non Google account to login to Following, you'll be seeing this, for some blogs.



If you want to Follow some blogs, you will need to use a Google account. The OpenID and similar non Google logins are not usable, with Following, any more.

We were warned, several months ago, about changes to Followers.

As we mentioned some weeks ago, starting this week, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. To follow a blog via Google Friend Connect now, readers will need a Google Account (the same they use for Gmail or YouTube).

It's happening, finally. One day, we'll have a new - and more stable - Followers gadget.

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The #Blogger Followers gadget rewrite is continuing. This month, some would be Followers are seeing a notice, instead of the gadget, when they try to Follow some blogs, without Google accounts.

The Followers Gadget Rewrite Continues
Would Be Followers Being Blocked By The Blog Owner

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Blogger Magic - Using An HTTP Trace

An HTTP trace is a very useful tool, for diagnosing and documenting connectivity issues, and many other blog problems.

I use the Rex Swain HTTP Viewer, for this purpose. HTTP Viewer lets you package a given display, in the URL, so you can give simple instructions (accompanied by an unavoidably complicated link):

Click on the link:

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://klarfamilylife.blogspot.com&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

And when the link is clicked, the necessary HTTP trace is displayed. There is no need to provide instructions how to actually enter the necessary values, on the HTTP Viewer home page, to generate the necessary display.

I use the Rex Swain HTTP Viewer, for diagnosing and documenting custom domain, malware, spam classification, and other connectivity issues.

Start by verifying URLs involved.

Whenever possible, make a screen print, and a text copy, of the Blogger dashboard Publishing wizard, at Settings - Basic.

Here's a live example, of HTTP Viewer use.

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://klarfamilylife.blogspot.com&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

Start from http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html.

Note, HTTP Viewer only works in HTTP mode. SSL is not supported. Fortunately, right now, the automatic "http:" to "https:" Blogger redirect, which is not optional, does not affect HTTP Viewer.

Add the URL of the blog, and click on "Submit".

This generates a lot of text. I'm not going to explain all of it, in this post.



Since Blogger blogs have no post limit, I'll have more posts, later, that will involve HTTP Viewer displays.

But here's the second page, of the above display.



And here is the typical excerpt, that I will make, and display.

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://klarfamilylife.blogspot.com&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

Sending request:

GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: klarfamilylife.blogspot.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS armv7l 7834.70.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/49.0.2623.112 Safari/537.36
Referer: http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 172.217.0.1
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:

HTTP/1.1·500·Internal·Server·Error(CR)(LF)

This is an example of a notorious "500 Internal Server Error" - which right now is plaguing various blog owners who have corrupt templates. This is what we see with many blogs, when people report various bX codes, when using several Blogger dashboard pages.

• Template.
• Template - "Customize" (aka "Blogger Template Designer").
• Template - "Edit HTML" (aka "Blogger Template Editor").

Here's a second live example.

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

Here, we have an HTTP trace from this blog, http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/.

And, my typical display - which you might see, as an "HTTP trace excerpt", in a custom domain connectivity diagnosis.

http://www.rexswain.com/cgi-bin/httpview.cgi?url=http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/&uag=Mozilla/5.0+(X11%3B+CrOS+armv7l+7834.70.0)+AppleWebKit/537.36+(KHTML,+like+Gecko)+Chrome/49.0.2623.112+Safari/537.36&ref=http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html&aen=&req=GET&ver=1.1&fmt=AUTO

Sending request:

GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: blogging.nitecruzr.net
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS armv7l 7834.70.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/49.0.2623.112 Safari/537.36
Referer: http://www.rexswain.com/httpview.html
Connection: close
• Finding host IP address...
• Host IP address = 74.125.25.121
• Finding TCP protocol...
• Binding to local socket...
• Connecting to host...
• Sending request...
• Waiting for response...
Receiving Header:

HTTP/1.1·200·OK(CR)(LF)

<meta·content='blogger'·name='generator'/>(LF)
<link·href='http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/favicon.ico'·rel='icon'·type='image/x-icon'/>(LF)
<link·href='http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/'·rel='canonical'/>(LF)
<link·rel="alternate"·type="application/atom+xml"·title="The·Real·Blogger·Status·-·Atom"·href="http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default"·/>(LF)
<link·rel="alternate"·type="application/rss+xml"·title="The·Real·Blogger·Status·-·RSS"·href="http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss"·/>(LF)
<link·rel="service.post"·type="application/atom+xml"·title="The·Real·Blogger·Status·-·Atom"·href="https://www.blogger.com/feeds/24069595/posts/default"·/>(LF)

The latter connectivity diagnosis might be a part of my 12 link affinity / differential connectivity test.

My trace excerpts include details which I, personally, decided are most useful for me. You may find additional - or less - details to be useful, for you.

Here, we see just two examples, of my HTTP traces. There are an infinity of possibilities.

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An online HTTP trace is a useful diagnostic tool, when diagnosing and identifying many different #Blogger problems. Custom domain, malware, spam classification, and other connectivity issues may be diagnosed and documented.

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Blogger Provides A Mixed Content Detection Tool

In the process of publishing my earlier post "Blogger Magic - Add An HTML Gadget", I discovered the latest feature in the Blogger SSL upgrade.

Page / Post Editor now scans page / post content, and warns us when there are links still using "http" protocol. This will help us avoid publishing pages and posts which will generate "Mixed Content" warnings, when pages and posts are displayed using SSL.

The new post editor tool will help us avoid subjecting our readers to unexpected "Mixed Content" warnings.

We will be responsible for finding out what specific content can be accessed, using SSL. If we believe that a significant proportion of the identified page / post content can be accessed using SSL, we can have all content automatically changed from "http" to "https" - then deal with individual access problems.

The "Fix" link will change all "http:" links to "https:".



If you believe that all links, currently accessed using "http", can be accessed using "https", you can use the "Fix" link. Otherwise, use "Dismiss", then manually change individual links.

Alternately, use a browser based "string find" tool, as available, and identify each instance of "http:".

The "Dismiss" link lets you evaluate each "http:" link, using the browser "find" wizard.

Then, make your own decision.

Using either "Dismiss" or "Fix", you are responsible for each link - if you want your readers to get results from each link that you provide.



Click on "Learn more", for more information, in Blogger Help: Fix mixed content on your blog.

Which ever you choose, your readers benefit should be your guiding force.

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As part of providing SSL connectivity for our blogs, #Blogger now provides an "http:" detector, in post editor. The blog owner has the choice to change each "http:" link in the post automatically - or to manually evaluate change each link, and change when appropriate.

Read More

Blogger Magic - Enabling Scripts, In Your Browser

Similar to the need to properly filter cookies in the browser, we have the need to properly filter scripts.

Cookies and scripts are completely different elements - but proper filtering of each is essential, to making many Blogger features operate properly.

If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing cookie filter settings, is the browser script filter settings.

The browser is the most important component, when setting up security - and scripts, like cookies, are a common challenge.

Script filters are adjusted differently, for each browser. Consider the multiple domains used by Blogger / Google - and layered security, on any computer, used by the owner and readers of any blog.

• Chrome.
• Firefox.
• Edge / Internet Explorer.
• Opera.
• Safari.

Setting the script filters in Chrome.

With Chrome, you enable scripts, using Settings ("Customize and control Google Chrome") - aka the 3 bar toolbar icon.

In Settings, if necessary, click on "Show advanced settings" at the very bottom of the page.

Under Privacy, click on "Content settings", which gives you the "Content Settings" wizard. Here, you have selections for Cookies and Javascript - including "Manage exceptions" for each section. Select the recommendation.

• JavaScript: Allow all sites to run JavaScript

Hit "Done" - and close the Settings tab.

From "Privacy", hit "Content settings".

Under "JavaScript", select "Allow all sites to run JavaScript (recommended)".



Alternately, you may select "Do not allow any site to run JavaScript" - then use "Manage exceptions", and allow all blog(s) that you publish, and the many Blogger and Google domains, to run JavaScript. Make your exceptions complete, for best results.

Setting the script filters in Firefox.

Firefox does not contain any native script filters. The most popular add-on for Firefox is NoScript - and this is how most Firefox users filter scripts.

You'll need to designate "blogger.com", "google.com", and any Google domain excepting "blogspot.com", as trusted - when you load any display for the domain in question. An untrusted domain will show a "NoScript Untrusted" icon in the status area at the bottom of the window. To enable each domain, you position the cursor over the NoScript icon and select "Allow (domain URL)" in the popup menu.

Setting the script filters in Edge / Internet Explorer.

With Internet Explorer, you enable security settings - both cookies and scripts - from the browser menu, using Tools - Internet Options. Optionally, you may access the "Internet Options" applet directly from the Windows Control Panel.

• IE uses a zone defense setting, where you designate "blogger.com" and "google.com", in Security, as being in the Trusted zone. Please note that "blogspot.com", in general should not be in the Trusted zone - .
• You will want the published URL of your blog(s) - including any country local domain URLs, in the Trusted zone.
• Default settings for the Trusted zone will allow proper filtering of scripts.
• Verify proper settings, with "Trusted sites" selected, and the Security level slider control set to "Medium". Hit "Custom level", and examine the Settings list.
• Look for the "Scripting" section, 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the list.
• You will observe 6 options under "Scripting". Default settings will have all options Enabled, except "Allow Programmatic clipboard access"; you may wish to Enable this to allow easy use of Post Editor.
• Hit "OK", and "Yes" if necessary, then "OK" again.

Setting the script filters in Opera.

With Opera, you enable cookies and scripts from the Advanced tab, in the Preferences wizard. The Content menu contains selections for scripting.

Setting the script filters in Safari.

With Safari, you enable scripts, using the Preferences wizard. The Privacy wizard, in Preferences, contains selections for scripts ("Cookies and website data”).

Script filters cause problems with Stats "Don't track ..." and other Blogger features.

Many problems, reported in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, with various Blogger features - and the Blogger dashboard - involve script filters.

Stats and the "Don't track ..." option used to involve third party cookies, for many years. In March 2016, the "Don't track" wizard was rewritten to run under the URL of the blog, when being set - and now requires enabling scripts from the blog URL.

Consider how your blog is published.

If your blog is published to "blogspot.com", consider the non "blogspot.com" alias that may be relevant to your country. If your blog is published to a custom domain, consider the custom domain URL.

Many computers have other relevant settings, which block scripts.

Many blog owners and readers will have computers, and networks, with additional protection. Scripts, in the browser, may not be the only filter that needs to be checked - but this is a start, to learning how to control the script filters.

Having checked and corrected your script filters, continue by checking browser cookie filters - then check cookie and script filters, outside the browser. Also check settings on any ad blocker add-on - which may be an app, or a browser extension.

Be aware that many settings may not be obvious - and that both obvious and obscure settings may be updated, without your intention or knowledge.

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Many #Blogger problems are cause by overly restrictive script filters. If you, a blog owner or reader, are going to use Blogger successfully, you need to configure your browser properly - for both cookies and scripts.

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Post Data Cannot Be Moved Above The Post Body

Blog owners have been requesting the ability to position various post content items above the post body, for years.

We've seen reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about problems moving Comments, Labels, Share Bar, and others.

Several years, "Arrange Items" was upgraded to allow Labels to be moved above the post body. That option was provided briefly - then removed later.

Depending upon what items are currently in a specific location, moving other items into - or out of - that location may or may not be successful.

The "Arrange Items" wizard is not magical.

Code for each item, which can be moved, has to specifically support repositioning into any one of the target boxes.



Any item move may, or may not, be successful. Various details may affect success.

• Item being moved.
• Item current location.
• Item target location.
• Other items in the same current location.
• Other items in the same target location.
• Post template status - customisation, etc.

Frequently, when a problem with "Arrange Items" is reported, the blog owner is trying to target a position above the post body.

Diagnosing a post template problem, which involves arranging items, can involve any of these details. Not so many blog owners want to re arrange items - and even less want to arrange items above the post body - so there is not a lot of experience with diagnosing these problems.

Success - or failure - may involve several scenarios.

In some cases, the drag and drop operation, in "Arrange Items", may not accomplish anything. The owner may drag the item into place - and watch as the item perversely moves itself back, to where it was.

In other cases, the move may appear successful. The item may seem to move, and stay where is is dropped.

The owner may Save - then refresh blog display, and see the item still where it was. Opening "Configure Blog Posts", the item may or may not be displayed where it is now - or where it is wanted.

In some cases, the item may be moved successfully - and some other item, in the original or current location, may stop working.

We have seen all of these problems reported. Frequently, there is only one course of action.

• Reset the post template.
• Start over.

In many cases, resetting the post template is the only way to repair a problem caused by moving an item to where it should not go. With the template reset, the owner will have to choose whether to try again - and risk a repeat, of the same problem.

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Moving #Blogger post template items, from one location to another, is not always successful - and sometimes causes problems with other blog content. Attempting to move items above the post body is a frequent cause of problems.


https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/Gv2Mgnpg3TE

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/u6mZEd1mjLY

https://productforums.google.com/d/topic/blogger/u6mZEd1mjLY/discussion

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Editing An Old Post? Beware Missing "</li>" Tags!

I recently updated an old post, to add a link to a newly published post - and experienced panic.

Adding a link to an old post, Deleted / Locked Blogs Have Several Causes, I discovered an oddity which caused extreme heartburn for several hours. Maybe you have experienced this, also.

Editing my post, and adding a simple single sentence, with embedded link, at the end of the post, I refreshed the display (always test your changes - no matter how minor!), and watched as the paragraphing scrambled itself.

I added a single sentence to the end of an old post - and watched as paragraphs in the post became hopelessly scrambled.

See the missing "</li>" at the end of the first list element?

Look at how the list line spacing is screwy now.

<li><a href="#DMCA">DMCA Violation</a> looks for copyright and similar violations.

Just one missing tag. Long ago, I learned to always close every list element properly.

<li><a href="#DMCA">DMCA Violation</a> looks for copyright and similar violations.</li>

But my proper list syntax policy had apparently started after the post, in question, was published.

I spent the next 1/2 hour re paragraphing the post content, following the broken list - and re spacing the list itself.

And having saved my work, the list - and the paragraphs following the list - remained scrambled.

This is no good!

How can I hope to help people, using this post?



Observing that paragraphing above the broken list was fine, I looked at the list code, line by line.

Paragraphing above the list is OK!



Much to my relief, I found a missing "</li>" tag. Adding the missing tag, I re paragraphed the post content - and this time, my changes remained.

This is what I would want to see.

Even the list remains properly spaced, in post editor.



Be very careful, when editing lists, in post editor "HTML" mode. Lack of care can lead to unpleasant consequence.

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When editing a #Blogger blog post, in HTML mode, be very careful to avoid dropping closing list element tags. One dropped tag affects formatting of list content after the missing tag - and paragraphing following the broken list, even with the list properly closed.

target="_blank"

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Blogger Magic - Set Main Page Size

One of the most visible changes, to the blog display, involves properly setting main page size.

You change the posts count using "Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page, or "Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard. Both let you set the main page display limit.

You can limit main page size by days with posts, or by total post count.

Main page size is your choice, for your blog - but think of your readers, waiting for a typical main page display to download.

Many don't have extreme bandwidth, nor are the Blogger servers overly robust. When your blog, or even a single post, takes 2 or 3 minutes to load, your blog may need tuning.

Main page size is one key setting, in encouraging reader activity, and in improving search engine relationships.

• "Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page.
• "Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard.

"Show at most" on the dashboard Settings - Posts and comments page.

"Number of posts on main page" in the "Configure Blog Posts" wizard.

There are alternate techniques, for changing main page size - use of a dynamic template, with endless scrolling - and segmenting the blog using pages. And adding Jump Break, to the posts, lets you make the individual posts smaller.

But for a simple blog setup, just limiting main page size is the first step to showing your readers that you respect their need to view your blog, without excessive waiting.

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One of the simplest changes that you can make to a #Blogger blog, to make it easier to view, involves setting a reasonable main page size. This helps your readers view the blog, in main page view, without a lot of waiting.

target="_blank"

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Google+ Sharing, and Search Reputation

Some blog owners use FaceBook or Google+, and share blog posts - and ask what effect sharing and +1 / Like has, on search reputation.

What is the purpose of getting +1's?

The search engines most likely know nothing about social action like +1s and Likes - but indexing of content will include social shared content, and notifications of +1s and Likes, from FaceBook and Google+.

A blog post, shared or given a +1, will become part of a Google+ stream - similar to a Blogger blog comment, that is Google+ hosted. The search engines index Google+ stream posts, as they index blogs. There will be similar action from FaceBook content.

A Google+ stream post will include a snippet of the blog post opening paragraph, plus a link to the post.

An indexed stream post will link to the blog post - and provide search reputation.

An indexed stream post will then provide a link to the blog post - and the stream post, when indexed, will lead to indexing of the blog post.

The more shares, and +1s / Likes, received by any blog post, the more reputation from the search engines - because of indexing of Google+ streams. And as a stream post replicates through the streams of Followers, it becomes more visible to the search engines - and one stream post, and blog post, receives still more reputation.

An example stream post, that started with a blog post being shared.

Here's a stream post, from my share of my post Search Engine Reputation, And Vanity Domains, into my Google+ collection, "RBS". Look at the post to the right.

A Google+ stream post, which started with my blog post, shared to Google+.



See what gets shared?

The Google+ post content:

Some #Blogger blog owners are intent on publishing a blog to a custom domain, using a top level domain that relates to the blog subject. They do this, hoping to have a unique blog name.

They may overlook the idea that Blogger blogs benefit from well written and unique content, as much as from a shiny and unique URL.

A photo from the blog post, captioning a link to the blog post:

The blog post title, captioning a link to the blog post:

Search Engine Reputation, And Vanity Domains

The blog URL, captioning a link to the blog post:

blogging.nitecruzr.net

The blog post meta search description:

Blog owners who develop a reputation strategy based on the URL may find that won't help as they hoped. Learn why.

Some or all of that shows in the Notification window and / or peoples streams, when someone +1s, or reshares, that stream post.

The blog post title, and meta search description, are part of a properly constructed post - and properly sized to fit into a Google+ stream column.

This content (with 3 captioned links), when indexed by a search engine, contributes to search engine reputation for the blog post. And as the stream post ripples through the streams of the Followers - and the Followers of the Followers - it contributes more reputation.

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A share or Like / +1 of a #Blogger blog post, in a social networking system like FaceBook / Google+, does not contribute directly to a search engine "Share", "Like", or "+1" database - but it does contribute, indirectly, to search reputation for the post in question.

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Blogger Magic - Reading A Dig Log

Whether you're setting up or troubleshooting a custom domain, knowing how to read a Dig log is a useful skill.

There are hundreds of registrars, serving the Internet community, each with their own dashboard. Blog owners, setting up their domains for their Blogger blogs, must deal with the syntax and terminology used by each different dashboard.

A Dig log lets the blog owner identify the DNS addresses for the domain, using a consistent display.

By identifying the DNS addresses used in a given domain, a blog owner or an experienced forum helper can diagnose many custom domain DNS related problems.

Here is an example of Dig log use, showing an excerpted Dig log, in a typical forum topic. For more detail, see my earlier post, Diagnosing Problems With Custom Domains: Dig.

I have a domain (www.rockchickenz.com) - and want to link my blog (rockchickenz.blogspot.com).

• Start by verifying URLs involved.
• Continue with Dig Web Interface.
• A full screen print of the Dig log.
• The relevant portion of the Dig log, from the screen print.
• The relevant portion of the Dig log, as text.
• The advice provided, to the blog owner.
• Alternate / complementary tools used.

Start by verifying URLs involved.

Whenever possible, make a screen print, and a text copy, of the Blogger dashboard Publishing wizard, at Settings - Basic. Knowing the status of the blog and domain - and the exact URLs involved - can go a long way to diagnosing many custom domain publishing problems.

Continue with a Dig Web Interface log.

The best tool for generating a Dig log is Dig Web Interface. Alternate / complementary tools are listed below.

I use DWI, for this purpose, by preference. DWI lets you:

• Package the URLs in the Dig target, in the reference URL.
• Include multiple target URLs, in one reference URL.
• Both capabilities are very useful, in diagnosing Blogger custom domain publishing problems.

Start from the Dig Web Interface page.

Add the domain root and "www" alias, under "Hostnames or IP addresses:".

I select Type: "A", and Nameservers: "Authoritative", for my actual diagnoses.

Click "Dig".



The Dig Log reference URL, for "rockchickenz.com", generated from DWI. Target URLs are "rockchickenz.com" and "www.rockchickenz.com".

http://www.digwebinterface.com/?hostnames=rockchickenz.com%0D%0Awww.rockchickenz.com&type=A&ns=resolver&useresolver=8.8.4.4&nameservers=

A full screen print of the Dig log.

This is the complete Dig log, resulting from the Dig Log URL (above), and containing the relevant portion (below).

This is the Dig log, for "rockchickenz.com".



The relevant portion of the Dig log, from the screen print.

This is the important portion of the screen print (above), and showing the text (below).

This is the relevant portion of the Dig log, for "rockchickenz.com".



Note the TTL value of "14399" - which is a typical Dig log display for TTL set as "14400" (14400 seconds or 4 hours), in the registrar's zone editor. TTL is a setting which is used to adjust name server performance.

Unless you are experienced with DNS setup (and probably don't need to read this advice), you should use the default TTL provided by the registrar, for your domain. Your registrar wants to provide a stable domain for you - and the TTL value affects domain stability.

The relevant portion of the Dig log, as text.

These are the important details from the screen print (above), with colour highlights corresponding to domain specific details (below).

rockchickenz.com@8.8.4.4 (Default):
rockchickenz.com. 14399 IN A 78.137.164.51

www.rockchickenz.com@8.8.4.4 (Default):
www.rockchickenz.com. 14399 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.
ghs.google.com. 21392 IN CNAME ghs.l.google.com.
ghs.l.google.com. 92 IN A 64.233.183.121

The latter is typically seen, with a blog owner having received bogus advice - and reporting an inconsistently accessible blog.

The advice provided, to the blog owner.

The typical advice, provided to the blog owner, would include domain specific details - accompanied by a link to Setting Up DNS Addresses For Custom Domains.

First, generic advice:

Remove the addresses highlighted in red - and add the addresses highlighted in green - and keep the addresses highlighted in yellow.

Then, specific advice:

This is what you have:

rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN A 78.137.164.51
www.rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

This is what you need:

rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN A 216.239.32.21
rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN A 216.239.34.21
rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN A 216.239.36.21
rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.rockchickenz.com. 14400 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

The advice references a typical ASymmetrical DNS custom domain setup - the address set used in 99% of all custom domain setups. Note here, the specified TTL of "14400" (4 hours).

Using the above advice, the blog owner can then, if necessary, research the syntax used by the registrar's dashboard (aka "zone editor") - and make the necessary changes.

Alternate / complementary tools used.

Alternate tools, which can be used to generate a Dig log, are the Kloth.Net Dig DNS Lookup, and the Who.Is DNS display. Neither alternate is as compact and complete - but they can be used to verify results.

Complementary tools include the Global DNS Propagation Checker, the intoDNS domain DNS health checker, the Rex Swain HTTP Viewer, and the Whois Lookup.

In some cases, my 12 link affinity / differential connectivity test may be useful.

For more information.

See WikiPedia: dig (command).

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One of the most useful tools, for diagnosing #Blogger custom domain problems, is a Dig Log. Learning how to read a Dig Log is a useful skill, for any blog owner wishing to publish a blog to a custom domain.

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A Healthcare Blog Is Not A Suitable AdSense Host

Some blog owners publish blogs, with subjects completely unsuitable for AdSense ads - which would produce legal liability if endorsed by AdSense / Google.

One completely unsuitable subject, for AdSense, is healthcare and medical advice.

Healthcare is not a suitable blog subject, to host AdSense ads, for several reasons.

• Medical advice needs to be given by certified professionals.
• Blogs and websites published by medical professionals do not need ads.
• Google does not want legal exposure, from endorsing uncertified medical advice.

Medical advice needs to be given by certified professionals.

Healthcare and medical advice needs to be dispensed by certified medical professionals - based on individual and regular medical examinations, provided in person. Medical advice, on anonymous blogs and websites, should not be trusted.

Be skeptical. Things that sound too good to be true often are. You want current, unbiased information based on research.

Certified medical professionals are (indirectly) well paid, by their patients - and have no need to publish blogs and websites that cannot provide reliable results, financed by ads. And their time is better spent, caring for their patients - not publishing blogs of dubious future.

No experienced medical professional will provide anonymous advice, using a blog or website. They know that proper medical procedure requires direct, in person examination and conversation.

Blogs and websites published by medical professionals do not need ads.

Blogs and websites, published by reliable and well known medical institutions - like any company blog or website - do not need ads, to supplement income. Medical institutions, like medical professionals, are financed (directly, or indirectly) by the patients in their care.

Non certified professionals - and outright amateurs - cannot provide adequate medical advice, anonymously. Medical subjects are extremely complex, requiring constant recertification - and no uncertified amateur can ever know enough to reliably advise anybody.

Google does not want legal exposure, from endorsing uncertified medical advice.

For AdSense and Google to endorse a blog, published by someone of unknown reliability, to provide medical advice, they would be opening themselves to tremendous liability. The medical profession is open to enough legal danger - even with advice and care dispensed in person, by certified professionals, and subject to endless peer and supervisory review.

Google does not need the legal risk. AdSense explicitly identifies Healthcare-related content as a prohibited blog and website subject.

To comply with local laws and regulations related to the promotion of healthcare and medicines, Google prohibits ads on pages that contain certain healthcare-related content

Blogs that publish healthcare and medical related articles will never display AdSense ads. If you want to publish a Blogger blog, with AdSense ads, you will need to choose a different subject for your blog.

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Some #Blogger blog owners publish blogs containing health and medical advice - and try to host AdSense ads on their blogs. They do not realise that AdSense has no intention of providing ads, for blogs which provide unknown and unreliable medical advice.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/adsense/partner-sites-eg-youtube/FQwlKSJ3c8c

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