Choosing A Name For Your Blog - The Rules Are Simple

The first task in starting a new blog involves picking an available blog name (aka "URL").

The rules for picking a blog name are reasonably simple.

1. Pick a blog name.
2. If "Create a blog" gives you that name, it's yours. Continue with #4.
3. If "Create a blog" shows "Sorry!", pick another name, and continue with #2.
4. Setup your new blog.

Some folks need even simpler rules.

1. If "Create a blog" gives you the name of your choice, it's yours.
2. If "Create a blog" does not give you that name, you have to pick another.

Which ever rules you wish to go by, the "Create a blog" wizard has the final say.

There are several reasons why "Create a blog" may not give you the name of your choice.

Some people think that deleted and dormant blogs should be subject to different rules.

I see

Sorry, the blog at thenameofmydreams.blogspot.com has been removed.

Who do I contact, at Google, to have "thenameofmydreams" re issued, to me?

and

The blog at thenameofmydreams.blogspot.com has not been updated for over a year. Who do I contact to have it re issued, to me?

There are several reasons why a blog may have been deleted - and each reason produces different availability issues.

1. If you are (were) the owner, and you deleted it under 90 days ago, you are allowed to un delete it.
2. If you are (were) the owner, and you deleted it over 90 days ago, it is gone.
3. If someone else is (was) the owner, and they deleted it, they likewise have up to 90 days to un delete it.
4. If Blogger deleted it, the owner (you, or another person) has eternity to have it reviewed (and possibly, recovered).

Dormant blogs are simpler to discuss - since dormant blogs, in reality, do not exist. There are no requirements for posting frequency or volume.

If the name is made available by Blogger, then "Create a blog" will be able to assign it to you - if it is available, when you request it. If it's not made available, you can't have it.

Blogger Support said it, so simply.

Blogger accounts and Blogspot addresses do not expire. Therefore, we can't take away somebody's blog address to give to you.

If it's not available, they will not re issue it to you.

If you have a blog to start, pick an available name, today - and get started, today.

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When You Create A Blog, Only Type The Blog Name, To Check For Availability

Too many would be blog owners are unable to create a blog, because they don't understand how to check for availability.

I can't seem to type in a URL, without it saying it's not available.

Some people don't understand that you do not type a URL - you just type a blog name, when checking for availability.

This is the (BlogSpot) URL of this blog.

http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com

This is the (BlogSpot) name of this blog.

bloggerstatusforreal

If I was going to use the "Create a blog" wizard, and create this blog, I would type the name - "bloggerstatusforreal". If I typed the entire URL "http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" - even if "bloggerstatusforreal" was available (and no, it is not ever going to be available), I should expect to see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

It's that simple - only type the name, to check for availability.

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Your Blog Address Is Unique - Though Many Other Identities Are Not

Occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see signs of people who don't understand the concept of unique Blogger identities - or contrarily, Blogger identities which won't be unique.

I can't publish my blog to the name that I want.

or

Another blog is using the same name as mine!

or

Someone is impersonating me!!

Some of these complaints are reasonable - and could keep a team of judges and lawyers very busy, for a while, when properly reported. Other complaints come from people who don't quite understand what identities in our Blogger blogs are uniquely our property - and what identities are not uniquely ours.

When you setup a Blogger blog, one of the first things that you must choose - and choose carefully - is the blog Address. Once you have chosen the Address for your blog - and until you successfully give up this Address, the chosen Address is yours, for eternity. Nobody else can use this Address, in publishing their blog.

You can change the Address (also known as the URL) of your blog, whenever convenient to you - but any change that you make is subject to availability, based on Addresses which may have been chosen by other people. And it is worth your while to plan any Address change, carefully.

When you setup a Blogger blog, and choose the Address, you also choose a blog Title, and Template. Anybody else, setting up their blog, may choose the same Title, and / or Template. Many people will choose the same Template as you do (and later customise their template, using the Template Designer). Similarly, anybody is free to choose any Title (and later change the title, whenever convenient to them).

A blog which simply uses the same Title as yours is probably not Impersonating you. A blog which contains content scraped from your blog, and with the same Title, may constitute Impersonation. Contrarily, a blog which simply contains content scraped from your blog, without impersonating, may constitute a copyright, or DMCA, Violation.

The Internet, in its ability to bring people together, is going to cause conflict. Some conflict will come from many different people, simply not understanding other peoples lifestyles and traditions. Other conflict will come from people intentionally abusing you.

You need to understand the differences between the various abuses, before attempting to report any perceived offense. You are responsible for reporting any offense to the right agency.

It's up to you to report impersonation, copyright violation, or other abusive content to the right agency - and it's up to each individual agency to decide whether or not to act upon your complaint. You must report any problems properly, for any action to be taken.

Comments, posted to various blogs, are handled differently. Blogger / Google considers comments published to blogs (and not dismissed as spam) to be a freedom of speech issue. Comments are jointly the property of the blog owner, and the publisher of each comment.

If someone else, publishing a comment, offends you, that is a concern which can be handled only by the blog owner. Blogger / Google, without a court order, will not get involved. If the blog owner permits anonymous comments, anybody can use any identity that pleases them. This may lead to apparent impersonation - but any impersonation conflicts will be up to the blog owner to resolve.

The bottom line here is that some Blogger / Google hosted problem content may require discretion and patience by you, for you and other people to receive appropriate treatment.

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