Switch Between Your Blogger And Google+ Profiles

Long ago, when Blogger blog owners were given the option to associate their Blogger account with Google+, some would try out their new identities - then change their minds.

Some blog owners would upgrade to a dynamic, exciting Google+ profile - then regret their decision. Not everybody appreciated the features offered by Google+, as applied to a Blogger blog.

Blogger gave us the ability to revert to a Blogger profile - within 30 days. This did not help people who took over 30 days to observe problems.

Recently, Blogger Engineering improved our ability to choose a Blogger or Google+ profile, for our Blogger accounts.

You can choose either your Blogger or Google+ profile, as desired.

You can select either a Blogger or Google+ profile, when it's convenient.



You use the "Edit User Settings" wizard, to select your Blogger or Google+ profile - when you have both profiles associated with your Blogger account.

Use the dashboard menu - or bookmark a shortcut.

Just start from the dashboard home page, and the "gear" icon menu. Or you can bookmark the wizard.

Start from the dashboard home page.

Click on the "gear" icon.

Then click on "Edit User Settings".

That gives you the "Edit User Settings" wizard.

Now, you can select either a Blogger or Google+ profile, as convenient.



If your Blogger account has both a Blogger and Google+ profile, you can simply select one or the other, as convenient. Some Blogger features are based on the profile used by the blog owner, so consider the selection carefully - but the selection is at least available.

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#Blogger blog owners, who have Blogger accounts associated with both Blogger and Google+ profiles, can now switch between one and the other, as convenient. Consider the change, carefully - but make the change, when necessary.

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Post Editor Generates An Extra Post?

Recently, we have some blog owners observing that use of Post Editor leads to generation of an extra draft post.

If I edit this post, then save my changes, I may see an empty post when I hit "Close".

So, we will see. I will next Save this post, as is.

Here's this post, initially created.

And this post, being Edited.



Having added the above screen prints, I'll Save again.

And if I Save, then Close, I see an empty post.



The "empty" post, shown above, is normal for this blog - which uses dashboard "post template" content in new posts.

If I were to Save this new post, I would end up with an extra draft post. Since I don't care to Save, I will simply hit Close.

And when I Edit, then Save, there's the bogey, again.

This time, I Save - or wait until AutoSave kicks in.

And look at my Posts display.



And hitting Publish, I get another.

Here we see possibility for real confusion.



Be careful, and think - if this happens to you!

If you Save instinctively - or if you hesitate, and AutoSave activates, you end up with an extra draft post.

Be really careful, now!

The bogey is an "empty" post (with "post template" content).

Even with the bogey being "empty", look at the Posts list! If you Edit your post later, always make sure that you Edit the right post - with your updated content!!



If you end up with an extra draft post, be very careful to Delete or Edit the right post. Think carefully, before you continue!

Anyway, this problem is in the hands of Blogger Engineering.

Just don't Save - hit Close, immediately - and you'll see no long term weirdness. Until you Edit, again, of course.

---

This weekend, we see #Blogger Post Editor adding an extra post, when we Edit then Save a draft post. If you Close the unwanted post immediately, you'll see no lasting effects, however.

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Blogger And iOS Mobile Computer Support

People frequently observe significant differences between products from Apple / Google / Microsoft.

Since all three corporations are separate (and highly competitive), they have their own corporate philosophies and development timelines. Despite all of that, Blogger tries to make their product supportable, across all corporate lines.

Unfortunately, the Blogger service is not always consistently usable, with all browsers - or mobile computer / smart phone apps.

One problem, that not all Blogger blog owners may realise, is that Apple does not submit their product changes to Google, for testing.

With a lack of advance testing, Blogger Engineering cannot react fast enough, to changes in iOS. The Blogger iOS app has long been a source of complaints, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

Blogger is rolling out SSL - and this delays other needed changes.

Right now, Blogger is making a major overhaul to their infrastructure, to support the SSL rollout. Simultaneously updating the Blogger app, to support iOS, would not likely be a productive activity.

With the SSL Rollout in process, Blogger suspended iOS app support some time ago. The Blogger app was removed from the Apple Store, several months ago - and this has been a source of various complaints, since.

Owners of iOS based computers need patience.

Apple Phone owners may need to be patient. Blogger Engineering may have to finish the SSL Rollout - hopefully, with support for custom domain publishing - and then rewrite the Blogger app for iOS.

In the mean time, iOS computer owners are suggested to use the Blogger dashboard, in a desktop browser, for maintaining and publishing their blogs. In order of recommendation - they should use Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

---

The #Blogger smart phone app for iOS was removed from the Apple Store, some months ago. This was not a popular change - but it was a responsible business decision.

Blogger And iOS Mobile Support
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2016/06/blogger-and-ios-mobile-support.html
Blogger And iOS Mobile Computer Support
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2016/06/blogger-and-ios-mobile-computer-support.html

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Custom Domain Setup, And The Blogger Instructions

Custom domain setups continue to confuse blog owners - and lead sometimes to frustration, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

When I am trying to set up a custom domain for my new blog, I'm not getting the 2nd CNAME Record, but the settings get saved.

In some cases, the domain may be operational - and other times, the domain will be broken, and no corrective instruction is provided.

The details in the instructions, Blogger Help: How do I use a custom domain name for my blog?, are misleading - and have resulted in broken domains.

The Blogger instructions are confusing.

5. Go to your domain registrar's website and locate the DNS (Domain Name System) settings in the control panel.

Not a lot of details, there.

10. Before you move onto the final step, wait about an hour for your DNS settings to activate. If you attempt the final step before your settings are activated, we'll let you know with a warning message.

All registrars don't use "3600" second TTL.



That's 2 examples of possible problems.

Publishing a blog to a custom domain is so much easier - and produces more reliable results - if you follow basic principles.

• Learn to use your registrar's zone editor.
• Learn to read a Dig log.
• Setup the DNS addresses, for your domain.
• If necessary, add domain ownership verification.

Learn to use your registrar's zone editor.

The registrar dashboard / zone editor is the portion of the registrar's website, that is created to let you, the domain owner, setup your own domain.

The zone editor is unique, for every different registrar - just as every website is different. One of the signs of uniqueness is hinted, by Blogger.

Each CNAME is composed of two parts - Name, Label or Host and Destination, Target or Points to.

These two (only two) terms here refer to the most essential details, in the zone editor, that make your domain operational. The two details have no consistent names - so we use examples.

The first CNAME is the same for everyone, Name being "www" and Destination "ghs.google.com."

That one sentence is the most essential, for all domains. It looks so simple - but it's so easy to get it wrong. Not every blog owner will see "Name" and "Destination" in the zone editor display. This leads to many imaginative - and wrong - alternatives.

Each registrar labels their zone editor, as they see fit. I've seen other terms used, in addition to the 6 implied. Both "Name, Label or Host" and "Destination, Target or Points to" are merely three examples, for each of these two essential elements.

These details are only hinted, by the Blogger instructions.

5. Go to your domain registrar's website and locate the DNS (Domain Name System) settings in the control panel.
6. Now it's time to enter the CNAMEs. Where it says Name, Label or Host simply enter "www" and list ghs.google.com as the Destination, Target or Points to.

Learning how to look, in the zone editor, is much more reliable than being told what to look for.

Learn to read a Dig log.

Compared to the confusion behind the registrar's zone editor, a Dig log is simplicity.

There are three basic DNS configurations, which produce a reliable domain for publishing a Blogger blog. 99.99% of all blog owners will use only one of the three.

ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
ourdomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21
www.ourdomain.com. 3600 IN CNAME ghs.google.com.

This is the asymmetrical DNS address configuration. Excepting one known variation, the asymmetrical configuration - with no options - is most reliable.

Setup the DNS addresses, for your domain.

As long as you have access to the zone editor, and understand the above issues - "Learn to use your registrar's zone editor" and "Learn to read a Dig log" - the rest will fall into place.

Unfortunately, not everybody has zone editor access. Similar to Blogger dashboard access, registrar dashboard access is not always a done deal.

Even having zone editor access, the Blogger instructions can mislead.

8. Optional: You can also enter A-records, which links your naked domain (example.com) to an actual site (www.example.com). If you skip this step, visitors who leave off the "www" will see an error page.
9. Optional continued: After completing Step 8, enter your domain name in the format example.com, and list the I.P. addresses shown below in the "A" section. You'll need to create four separate A-records which point to four different Google IPs.

Many problems, reported in the forums, indicate that using the domain root properly is (should be indicated as) a necessity.

• Always setup the domain root, to redirect to the published URL.
• Always specify all 4 Google servers, as redirection targets.
• Never include any non Google server, as a redirection target.
• Don't forget to enable the domain root redirect.

Once again, the domain root, configured properly, should not be suggested as an option.

10. Before you move onto the final step, wait about an hour for your DNS settings to activate. If you attempt the final step before your settings are activated, we'll let you know with a warning message.

All registrars don't use one hour TTL.

Be careful of the TTL setting. Unless you know better, stick with the registrar's TTL setting - and try to understand the effects of TTL latency.

If necessary, add domain ownership verification.

Returning to the Blogger instructions, we see

The second CNAME is particular to your blog and your Google Account, and is therefore different for each person.

Not every blog owner will see the second CNAME - whether or not the domain is properly setup.

The Blogger dashboard Publishing wizard only displays the "Error 12", and the second CNAME, under specific conditions. In some cases, the blog will be published to the domain - and the second CNAME will not be provided.

You may not see the instructions for the second "CNAME", until your base addresses are right. If you need the second "CNAME", the "Error 12" display will provide details - when the base addresses redirect properly. If the blog publishes, a second "CNAME" is not necessary.

That is my suggestion. Get the addresses right, before you start - then publish to the domain URL.

If the blog publishes to the domain, and the addresses are wrong, the domain will be broken - or unreliable.

The bottom line.

It's good to have instructions, they suggest the need for proper domain setup technique. Just don't be surprised if following them blindly gives you a broken domain - and an offline blog.

If you are lucky, the blog will appear offline immediately after using the Publishing wizard - and you will know that there is a problem to be fixed. Other times, you (or some readers) might not realise a problem until months or years later.

In the latter case, we'll see you, one day, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

I published my blog to my private domain, last month - and the blog pageviews have been in the crapper, ever since!

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The instructions supplied by #Blogger, for setting up a custom domain published blog, can be misleading. Blindly observed, they can lead to an immediately offline blog - or to a blog that is online for some, and intermittently offline for others.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/Jv0fT5cws3U

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AdSense, And Blogger, Require Quality Content

We see questions about content requirement, in both AdSense Help Forum: Blogger / Host Partners, and in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

My blog was just deleted, as a spam host! I Don't publish spam!

and

Why can't I get my Earnings button activated? My blog is over a year old, and contains hundreds of posts!!

Neither blog owner publishes a blog which contains blatant unwanted commercial content - or hacking or porn. But neither blog is suited for hosting AdSense ads, either.

As the web becomes saturated with people publishing, without a proper plan for content source or for subject, Google is trying to encourage quality content.

Both AdSense and Blogger want people to publish blogs which are worth reading - because blogs that are worth reading get traffic - and deliver customers who view the ads published by AdSense. And AdSense wants to keep their ecosystem healthy, to encourage quality advertising.

AdSense wants the best content - to encourage the best ads, and the best ad compensation.

Blogger wants original, well written content. This encourages people to read the blog - and tell their friends about it. And more readers encourage more writing by the owner.



Some blog owners publish posts which contain only YouTube videos. This violates both AdSense Program Policy, and YouTube Terms Of Service. YouTube videos may not be used in a monetised blog, as significant content. YouTube specifically forbids

the sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions on any page of an ad-enabled blog or website containing Content delivered via the Service, unless other material not obtained from YouTube appears on the same page and is of sufficient value to be the basis for such sales.

If you read through the AdSense Support Forums, you'll find mention details of other problems - not always stated in the references.

• Ad placement and quantity.
• Classroom blogs.
• Diet / health / medications blogs.
• Get rich quick / MMF / MMH / MMO blogs.
• Poor grammar.
• Graphic violence blogs.
• Job blogs.
• Mixed content blogs.
• Scraped / syndicated content.
• Tech blogs.

Ad placement and quantity.

AdSense has very high standards about how ads are featured on the blog - and how many ads may be present on the blog. The total number of ads - both AdSense and third party - should be limited. And showing ads in popup windows, and other imaginative techniques, is strictly forbidden.

Classroom blogs.

Blogs which provide exam result lists, answers to previous exams, study guides, and / or promote sale of pre written term papers are loosely termed "coursework". This is mentioned, in Prohibited Content: Content that enables dishonest behavior.

• Sale or distribution of term papers, paper-writing or exam-taking services;
• Content that promotes fraudulent activity.

AdSense won't finance blogs which encourage people to waste money that is spent for education, on fraudulent activity.

Diet / health / medications blogs.

Health and medical advice must be provided by certified and supervised professionals. Peoples lives depend upon proper medical advice, based on in person diagnosis.

Get rich quick / MMF / MMH / MMO blogs.

Content which provides advice on getting rich is poorly advertised, in a blog which needs AdSense. If the advice is truly useful, the blog owner would be busy using his own advice - instead of telling other people, and trying to get ads to finance his advice.

There is no legitimate product sold, that benefits from ads hosted on a "get rich quick" website.

Poor grammar.

Advertising managers, who use AdSense for brokering their ads, require well written blogs, to host their ads.

Graphic violence blogs.

Content which depicts or encourages violence is not family friendly - and is not desired by AdSense, or by their advertisers.

Job blogs.

AdSense provides ads on sites with original content. Any commercial agency, company or governmental organisation, with jobs available, will have its own website.

A jobs blog is simply content scraped from various commercial agency, company and governmental organisation websites.

Mixed content blogs.

AdSense displays ads, based on content in each page displayed. A blog with ads on the various index pages - such as archive, label, and main page - needs a clear and consistent subject, for ads to be properly assigned.

Scraped / syndicated content.

AdSense requires original content. AdSense policy is based on financial and legal concerns.

Scraping content and passing it off as one’s own is not only wrong, but it also happens to be a serious violation of our policies. AdSense depends on maintaining a balance between user, publisher, and advertiser experience.

Blogger has long provided similar guidelines - but based on content quality.

Spam blogs cause various problems, beyond simply wasting a few seconds of your time when you happen to come across one. They can clog up search engines, making it difficult to find real content on the subjects that interest you. They may scrape content from other sites on the web, using other people's writing to make it look as though they have useful information of their own.

However you discuss it, original content is required, to host ads with any future.

Tech blogs.

There are thousands of various tech advice blogs and websites, all over the Internet - most simply repeating advice from other blogs and websites.

Again, original content is an absolute requirement - for both AdSense and Blogger.

The bottom line.

AdSense sells ad space to advertisers who want to publish quality ads, on quality blogs and websites. They are very careful, to keep their ecosystem clean and well maintained - because that is how you encourage ads which offer the best payment rates.

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Both #AdSense and #Blogger, as part of #Google, have consistent standards of quality.

AdSense is the best paying advertising placement service on the Internet. To encourage the best ads, they are very selective of blogs and websites - and only accept the best, into their program.

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Blogger Magic - Enabling Exceptions, In Chrome

Some blog owners and readers prefer to ignore recommendations in Chrome - and block cookies and / or scripts.

Blocking cookies can cause problems with many Blogger features - and blocking scripts will cause problems with both Blogger and with Google, and with various other websites.

If you want to use Blogger and Google effectively, you need to allow cookies to be installed, and to allow scripts to be run, on your computer.

If you cannot allow cookies and scripts for all websites, you can allow cookies and / or scripts on specific websites.

With Chrome, if you are willing to selectively allow specific websites to install cookies / run scripts, you should enable exceptions for those websites.

Start with the "Content settings" wizard.

Select "Block third-party cookies and site data", and / or "Do not allow any site to run JavaScript".



Add cookie exceptions, for specific websites.

Click on "Manage exceptions" under Cookies, to get the "Cookie and site data exceptions" wizard.

To add "google.com" as a cookie exception, paste / type "[*.]google.com", and select "Allow".

Click anywhere in the wizard window, to see the addition - then click "Done".



Add JavaScript exceptions, for specific websites.

Click on "Manage exceptions" under JavaScript, to get the "JavaScript exceptions" wizard.

To add "google.com" as a JavaScript exception, paste / type "[*.]google.com", and select "Allow".

Click anywhere in the wizard window, to see the addition - then click "Done".



Remember that cookie and script filter settings, in Chrome, may not be the only settings which you need to consider - and that many filters are subject to change, without your knowledge or approval.

For more detail about cookie and JavaScript exceptions, see Chrome Help: Manage exceptions. These are settings that you must determine and install - neither Blogger nor Google can make these changes for you.

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Security conscious #Blogger blog owners may wish to ignore #Chrome recommendations, and block general permission for websites to install cookies and / or run scripts on their computers.

Some websites will not run properly, without cookies and scripts. If one is to use websites like Blogger and Google successfully, they need to be trusted - and Chrome must allow those websites to install cookies / run scripts.

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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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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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McAfee WebAdvisor Blocks Blogger / Google Scripts

We have several blog owners, trying to use Blogger - and seeing warnings from McAfee WebAdvisor.

When I try to log out, I am getting a risky connection warning.

Whoa! Are you sure you want to go there?

I cannot log out of blogger.

The blog owner needs to log out from her current account.

"! Warning: Trouble ahead"

"Whoa! Are you sure you want to go there?"

This looks scary - but keep it in perspective.



If you're going to use Blogger / Google, you have to trust Blogger / Google.

Look carefully at the URL, in the advice. Is it a genuine Blogger / Google URL?

If you want to use Blogger - such as logging out so you can use a different account - you have to use the Blogger pages and scripts. You may have to instruct McAfee that you trust that URL.

You, and other McAfee customers, have to help train McAfee.

If you trust Blogger code - and as a Blogger blog publisher, you should - you need to train McAfee to not block Blogger code.

Start by clicking on "Accept the Risk", and follow instructions. Hopefully, that will send feedback to McAfee, informing them that they are reporting a false positive detection.

If you read the McAfee WebAdvisor instructions (wherever they may be), you may also find a site whitelist or similar filter setting - and you may need to add "blogger.com" and "google.com" to your whitelist. This, too, may provide feedback to McAfee.

This is one more episode in the Internet security process.

This is simply one more case of overly aggressive security. And that, like most general paranoia, is not necessarily bad - if you can keep it in proper perspective.

---

McAfee Webadvisor is currently advising blog owners, who try to logout from Blogger, that the logout webpage at "accounts.blogger.com" may be "risky". Since we know that Blogger Engineering is not going to intentionally cause risk for their customers, the McAfee warning is most likely a false positive - but the message, in the McAfee warning, will not leave people in a relaxed state of mind.

Blog owners may have to use the "Accept the Risk" button, and inform McAfee that they are displaying a false positive alert.

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Blogger Blogs Redirecting To "opromo . com"

This week, we're seeing a new stream of problem reports, from blog owners whose blogs are, once again, mysteriously redirecting their readers to unknown destinations.

When I open my blog, it automatically directs to another search engine display.

This appears to be yet one more gadget, willingly installed by many Blogger blog owners, which is now redirecting uninterested viewers. The target of the redirection, this week, is a parked domain website (ie, "search engine display") - for a product which was apparently installed, willingly, by the blog owners.

It appears that the "opromo . com" free visitor meter is the latest victim of expiring domain registrations.

Overview for opromo.com

Registrar Info
Name  PDR LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM
Whois Server  whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Referral URL  http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com
Status  clientTransferProhibited

Important Dates
Expires On  May 09, 2013
Registered On  May 09, 2006
Updated On  May 09, 2013

People who earlier installed the Opromo free visitor meter will need to uninstall it, as it's apparently no longer operational. Reliable replacements would be SiteMeter and StatCounter - as well as Google Analytics.

From what we've seen, identification and removal of the problem code seems to be straightforward - just access the dashboard "Layout" menu wizard, find the gadget identified, and remove it.

As always, you are advised to clear cache and restart the browser, after removal and before testing for success. If the gadget makes your dashboard redirect, before you can remove the redirecting code, use a well protected browser, like Firefox with NoScript, to block the redirection.

>> Top

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The Google+ Comments Feature Was Recently Updated - And Is Now Broken

We are seeing an abrupt flood of reports from Blogger blog owners who have accepted Google+ Comments, in their blogs.

It appears that Blogger has fixed the observed problem with the Comment Count not displaying - and has possibly at the same time, broken Google+ Comments, in general.

Blog owners are reporting that comments are simply not visible - even with the Comment Count now showing a non zero value. My test blog is now showing this problem - though it did not, before I updated the post template.

We have a new Rollup Discussion, where everybody observing this problem is invited to provide some diagnostic details.

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(Update 2013/05/02 23:00): The problem appears to be resolved.

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Problems Being Observed, In Blogs Now Using Google+ Comments

A few blog owners, eagerly opting to use the latest Blogger enhancement, Google+ Comments, are seeing some changes which they did not anticipate.

Even after checking all of the settings, some blogs, with Google+ Comments enabled, may not show the comment form - or may show the form, but comments may not be visible. Besides the visibility of the form, there are other changes which some blog owners don't appreciate.

In many cases, Google+ Comments, like other new features, require an updated post template. This will be seen in blogs with customised post templates, most frequently - although newer, less customised blogs also may need a post template reset.

After getting Google+ Comments working in general, some blog owners find other unexpected changes.

There will be changes seen by the blog owner.

• Almost the entire "Comments" section, in the dashboard Settings - "Posts and comments" wizard, will disappear - though "Comment Location" will remain - and will default to "Embedded". None of these settings are relevant in Google+ Comments. On some blogs, there may be no "Comments" dashboard menu entry at all.
• There are no controls for moderation, or for notification, of comments.
• There is no ability to moderate comments, from the dashboard. Moderation is done under each post, one post at a time.
• As a blog owner, you have no special ability to moderate comments, made against your blog.
• There may be some comments, which you may not be able to moderate - but will publish against your blog.
• If you Block somebody from Following you, that person may still be able to post a Comment on your blog. When you look at the comments, you will only see

  This post is hidden because you have blocked the author.

• The "Export blog" wizard, which used to export both comments and posts, will only export posts.

There will be changes seen, by the blog readers.

• People without Google+ accounts won't be able to make - or view - comments (since comments are Circle dependent).
• Visibility of the comment form, as with all embedded comments, is sensitive to cookie / script filters, on the client computers.
• Comments posted outside Google Comments may not be immediately visible, though the comments remain in existence. Resetting various sections of the template may resolve this, when observed.
• If you change the blog address - with either a simple BlogSpot address change, a non BlogSpot address republishing (aka "custom domain"), or export / import - existing Google+ Comments may not remain visible, with the blog. This may be a similar problem, with URLs subject to Country Code Aliasing.
• With a blog using Google+ Comments, the Comments newsfeed will not be published. Any "Recent Comments" gadgets will be useless.
• The comment count, as displayed in the blog main page display, may show "0 comments" - even with comments actually present, and visible when clicking on "0 comments".
• You may or may not get email notification of comments, when comments are not shared specifically with you - even if you own the blog. Other people, who do not own the blog, may get notifications when you do not.
• It appears that Google+ Comments only work with blogs that are published publicly.

There will be problems seen (not seen) by both blog owners and readers.

• With a blog using Google+ Comments, comments made while the blog was using Blogger Comments won't be visible. They will be present, in the Blogger Comments database - they won't be visible, unfortunately.
• With a blog using Blogger Comments, comments made while the blog was using Google+ Comments won't be visible. Google+ Comments will still be out there, in the streams of the owners and readers - they just won't be visible on the blog.
• If you change a blog between Blogger and Google+ Comments, comments made under the previous host won't be visible, to either the owners, or the readers. Neither the Blogger dashboard, or the blog display, supports multiple comment hosts.

Fortunately, in most cases any prematurely made decisions are reversible. Go to the dashboard Google+ menu entry, and unselect "Use Google+ Comments on this blog". The blog will simply return to native Blogger based Comments. Any comments made under Google+ will not be visible to you, from the blog - but everything else should return to normal.

I've now added a Problem Rollup discussion, in Blogger Help Forum: Feature Suggestions and Feedback, where your opinion is appreciated. Please be objective.

See my test blogs Google+ Comments, Dynamic Template Test and Google+ Comments, Simple Template Test if you wish.

Click here, for instructions to revert back to Blogger based comments. Note that you will lose ability to view all Google+ based comments - though the comments will still exist.

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Blogger And Google+ Continue To Move Ever Closer Together

Today, Blogger announced the most innovative step in integrating Blogger and Google+, since sharing of Blogger posts to Google+.

The December 2011 sharing option lets us publish our blog posts to Google+. Today, Blogger added the ability to do the same - and more - with our blog comments. Like basic Google+ post sharing, Google+ Comments will be shared, and be visible, on a Circle by Circle basis.

The ability to post a comment, against a Blogger blog post shared in Google+, and have the comment publish to the blog will make for interesting comment based conversations.

There will be challenges to this feature, however. One of the most annoying problems with Blogger comments, right now, involves the embedded comment form, and security limitations caused by cookie filtering on many readers computers.

This blog uses a full page comment form, because too many of my readers need to post comments, in spite of the cookie filtering on their computer. Blogger Google+ Commenting requires use of the embedded comment form.

Google+ Comments lets you bring the following conversations together in one place, right under your blog post:

• Comments made on your Blogger blog post
• Comments on the blog post that you’ve shared to Google+
• Shared content on Google+ that links to your blog post

Readers will need a Google+ page or profile to comment on your blog.

Anybody who publishes a blog, and has readers who do not understand the reason for allowing third party cookies, will not want to use an embedded comment form - and won't benefit from Google+ Commenting, either. Until either

• Blogger resolves their "third party cookies" problem, with the embedded comment form.
• All Blogger blog readers resolve their issues with filtering "third party cookies".

Google+ Comments will have a limited audience.

Many blog owners may find a problem, in the moderation process.

Once you enable Google+ Comments, you can moderate comments within the blog post itself.

Owners of large blogs may not enjoy having to check each post, one by one, to moderate comments - so, you let your readers moderate for you.

I check my dashboard Comments menu, several times daily - and see all comments posted to the blog, in one convenient place. Having to look at each post, to moderate comments, won't be as convenient.

A third challenge will come from blog owners who want everybody to be able to comment, on their blogs. Requiring a Google+ account to comment won't be widely accepted by blog owners who have readers who comment either Anonymously, or using an OpenID.

One of the benefits of Google+ Commenting will be a reduction in comment based spam. The increasingly annoying "nice blog" spam - and the accompanying security risks from having it published on our blogs - should be eliminated, from blogs using Google+ Comments.

Google+ Comments is a feature that is needed, on some Blogger blogs - but it needs to remain optional, for some time.

If you're in one of my Circles, and wish to test this new feature, see if you can comment, on my recipes blog, Chuck's Kitchen.

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The Option To "Expand Widget Templates", In The Template "Edit HTML" Wizard, Is No More

One of the more confusing features of the Blogger Template "Edit HTML" wizard, used to be the option to

Expand Widget Templates

With the new "Edit HTML" wizard, that option is not needed. Given the choice to "Expand Widget Templates", the typical blog owner was frequently caught between a rock, and a hard place, when editing gadgets.

• Don't use the option - and the gadget code section, which was to be edited, remained concealed.
• Use the option - and all gadget code sections were expanded, revealing all gadget code.

This frequently left the owner with either no information - or too much information, from which to work. Broken templates, caused by improper template HTML edits, were common.

The new Template "Edit HTML" wizard replaces the single "Expand Widget Templates" option with selective widget expansion. Now referred to as "folded" code, a concealed widget code section is identified by a fold marker ("sideways arrow icon"), next to the line number.

The code inside the widget is folded by default.

Clicking on any fold marker, the concealed gadget code section is revealed. If the now revealed code section itself contains concealed code sections, those sections are displayed as folded, and can then be revealed - if necessary, and only if necessary.

Thus we can eliminate unnecessary depth (internal gadget code sections) and width (additional gadget code sections) from being displayed when we only need to edit a specific gadget, at a given level of complexity. This will make it easier to identify and to edit the necessary lines of code, and to avoid editing lines of code which should not be edited.

If you're looking for a specific section of the template - for instance, the CSS rules - you may find that section folded also. CSS rules, for instance, are at the top of the template.

<b:skin>---</b:skin>

and

<b:template-skin>---</b:template-skin>

On the other hand, if you're looking for the content of an HTML / JavaScript gadget, that's still edited from the specific gadget in the Layout wizard.

<data:content/>

Gadget content is not folded.

Hopefully, we'll soon see less problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about broken templates - though we will probably continue to see confusion, about templates that only appear to be broken.

As always, if you change template code, remember to clear browser cache and restart the browser, before concluding that your changes were not effective.

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Blogger Blogs Being Hijacked By The Sociable Gadget

We're seeing a steady stream of reports, from blog owners in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from Blogger blog owners, reporting the latest hijacking of their blogs.

My blog is being redirected to a search engine display.

or

My blog has a porn popup attached!

These are all blog owners who have installed the latest hack, willingly distributed by Blogger / Google.

This appears to be yet one more gadget, intentionally installed by many Blogger blog owners, which is now redirecting unwilling viewers. The redirection target is a website which provides commercial advertisements for various Internet services, which creates a variety of symptoms, as reported in the forums.

The Sociable gadget appears to be a Blogger accessory installed from the Blogger "Add a Gadget" wizard, when selected intentionally by many Blogger blog owners.

As with many reported hijacks, access to the Blogger Layout wizard appears to be affected. If you need to remove this code from your blog, you may find yourself unable to use the Layout wizard. In this case, you will need to use Firefox with Noscript - or a similarly well protected browser - to prevent the redirecting code from executing.

After removing the identified code from your blog, as always, clear cache and restart the browser. Finally, I'll remind you again, to please be particular - only install third party code from trustworthy providers.

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Blogger Blogs Redirecting To "scmplayer . net"

This week, we're seeing a new stream of problem reports, from blog owners whose blogs are, once again, mysteriously redirecting their readers to unknown destinations.

When I open my blog, it automatically directs to another website, which is SCM Music Player.

This appears to be yet one more gadget, willingly installed by many Blogger blog owners, which is now redirecting uninterested viewers. The target of the redirection, in this case, is a website which is simply a commercial advertisement - for the product which was apparently installed, willingly, by the blog owners.

The website in question, "scmplayer . net", unlike some previous episodes of this nature, does not appear to be expired.

Overview for scmplayer.net

Registrar Info
Name  GODADDY.COM, LLC
Whois Server  whois.godaddy.com
Referral URL  http://registrar.godaddy.com
Status  clientDeleteProhibited, clientRenewProhibited,
 clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited

Important Dates
Expires On  March 25, 2014
Registered On  March 25, 2011
Updated On  December 13, 2011

If we use a text only browser, such as an HTTP trace utility, the problem code is easily identified. Here's a redacted example, taken from the latest forum problem report.

<div class='widget HTML' id='HTML1'>
<div class='widget-content'>
<!-- SCM Music Player http : // scmplayer . net -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="http : // scmplayer . net/script . js"
data-config="{'skin':'skins/aquaOrange/skin.css','volume':50,'autoplay':true,'shuffle':true,'repeat':1,'placement':'top','showplaylist':false,'playlist':[{'title':'Waves','url':'http://youtu.be/IFS0Eo1eh6Y'},{'title':'Money Trees','url':'http://youtu.be/jSXiNdTbTA4'},{'title':'Keep it Moving','url':'http://youtu.be/XqRC_Fh--js'},{'title':'Find Away','url':'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS6zq6_iMCk'},{'title':'Do your Love','url':'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVwbgXaMRo'},{'title':'Bitch Don%27t Kill My Vibe','url':'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcYvaLIgjTk'},{'title':'True Livin','url':'http://youtu.be/wMFHqqiR3Co'}]}" ></script>
<!-- SCM Music Player script end -->

From what we've seen so far, identification and removal of the problem code seems to be straightforward - just access the dashboard "Layout" menu wizard, find the gadget identified, and remove it.

As always, you are advised to clear cache and restart the browser, after removal and before testing. If the gadget makes your dashboard redirect before you can un install the misbehaving code, use a well protected browser, like Firefox with NoScript, to block the redirection.

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The Stats "All Time" Display, And The 2011 Numbers

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see a curious question, which is repeated.

My blog Stats display is missing a complete year.

The problem is actually right there, in front of all of us - if we look. We showed this last year - for 2010.

Look at the Stats Overview tab, and the graph at the top of the display.

There's December 2010!
There's January 2012!!
What happened to "2011"?


My suspicion is that it's a deliberate omission, to get the graph to fit in the limited horizontal space. How will they get "All Time" to fit in that space, as the Stats display gets older, and "All Time" covers more years?

That being the case, it should not be that much work to add a little "broken line" symbol in the border, somewhere between "Septermber 2010" and "May 2012". Look how smoothly the line flows, in my graph, right through 2011. What does the graph for your blog show?

Fast forward to 2015, and we'll know the answer.

Life is full of mystery. Why not just deal with this one, and move on?

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Blogger blogs redirecting to "scrapur . com"

This week, we've seen several reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from Blogger blog owners, reporting the latest hijacking of their blogs.

My blog is being redirected to a spam site - was it hijacked?

As is all too frequently the case, the redirection appears to come from third party code or gadgets, willingly installed by the blog owner. Examination of the website in question appears to indicate a long expired domain.

This domain name expired on Nov 7 2012 11:32:24:000AM

It's possible that, right now, this is not a maliciously planned hijack - though any expired domain can be re purchased for a devious or malicious purpose.

In several cases, the redirecting code appears as part of an installed XML gadget, a version of "Recent Comments". In other cases, we have observed naked JavaScript code, installed directly into the blog template. Here are identified examples - though you may see other variants.

<script style="text/javascript" src="http : // scrapur . com / index / wp-content / uploads / 2008 / 04 / rc . asp"> </script>

or possibly

<script src='http : // scrapur . com / index / wp-content / uploads / 2008 / 02 / smile . js' type='text/javascript'></script>

(Note the URLs have been modified, to prevent search engine indexing of a potentially malicious domain).

Use of a text proxy, such as Rex Swain's HTTP Viewer, when run from any browser, will allow you to safely examine the blog source, without interference by the redirecting code. In this case, simply load your blog using the URL, then use the browser test search, for "scrapur", in the proxy log. This will let you see if the code in question is part of an HTML gadget - or it is installed directly in the template.

As with many reported hijacks, access to the Blogger Layout and Template wizards appears to be affected. If you need to remove this code from your blog, you may find yourself unable to use either the Layout wizard (to remove an identified gadget) or the Template wizard (to remove directly installed code). In this case, you will need to use Firefox with Noscript - or a similarly well protected browser - to prevent the redirecting code from executing.

After removing the identified code from your blog, as always, clear cache and restart the browser. Finally, I'll remind you again, to please be particular - only install third party code from trustworthy providers.

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Enabling Blogger, If You Now Have An ISP Provided Email Account, That Uses Google Apps Based GMail

We're seeing problem reports from some confused blog owners, who are apparently customers of ISPs who have made the switch, from using a private email infrastructure, to using GMail based email (administered using Google Apps).

When I try to sign in I get this message.

Blogger has not been enabled by the administrator of the domain

How do I administer my blog?

We've known, for a while, that having a Blogger account based on a Google Apps provided GMail account may not be a good long term strategy - particularly if the Apps account is based on a domain which you own, and the domain was purchased to host one of your blogs.

Possibly considering the latter scenario, Blogger / Google now requires that you enable the Blogger service, for any new Google Apps controlled domain - if you wish to use email addresses in that domain to host Blogger accounts. This is a safety measure, helping to prevent you from having a Blogger account that you can't control - or can't recover access when you forget the password.

All of that is fine - when you control the domain that you wish to use to host your Blogger account. But what if you don't control the domain? What if you previously setup a Blogger account based on an email domain owned by your ISP (employer, school, what have you ...) - then later the domain administrator decides to upgrade the domain, to use GMail based email? What happens to your Blogger account?

Short of convincing the domain administrators for your ISP (school, employer) that you have a genuine and urgent need to have a Blogger account, based on an email address that they provide, you're going to need a new email address - provided by someone other than Google, or your ISP (school, employer).

Start by setting up an email account in some third party web service - maybe "Yahoo.com". Then, you have two possibilities. If you're reading this article just before your ISP makes the switch, and you can still use your Blogger account, transfer control of your blog(s) to a new Blogger account that's based on your new email address.

If you just discovered the change by your ISP - maybe because you now see the bad news

Blogger has not been enabled by the administrator of the domain

you are going to have to recover control of your blog, based upon access to your ISP's email account - and setup a new Blogger account based on your new non ISP based email account.

1. Generate a new account recovery email message.
2. Setup a new email account, outside your current email service.
3. Clear cache, cookies, and sessions.
4. Restart the browser.
5. Login to your current email service, find, and open the email message.
6. Click on the link in the email message.
7. Setup a new Blogger account, based on the new email address.

Whatever you do when setting up your new Blogger account, please make sure to verify the email address - and setup recovery options, carefully.

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Attempting To Remove Old FTP Published Blogs From Blogger Account Corrupts The BlogList

Recently, we've seen a few reports from unhappy blog owners who used to publish blogs using FTP, who tried to delete the FTP published blogs from their Blogger account, and now can't access their dashboard bloglist - or even login to their Blogger accounts successfully.

I recently tried to delete an old FTP published blog from our account, I hit the "delete blog" button, and I get error code bX-dm6o9e. When I try to access my dashboard, I get the same error.

The option to publish a Blogger blog to remote, non Google hosted, server space - known as FTP Publishing - ended several years ago. Now, people attempting to clean up their blog list, and trying to remove old, FTP published blogs will find a problem. We note that the dashboard utilities, in general, can still be accessed, using the navbar links - or the quick edit post links.

We have a Problem Rollup discussion, where we are requesting diagnostic details from victims of this problem.

1. Have you tried using the Classic or the New GUI - or both?
2. Does your Blogger account use a Blogger, Google, or Google+ profile?
3. What's your Blogger Profile URL?
4. Is the blog being deleted in existence, on the remote server?
5. Does the blog being deleted have current and valid DNS addresses, pointing to the contents?
6. What's the URL of the blog being deleted?
7. What browsers have you tried using? Do you get the bX-dm6o9e error from each browser?

If you are experiencing the bX-dm6o9e code, please answer the questions as best you can, to encourage Blogger Engineering to identify and correct the cause of the problem.

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