Use Two Browsers, When Working With Multiple Google Accounts

Google has been providing single login access, to (almost all) Google services, for many years.

Properly maintained, we can have one Google account, which lets us access all services, using one login. The single login approach is a convenience, when all of the services, which we use, are part of the same Google account.

The single login approach becomes a challenge, when some of the services, which we use, are part of different Google accounts. As owners of Blogger blogs, there are some scenarios, where we have to deal with two different Google accounts simultaneously.

• Accessing non Blogger applications, like Google Apps.
• Recovering account / blog control.
• Transferring control of a blog.

When we have to deal with two Google accounts, simultaneously, the single login approach becomes a problem.

Frequently, when you request assistance with a problem which involves your Google account, we'll start by advising you to

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

This advice is neither ceremonial, nor pedantic - it's practical. And, it solves more problems than you would believe.

That simple advice works - because many problems are caused by the Google account login cookie, which is used to retain login status from application to application, within the various Google services which we may use. This is how Google provides single login to their various services.

That simple advice works best when we care only about the Google service immediately visible - and it requires careful maintenance of cookies filters. In cases where two services - or two Google accounts - are involved, you'd need to switch between account / service, rapidly and repeatedly. Rapidly logging out of one account, to login to another account, is both exhausting and technically unsafe.

Rapidly logging out then back in, to various Google accounts, creates odd symptoms, like the well known monolithic error

You have logged out from another location. Do you want to log in again?

Who among us has been able to correctly answer this simple query properly, without undue rise in blood pressure?

Another problem with clearing cookies, routinely, is that not all browsers allow selective clearing of cookies. Many have observed problems with non Google websites, after solving a Google problem which involves

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

Yes, there are websites outside the Googlesphere!

If we need to work with two Google accounts, simultaneously, the only safe technique is to use two browsers, simultaneously. Since the Google login cookie is created separately, in each different browser, use of two browsers lets us maintain two Google sessions, simultaneously, without interaction between the two.

Since no two browsers are alike, we know realistically, that using two different browsers should not be done routinely. Many blog owners have a most favourite, and a least favourite, browser - and won't willingly use a different browser except when absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, many modern browsers, to retain their own customer base, allow for multiple sessions - where cookies and other preferences and settings can be maintained separately. Chrome has the "Incognito Window", and Firefox has "Private Browsing" - both of which let you, temporarily, setup a second browser session, with separate cookies, preferences, and settings.

In most cases, then - and if you are using Chrome or Firefox - when we advise you to

Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3) - then restart the browser.

you should be able to, alternately,

Activate a second browser session, when you are not currently using a second session.

In cases where you are currently using a second browser session, the advice would be more correctly phrased

Close the current second browser session, then start a new second browser session.

This advice would flush all current cookies, preferences, and settings which could possibly involve multiple Google accounts, and avoid various problems with Blogger and non Blogger applications.

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Confusion About Visibility Of Comments, With Blogs Using Google+ Comments

Along with confusion about ownership of comments, published using Google+ Comments, we see similar confusion about visibility of comments, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I shared the URL of my post in Google+ - and now I see my Google+ post, displayed as a comment, on my blog!

and

My comments are showing up in other people's profiles, in Google+!!

and

I'm getting notifications, in Google+ - but the comments don't display, on the blog!!

Not all blog owners understand the relationship between Google+ comments, published to a Blogger blog - and posts, in Google+.

Comments on a Blogger blog are treated the same as Google+ posts, with a Blogger blog using Google+ Comments.

If somebody publishes a Google+ post, and shares the post to a circle that includes you, or shares a post publicly, you may see the post - if you are viewing a stream which includes them.

If somebody publishes a Google+ post, and shares the post to circle(s) that do not include you - even if the post references your blog - you won't see that post. If somebody publishes a Google+ comment against your blog, and shares the post to circle(s) that do not include you - even if the post references your blog - you won't see that comment.

If you share the URL of a post in your blog, in a Google+ post, that post becomes a Google+ comment against your blog post. With a Google+ post, you can choose to share to Public, or to any (or all) of your circles.

If you share the URL of a post in your blog to Public, everybody who is viewing a stream, which includes you, may see your Google+ post. If you share the URL to specific circles, everybody in those circles, and who is viewing a stream which includes you, may see your Google+ post.

If you publish a Google+ comment to a post in your blog, and choose "Also share on Google+", that comment will become a Google+ post.

If you share a comment to Public, everybody who is viewing a Google+ stream, which includes you, may see your Google+ post. If you share a comment to specific circles, everybody in those circles, who is viewing a Google+ stream which includes you, may see your Google+ post.

If you are viewing a post in your blog, you can select the "Circles" icon, and view all comments made by people in your circles, against that post, that you may see - or you can select the "World" icon, and view all comments made by everybody, against that post, that you may see. Anybody else, viewing a post in your blog, can do the same.

If you're publishing a comment against a post in your blog, you can choose to "Also share on Google+". Anybody else, viewing your blog, and publishing a comment, has the same choice.

The purpose of Google+ Comments, in Blogger, is to include Google+ posts, about your blog, on your blog.

For example, if there's a public Google+ discussion about one of your blog entries, those comments and replies will also appear on your Blogger blog.

If you do not want to include Google+ comments, about your blog, on your blog, you don't need to enable Google+ Comments.

If you do decide to use Google+ Comments on your blog, be aware of the known problems with Google+ Comments.

You can revert the blog back to Blogger Comments - but if you do this, no comments made using Google+ Comments will be visible on the blog, to anybody.

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Confusion About Ownership Of Comments, With Blogs Using Google+ Comments

We're seeing a few problem reports, about ownership of comments, published against blogs using Google+ Comments, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

Why can't I delete comments?

or

Why can't I reply to comments?

or

Why don't I get notifications of comments, posted against my blog?

These blog owners do not understand who owns the comments, when they are posted against their blogs.

With Blogger Comments, the comments are jointly owned by the blog owner and the comment publisher. With Google+ Comments, on the other hand, the comment publisher has sole ownership of a comment published - even if that comment references your blog. This ownership policy does not please all blog owners.

Comments on a Blogger blog are treated the same as Google+ posts, with a Blogger blog using Google+ Comments.

If you publish a Google+ post, and mention somebody else's blog or blog post (or website, in general), you own that Google+ post. That Google+ post is exclusively yours to delete or edit - and to set reply (aka "comment") permission. In your Google+ Settings wizard, you can set per circle permissions, who can comment on your public posts (or reply to your public comments, against a blog).

If somebody else comments on a post in your blog, they own that comment (Google+ "post"). That Google+ post is exclusively theirs to delete or edit - and to set reply ("comment") permission. In their Google+ Settings wizard, they can set per circle permissions, who can comment on their public posts (or reply to their comments, against a blog).

Along with confusion about comment ownership, there is confusion about comment visibility, with Google+ Comments.

If you see a comment from another person, published publicly or to a circle which includes you, it's still their comment (or Google+ post) - their reference to your blog is simply not relevant. Their "comment" permissions control your ability to reply to their comments - again, their commenting against your blog is not relevant.

1. You cannot delete or edit comments made by other people.
2. You cannot reply to all comments made by other people.
3. You cannot even see all comments made by other people.
4. Even comments which you can see, you may not be able to forward, or reply, depending upon per comment setting by the publisher.

Again, all of this applies whether or not the comment references your blog.

If you object to a comment, published to your blog, you can report that comment as "spam or abuse", just as any other Google+ member can do. With Google+, abuse reporting is a community activity. You have no need to "moderate" (either before, or after publishing) any comments, made against your blog - except when convenient.

Concentrate more on your blog, and less on comment spam.

If you do decide to use Google+ Comments on your blog, be aware of the known problems with Google+ Comments.

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Updating A Text Gadget, On Your Blog? Be Careful!

The schizophrenic nature of the HTML / Text gadget continues to confuse some blog owners.

Recently, we're seeing claims about broken Text gadgets, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I hit the Save button, and nothing happens! Why is my Text gadget not working??

Too many blog owners are causing their own problem, because of confusion about the caption in the gadget update wizard.

The header of the HTML / Text wizard is the only visible difference, between the "HTML" and "Text" gadgets.

You'll see "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) or "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget), as the gadget header. The rest of the gadget will be the same, for both gadgets - and this is why some gadgets, being updated, appear to be broken.

The difference between entering HTML, and Text - using either the "HTML" or the "Text" gadget - will be seen in the caption, to the far right of "Content".

The difference between entering HTML, and Text, is not relevant to the actual gadget being added or updated. This problem exists for both "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) and "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget).

The caption will read either "Edit Html", or "Rich Text" - for both "Configure HTML/JavaScript" (for an HTML gadget) and "Configure Text" (for a Text gadget).

• If you want to add / update code (HTML / JavaScript), you will want the caption to read "Rich Text".
• If you want to add / update text (Rich Text), you will want the caption to read "Edit Html".

Examine the formatting toolbar, to the left of the caption, as you click on the caption, to understand this.

Here are 4 views, showing the same gadget:


This is the HTML gadget, in HTML mode.

This is the HTML gadget, in Text mode.

This is the Text gadget, in Text mode.

This is the HTML gadget, in HTML mode.


Why is this relevant to the problem, being discussed? Just this - HTML is simply fancy text, with tags (special keywords and symbols). The tags make the difference, between HTML and text.

When you enter HTML, the tags have to be entered properly, in pairs and in the right sequence. If HTML tags are not entered properly, you can have various problems with the blog, as displayed. One of the possible problems is the long known dropped posts / sidebar section.

When you enter HTML improperly, in "HTML" mode in post editor, you get various diagnostic error messages - and you are instructed to fix your tags. When you enter HTML improperly, in "HTML" mode in the HTML / Text gadget, the "Save" button becomes in operative - and you think that the gadget is broken.

When you enter Text, which contains HTML, and you enter the HTML improperly - and you are accidentally in HTML mode - you have a problem. Remember.

• If you want to add / update code (HTML / JavaScript), you will want the caption to read "Rich Text".
• If you want to add / update text (Rich Text), you will want the caption to read "Edit Html".

This is how the "HTML" and "Text" gadgets work.

If you add a Text gadget to your blog, the caption will read "Edit Html" when you are adding text. If you click on "Edit Html", you will see "Rich Text" - and you will then be in HTML mode.

If you enter rich text, in HTML mode, and the rich text includes HTML keywords and symbols, you will have broken HTML - and the "Save" button will be inoperative. And, you will have a "broken" Text gadget. This is one of several possible causes of problems seen when adding / updating the HTML / JavaScript / Text gadgets.

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Team Blogs, And Confusion About Blogs Locked After Detected Account Hacking

We've been discussing deleted blogs, resulting from Blogger accounts locked after suspicious account activity is detected, for some time.

Recently, we've seen a variant on the account lock / deleted blogs problem.

I made one of my friends an admin for my blog. When Blogger deleted His Blogger account and his blogs, they deleted my blog also.

Here, we see the possibility of detected hacking, affecting other members in a team blog ownership.

If someone sets up a blog, then invites his friends to be administrators, everybody on the team becomes equal owners. This can also happen when one person maintains two or more Blogger accounts - whether accidentally or intentionally.

That's the definition of a team blog - and it's one known problem with team blogs. This case shows us another problem with team blogs.

If somebody on the team has a Blogger account locked for detected hacking, all blogs owned by that account are taken offline, for security checking. Any blogs owned by that account are going to simply disappear from the dashboards of all owners - because all owners produce the same security risk, to any owned blogs.

When a Blogger account is locked, review of blogs owned by the account starts after the account is unlocked. If the team member with the locked Blogger account doesn't get the account unlocked, the blogs owned can't be reviewed.

Once again, we see why it's a good idea to only have active team members, as blog owners.

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Confusion About Your Blog Feed, Not Updating Properly In Gadgets On Other People's Blogs

One of the stranger confusions, seen occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, refers to the posts feed, from our blog, displayed on other people's blogs.

I just published a new blog post - but it does not show up on my friends blogs. Is there a problem, with my feed?

When we investigate, the blog feed shows no problem. We display the feed in the browser, and compare with the blog main page - and everything on the main page is in the feed. It just does not show up on our friends feed gadgets.

So, what's the problem here? Were we imagining a problem? No, it's not imagination.

When we view a blog or website, what we see is subject to caching, on our computers.

Our browsers don't waste time (and bandwidth) downloading content from every blog or website we may wish to view, without checking what's in cache - in our browsers, on our computers, and elsewhere. If the blog or website in question has not been updated since we last viewed it, the browser just shows us our cached content.

With a Blogger blog, and our need to view the main page, what's in cache is simply the blog, as displayed on the main page. If no post was published or updated since we last viewed the main page, what we see is the main page, from cache. Simple enough.

Since the content of the gadgets is not cached separately, any updates to the gadgets only gets displayed when we view a blog from a Blogger server. Any gadget updates - such as newly published posts, from our blogs - will only be displayed after the blog owner publishes a new post.

If we publish posts daily - but our friends only publish weekly - we're going to see our updates displayed weekly. That's not a problem with our blogs, with our blog feeds, or even with our friends blogs - it's just how cache affects us.

To diagnose the problem, we can clear or refresh our cache, and see if that makes our friends blogs "update more regularly". This strategy is subject to limitations, though.

• If we clear cache, this will make all of the blogs and websites load directly from the servers (not just Blogger).
• We may be subject to caching, which we can't control.
• Whatever we do, to force our feed to update, on our friends blogs, when viewed from our browser, will have no effect on what our friends viewers see, when viewing our friends blogs.

In some cases, we may just have to shrug our shoulders, and get to work on our blogs. And wait, patiently, for our friends to work on their blogs.

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Confusion From The Message "You have logged out from another location."

This month, we have a small flood of reports, from blog owners who are seeing the latest monolithic error.

You have logged out from another location. Do you want to log in again?

This error has actually been reported previously - but in smaller volume - for some time. It appears to be similar in nature to a previously reported problem, "Conflicting Edits".

The problem appears to possibly affect anybody who has logged in to Blogger - and it appears to be persistent, and has inspired imaginative measures, from some blog owners.

The basic error condition, "You have logged out from another location.", has actually been around for many months.

Advice from Blogger Support staff, as occasionally provided, is reasonably simple.

If you are still receiving this error please clear and cookies, refreshing the page and log-in again.

Observing a lack of consistent success, from the latter advice, I recommend a more deliberate procedure.

1. Check cookie and script filters.
2. Clear cache, cookies, and sessions (all 3).
3. Restart the browser.
4. Click on the link below, to login to Blogger.

https://www.blogger.com

However one attacks the problem, when seen, it's not producing a lot of happy blog owners. Unfortunately, until Blogger Engineering permanently fixes the underlying problem, the temporary solution requires action by the blog owners affected.

If you follow the above advice, and continue to see this error, I suggest that you try a combination of affinity testing and of differential testing - then report the problem and a summary of your diagnostic tests, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

The anger expressed by some blog owners, repeatedly seeing "You have logged out from another location.", appears to resemble what was seen after the Blogger melt down of May 2011. That problem started during the week of May 9 - 13, when Blogger blog maintenance was impossible for over a week.

I, myself, am used to seeing this message - once or twice a week. I almost always have one or more browsers logged in to Blogger / Google, with various tabs opened to Blogger, FeedBurner, GMail, Google Groups, and / or Webmaster Tools.

With multiple tabs opened to various Google applications, it's a fairly simple (though not enjoyed) task to simply close all Blogger tabs, open one new tab targeting "http://www.blogger.com", and watch as the login session present under FeedBurner, GMail, Google Groups, and / or Webmaster Tools, refreshes into the newly opened Blogger tab.

The problem this month appears to be more persistent than my personal observations - and supposedly continues even through browser, and computer, restarts. Follow the above advice, please - then report your observations in detail. And please, be patient with the helpers who respond.

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Confusion Over Custom Domain Expiration Dates, Caused By Google Apps Email

We're seeing some panic today, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, from a few blog owners who have received email, which implies that their custom domain registrations are approaching expiration - and can't be renewed.

I registered my domain several months ago, through Google. I have the receipt for the payment in my email, my Google Wallet account, and my credit card statement.

Why am I getting this email now, some months after registering my domain - but well before my registration should be expiring?

Our records indicate that the payment for registering your domain mydomain.com was unsuccessful.

Payment failures happen for a variety of reasons (such as insufficient funds or an expired card). You can update your payment information to resolve the issue.

Please log in to your account and update your payment information. If you take no action, your domain will not be renewed on .

This confusion is especially unfortunate, given the recent discontinuation of the very popular Google Domain Registration option, which drives the Blogger "Buy a domain" wizard. It is reminiscent of a similar episode, almost a year ago.

When this confusion is reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, it's not difficult to dispel the panic. Several helpful websites provide registration look up services for the domains in question - and allow us to easily verify that there is no sudden flood of registration problems.

• DomainTools.com
• Name.com
• Network-Tools.com

Overview for mydomain.com
Registrar Info
Name  ENOM, INC.
Whois Server  whois.enom.com
Referral URL  http://www.enom.com
Status  clientTransferProhibited

Important Dates
Expires On  December 01, 2013
Registered On  December 01, 2012
Updated On  December 01, 2012

We have identified a popular topic in Google Apps Forum: General Discussion, where this issue is being discussed, and which has been forwarded to Google Apps Support.

Please watch the Google Apps discussion, or this blog post, for updates. And get back to work, on your blog.

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Hacking Detection Is (Generally) Not The Fault Of The Blogger Account Owner

We've been helping Blogger blog owners deal with spurious fuzzy content classification, for many years.

We started out, long ago, with blogs deleted because of spam classification. Later, Blogger added malware classification - and most recently, porn classification ("adult content", with objectionable advertisements). These three classification categories involve fuzzy blog content analysis.

A fourth category, which similarly results in blog(s) being deleted, I describe as "hacking detection". This category complements the other three, because the primary symptom of all four are remarkably similar.

Help me! Blogger has deleted my blog!!

This is a frequent complaint, seen in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

One problem with using the term "hacking" is that some account owners take this diagnosis personally.

Why do you mention hacking? I am not a hacker!

And in almost all cases, the owners are correct.

Blogs are deleted by Blogger, currently, because of several different reasons.

1. DMCA Violation.
2. Hacking detection.
3. Malware detection.
4. Porn detection.
5. Spam detection.

I list the different categories, collectively, because they are frequently reported, using the common symptom.

My blog was deleted, and I did not do it!

DMCA, malware, porn, and spam are generally based on what the blog owner did (though in many cases, what the owner "did" was simply to publish a blog). Hacking, on the other hand, is generally based on action by someone other than the blog owner.

DMCA, malware, porn, and spam classifications are based on content analysis (automated), or complaint (manual) - and these classifications can be somewhat avoided by the blog owner. Don't steal content or publish a blog containing malware, porn, or spam, to reduce your chance of having the blog classified.

Hacking detection, on the other hand, is based on analysis of Blogger account traffic - and this classification can not be avoided, as easily, by the blog owner. Hacking generally involves use of a cloud of computers, to systematically break into a Blogger account owned by the victim.

Though frequently, a hacking attack starts with unintentional disclosure of personal information by the victim, actual hacking activity is typically not initiated by the victim.

Detection of hacking attacks is best conducted by Google, because they can look for repetitive activity against multiple Blogger / Google accounts, from multiple computers located worldwide.

• Most account owners can login to their accounts in one or two tries.
• Very few account owners will, intentionally, attempt to login to their accounts, concurrently, from computers in Argentina, USA, and Zaire.
• Very few computers will be used to access Blogger accounts owned by people in Brazil today, in China tomorrow, and in Denmark next week.

Recovery from hacking detection requires willful action by the victim - though Blogger makes the required action so simple, its purpose becomes transparent. The victim, or account owner, is simply required to change the account password, solve a CAPTCHA, and / or verify account ownership by providing various personal details.

Having initiated hacking recovery, the account owner is able to login to Blogger - but is greeted by an empty dashboard.

You are not yet the owner of any blogs. Create a blog, and get started!

This is where the confusion starts.

Not all Blogger account owners personally publish a blog. Some people setup Blogger accounts simply to comment on, and / or Follow blogs published by other people - and won't, necessarily, publish a blog using the account in question.

Blogger accounts with no owned blogs may still be under attack by hackers - and are subject to hacking detection. This makes the primary symptom so confusing.

You are not yet the owner of any blogs. Create a blog, and get started!

People who don't own any blogs (under this Blogger account) may, or may not, see this as a problem.

In cases where the initial symptom is a deleted blog, the blog owner must recover the hacked (locked) account, before the blog can be recovered. This is one more scenario where unplanned, anonymous blog ownership, just causes more confusion.

Having initiated hacking recovery, a blog owner is simply expected to wait patiently, until the blogs owned by the account are verified as free of content added by the hacker. Unfortunately, we sometimes see the blog owner, impatiently reporting in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I had to change my password, and having done that, Blogger deleted my blog!

Sometimes, hacking detection starts with the Blogger account owner, repetitively trying to recover access to the account, by sequentially trying every possible password (sometimes trying the same password, repeatedly).

I know it's one of these! But which one? Did I maybe type the one, incorrectly??

This repetitive action looks the same as any malicious hacking attack - and that is why hacking detection is so hard to canonically diagnose.

Please, consider these details, the next time you post your problem report.

Help me! Blogger has deleted my blog!!

In some cases, I may respond with a mention of hacking detection. If I do that, please don't take my response as a personal attack upon you.

Why do you mention hacking? I am not a hacker!

Even though being the victim of a hacking attack is not the fault of the account / blog owner, that person may still have to bear some of the responsibility. In general, blog owners have to support themselves - learn how to protect themselves, and use 2-step verification.

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Blog Content, And Confusion About Blogs Locked After Detected Account Hacking

One Blogger mystery involves the varying periods of blog unavailability, after hacking activity is detected.

My blog just disappeared from my dashboard - and no, it's not listed under "Deleted blogs"!

When the owner mentions the notice about "suspicious" / "unusual" account activity, or having unlocked the account (by solving a CAPTCHA, receiving a phone message, changing the password) - and is advised to wait "24 to 48 hours" - many ask the obvious.

Is "24 to 48 hours" really accurate?

In reality, the legendary "24 to 48" hour time period is only a ball park figure - and both Blogger / Google, and the blog owner, contribute to the uncertainty.

The well known advice to "Wait 24 to 48 hours", after a Blogger account is locked for suspected hacking activity, is only an estimation of the waiting time, which the owner may have to endure. This is account / blog integrity verification.

There are several factors which can contribute to the accuracy of "24 to 48 hours" (which maybe should be stated as "one to two business days").

• Availability of essential Blogger / Google personnel.
• Current hacking activity level, and ongoing Blogger / Google workload.
• Blog content, which complicates hacking payload analysis.

We've referenced the first two factors (personnel, and hacking activity level) in the well known Blogger FAQ How long will it take?. The third involves detail which only the blog owner can provide. Many blog owners contribute to this uncertainty, in the development of their blogs.

There are several types of content, which hackers like to add, to blogs temporarily under their control.

1. Advertising - and similar shiny accessories.
2. Custom code - and various template tweaks.
3. Links to other blogs - and to websites outside Google address space.
4. Team memberships - and multiple blog owners.

All of these features, also added by the owner - and allowed (and encouraged) by Blogger - can require extra effort as a blog is validated, after detected hacking activity.

Blogger / Google security experts, in examining an account / blog, must look for features possibly added by the hacker. Security experts have no immediate knowledge what was added by the owner, long ago - as opposed to by a hacker, more recently.

Any advertising, custom code, external links, or team memberships, intentionally added by the owner, will contribute to time spent validating blog integrity.

• Leave a setting or tweak added by the hacker - and the blog remains a security risk, when returned to service.
• Remove a setting or tweak added by a blog owner - and the blog becomes broken, when returned to service.

Neither is desired, by the blog owners - nor by Blogger / Google.

More accessories and tweaks == more time spent by security experts == more time the blog remains offline, while the owner waits in uncertainty.

This uncertainty, added to delayed deletion caused by cache latency, leads to mystery.

All of this brings to mind the old adage.

KISS

Keep it simple, stupid.

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The "Create a new blog" Wizard Is Not Prescient

We're seeing some odd problem reports in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about blog creation.

I entered just the first letter of the name which I wanted, and I immediately saw

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

How am I supposed to create a blog, if all the names are taken?

What intrigues me here is not that people see

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

It's that people don't ask the next question.

How did it know what name I was typing, before I finished?

How do you explain that you have to type the entire name, and have that name checked, before giving up, disappointed?

Maybe the "Create a new blog" wizard is too good, for its own good.

Too much transparency actually makes it harder, for some people, to use it properly. Having the name checked for availability, as typed, one character at a time, may be a bit excessive.

Had I been creating this blog, long ago, as "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com", I would have typed "bloggerstatusforreal" - and the "Create a new blog" would have checked, one by one

• b
• bl
• blo
• blog
• blogg
• blogge
• blogger
• bloggers
• bloggerst
• bloggersta
• bloggerstat
• bloggerstatu
• bloggerstatus
• bloggerstatusf
• bloggerstatusfo
• bloggerstatusfor
• bloggerstatusforr
• bloggerstatusforre
• bloggerstatusforrea
• bloggerstatusforreal

And I will bet good money, that I would have seen

Sorry, this blog address is not available.

during much of the typing.

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatu Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusf
• bloggerstatusfo
• bloggerstatusfor
• bloggerstatusforr
• bloggerstatusforre
• bloggerstatusforrea
• bloggerstatusforreal

Since I created this blog, long ago, as an imitation of "bloggerstatus.blogspot.com", obviously "bloggerstatus" was taken. Most likely, the shorter names were likewise taken.

Then again, even if "bloggerstatus" was taken, that does not say, for sure, that "bloggerstatu" was. Or "bloggerstat".

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bl Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blo Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blog Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogg Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogge Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• blogger Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggers Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerst Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggersta Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstat Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatu This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatus Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusf This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusfo This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusfor This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforr This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforre This blog address is available.
• bloggerstatusforrea Sorry, this blog address is not available.
• bloggerstatusforreal Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Yes, I actually checked, one character at a time - and that's what I saw.

The bottom line here is that you have to type - and check - availability, one character at a time. And, you have to be persistent.

What would have happened, if I had given up, immediately.

• b Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Dammit, all the names are taken!!

Well, you would not be reading "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" now, would you?

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Confusion About Referer Spam Can Have Unexpected Consequences

As referer spam continues to be reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see occasional signs of confusion.

Some blog owners, knowing how to use WhoIs lookups and similar online utilities, to their advantage, are looking up the referer spam targets - and are reporting the targets to their registrars and hosts. What these blog owners may not realise is that not all apparent "customers" of referer spam "services" may have actually contracted to be featured in the services.

In October - November 2011, this blog was featured in one wave of referer spam.

Somewhere, buried deep in my comment moderation queue for this blog, may be some odd comments

Chuck, I clicked on a link in my Stats log, and got this blog. Your blog does not link to my blog - so why do my Stats displays link here?

When I saw one such comment, I thought that it was just some spammer, messing with me - as many do (which is why I moderate comments, aggressively). As more such remarks appeared, both here and in Blogger Help Forum, I realised that what I had idly expected, long ago, had actually come to pass.

I've been using this blog, since I started it, as a weapon against spamming activity in general. In February 2011, I started using it as a weapon against referer spam. I did both knowing well that if I was ever seriously effective in my fight, the guys who I became effective against would eventually attack me.

In October 2011, I realised that my dream had become true. I was honoured by the providers of referer spam, as someone worthy of their attention. In spam fighter parlance, I was the victim of a "Joe Job".

Just as surely as I, personally, was a Joe Job victim, I know that other honest and righteous blog and website owners are similarly being attacked by referer spam, in other Joe Jobs. I know that I am not the only fighter of spam, worthy of the attention of the spammers.

Once we understand that not all blogs or websites featured in referer spam activity may be actual intentional customers of referer spammers, we have to realise that unfocused reporting of blogs and websites, mentioned in referer spam, will actually play right into the hands of the referer spammers.

What the referer spammers are doing, in their Joe Jobs, is also called a "Smurf Attack". The spammers are hoping that thousands of angry Blogger blog owners will report the blogs and websites, featured in the spam, as spam customers. This will cause the immediate recipients of the Smurfing, the registrars and Internet Service Providers, to discontinue service to the reported blogs and websites. In 2011, with such reporting taken seriously, this blog might have been damaged.

Hopefully, most ISPs and registrars know of Joe Jobs and Smurf Attacks - and know how to verify the nature of any individual service being reported for spamming. However, that's simply a complication which can have other effects.

The bottom line is that anybody seeing the referer spam, in their Stats logs, has to understand that not all blogs and websites should be reported for spamming. When you report all referer spam, indiscriminately, you are simply working for the spammers.

Please, don't work for the spammers. The existence of this blog (and other, much more significant blogs and websites) may depend upon your discretion.

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Blogger Magic - Managing The Pages In Your Blog

Some blog owners are never quite sure how to manage all characteristics of the Pages, in their blog.

From time to time, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we see evidence of the confusion.

How do I hide the Home tab?

or

I can't rename my pages!

Some blog owners may know of one Pages management wizard, but not another. To the untrained, it may all seem like one big magic show.

There are actually 3 wizards, which let us manage the pages.

• The Configure Page List wizard (aka Pages gadget).
• The Layout wizard.
• The Pages wizard.

The Configure Page List wizard is accessed from the Layout wizard, by Editing the Pages gadget - or can be accessed from the blog face, using the QuickEdit icon, if QuickEdit is enabled. It has several functions, in managing pages.

• Change the Title of the Pages gadget, in the Layout wizard display.
• Hide / Show specific pages.
• Reorder specific pages, by dragging and dropping in the Page order wizard.

The Layout wizard is accessed from the dashboard. It has two functions, in managing pages.

• Provide access to the "Configure Page List" wizard, by Editing the Pages gadget.
• Relocate / restructure the pages list, by dragging and dropping the Pages gadget.
  • Drag the Pages gadget to the top of the blog layout, and it morphs into the tabs gadget.
  • Drag the Pages gadget into the sidebar, and it morphs into a linklist.

The Pages wizard is accessed from the dashboard. It has various functions, in managing pages.

• Hide / relocate / restructure the pages list, by changing the "Show pages as" selection.
  • Selected as "Top tabs", it relocates to the top of the blog layout, and morphs to the tabs gadget.
  • Selected as "Side links", it relocates to the top of the sidebar, and morphs into a linklist.
  • Selected as "Don't show", it disappears, and lets you develop your own page list gadget (or not).
• Reorder specific pages, by dragging and dropping in the Pages order wizard.
• Add pages, using the "New page" selection.
  • Selecting "Blank page", you can create a new static page.
  • Selecting "Web address", you can create a new dynamic page.
• Selecting "Edit" or "Delete" for a specific page beneath "Pages", you can
  • Edit the Title of a page.
  • Edit the content of a static page.
  • Edit the URL of a dynamic page.
  • Delete a page.

None of this is magic - though the differing abilities of the several different wizards may bring to mind the different members in a typical MMORPG team.

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All Template Changes Won't Always Be Visible, When The Blog Is Published

Not all blog owners appreciate the differences between using the various template wizards, and what they will actually see, once the blog is published.

The confusion about the various template wizards, and what is actually seen, expressed in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, is numerous.

Why aren't my changes to the template being saved?

This question is expressed in a number of ways - and has a number of causes.

There are a number of causes of template problems, in general.

• Some problem are caused by Blogger Engineering, as they manage the Blogger application.
• Some problems are caused by the blog owners, as they use (and yes, misuse) the Blogger application.
• Some problems are simply caused by the perception of the blog owners, and will never be resolved, to everybody's expectations.

If you're viewing this blog using a desktop / laptop computer, with a "normal" browser, and you can find the "View Source" control, take a look at the source for this page. Compare what you see there with the display in the Template "Edit HTML" wizard (and allow for some confusion, when using "Edit HTML").

• If you have a "normal" browser, and are viewing this blog in a "Designer" / "Layout" template, you'll see a lot of the same code, in both "Edit HTML" and "View Source".
• If you have a "normal" browser, and are viewing this blog in a "Dynamic" template, you'll see very little of the same code, in both "Edit HTML" and "View Source".
• If you have a "normal" browser, and are viewing this blog using a redirected "mobile" browser view, you'll see very little of the same code, in both "Edit HTML" and "View Source".
• If you're using a "mobile" computer, you probably won't even have an option to "View Source".

The bulk of the options in the Template "Edit HTML" wizard, in the "Layout" wizard, and in the Template Designer, are intended to change the "Designer" / "Layout" template views. The three wizards have much less effect, against the "Dynamic" / "Mobile" template views.

If you tweak the CSS settings in "Edit HTML" or the Template Designer - or if you change the layout using "Layout" or the Template Designer - you may not see all of the changes reflected in either a Dynamic or Mobile view.

Sometimes, this is because you have already tweaked the template improperly, preventing the wizard from saving your latest changes. Other times, it may be simply because the Dynamic and Mobile templates are not designed to let you tweak the settings in question.

We've also seen vague suggestions that having the mobile template active can cause the Template Designer font and style selections to be non operational. Font settings, made using the Template Designer, won't be saved and won't appear in the blog, when published. Right now, we're unsure whether the Live Preview window updates reliably.

And recently, uncontrolled customisation of the blog accessory complement, and of the dynamic template code, have caused instability in network access, when viewing blogs using dynamic views.

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Blogger Blogs Cannot Be Used As Gateways

We see evidence of confusion, from time to time, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

How do I move an established blog to WordPress (or any other platform), while retaining the history, reader interest, search engine reputation?

Some blog owners think blog readers are cattle (to be herded from blog to blog) - or monkeys (to be attracted by shiny things).

We've known for some time, that Blogger blogs cannot be used as gateways, with traffic automatically redirected from one blog to another - or from a blog to a non Google website. Use of traffic redirection scripts is a known cause of blogs classified as malware hosts.

If you wish to relocate a Blogger blog in another hosting service, you can always publish your Blogger blog, and a non Google blog / website, as dual hosts, in a non BlogSpot domain.

With your Blogger blog and non Blogger website published to the same domain, you can then combine the two, dynamically. Just remember to add unique content to each, periodically, to retain search engine reputation.

1. Publish your Blogger blog to a host in your custom domain.
2. Publish your WordPress (or any other platform) blog to a host in your custom domain.
3. Combine the two blogs.
4. Let your readers access either blog, as their choice.
5. Update both blogs, to retain search engine reputation, regularly.
6. When the WordPress (or any other platform) blog receives enough reputation and traffic, make the Blogger blog into a stub blog.

Just don't build a maze of blogs and web sites - and don't waste time or money artificially developing traffic. Blogger blog readers are attracted by interesting and useful content - and are retained by new content, added periodically.

And don't try adding clever code, to shuffle your readers from one blog to another.

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Confusion About Advice "If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record."

To Blogger blog owners who want their new non BlogSpot URLs to display their blogs, this conflicting bit of advice provides only confusion and doubt.

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

That advice was written to advise the use of the Blogger "Buy a domain" wizard, which provides non BlogSpot URLs for Blogger blogs, through a simple 15 minute purchase process. In September 2012, that simple process changed, slightly.

If you are trying to re publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL - and you are seeing an "Error 12" / "Error 32", or similar message in the Publishing wizard display - you need to add a second "CNAME" address to your domain.

The new "CNAME", added in September 2012, allows you to verify ownership of the domain to the Publishing wizard. Any time you re publish your blog to a non BlogSpot URL, you have to verify ownership. This prevents people who are not you from deviously publishing their Blogger blog to your domain.

If you are reading this, and you are the owner of any website which provides advice on how easy it is to purchase a non BlogSpot URL for a Blogger blog - and part of your advice mentions

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

Please, edit your instructions to reflect the reality of domain ownership verification.

If you are reading this, and you know of a blog or website which provides the confusing advice

If you bought your domain name from Blogger, you won't need to create a CNAME record.

let us know, below.

Try and reduce the confusion, when people have to re publish their blog, after using the Blogger Publishing wizard - or possibly after buying directly from a registrar. Help us, to help you.

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Confusion Over Accounts Locked For Suspicious / Unusual Account Activity

One of the more intriguing tales of Blogger blogs, currently being explored, involves blogs mysteriously deleted by Blogger.

My blog just disappeared from my dashboard - and no, it's not listed under "Deleted blogs"!

In some cases, the owner knows more than is implied, from the obvious wording of that problem report.

As Blogger / Google continues to improve the hacking / malware detection and removal process, they are making the recovery of accounts locked for "suspicious" / "unusual" activity easier - and more transparent. The increased transparency may, in some cases, cause mystery.

Diagnosing the many mysterious blog disappearances, currently being reported in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, may involve what the blog owner does not report - as much as what the owner does report.

Blogger / Google is constantly refining the hacking detection / recovery process, to both improve the possibility that any activity will be detected, and to make it easier for the victims of the hacking to deal with the recovery process. As they make it easier for the owners to recover the accounts locked, they make it less likely that the owners will mention the locked account recovery, when later reporting the blogs, mysteriously missing from the dashboard.

In some cases, the blog owner will provide vague clues, which refer to an immediately previous account unlock.

• Required to change the account password.
• Required to provide a phone number - and receive either a text or voice message with a recovery code.
• Required to solve a CAPTCHA.

All of these clues can be relevant to a locked account, or to various other anti-hacking / anti-spam activity by Blogger / Google - and can be overlooked as a locked account symptom, when stated in a forum problem report.

In other cases, the only clue provided will be that the blogs in question are missing, and not listed in any dashboard list - "Deleted blogs", "Locked blogs", or "My blogs". In cases where we've simply reported missing blogs for malware / spam review, to Blogger Support, we're later advised to instruct the blog owner to recover the account.

Since immediate review of any blog cannot be always guaranteed by Blogger Support, it's to everybody's benefit that we request clues to verify the problems being reported. Unfortunately, the questions asked may not always seem relevant to some blog owners, unhappy about the mysterious loss of their blogs - even though they may contribute to the problem, inadvertently.

And thanks to the possibility that not all blog owners may even get a notice when their accounts are locked, owners with multiple accounts may not even realise that a given Blogger account is locked. These owners find out that a given blog has been deleted, only after it goes offline and expires from cache. This will make some blog owners even less cooperative, when asked to provide diagnostic details about their problems.

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Comment Moderation Provides Limited Movement Between Queues

Not every blog owner understands the limited ability to moderate comments - and to correct a moderation decision, previously made in mistake.

We see occasional evidence of confusion in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I deleted a comment by mistake. How do I get the deleted comment back?

and

I marked a comment as "Not Spam" - but now it's not in "Awaiting moderation"!

The ability to move comments, in the moderation queues, is limited - and it's asymmetrical.

There are 3 queues, which are visible from the dashboard Comments wizard.

1. Published.
2. Awaiting moderation.
3. Spam.

Besides the 3 queues, there is a fourth possible state - Oblivion, which is not visible, and from which comments cannot be moved. Some blog owners may confuse Oblivion with a desktop computer standard - "Trash Can". This confusion can cause problems.

1. The contents of "Trash Can" can be viewed. Comments in Oblivion cannot be viewed.
2. The contents of "Trash Can" can be recovered. Comments in Oblivion cannot be recovered.

A comment, starting out in the "Awaiting moderation" queue, can be moved in several ways.

1. Into "Published", using the "Publish" button.
2. Into Oblivion, using the "Delete" button.
3. Into "Spam", using the "Spam" button.

A comment, in the "Published" queue, can be moved in two ways.

1. Into Oblivion, using the "Delete" button.
2. Into "Spam", using the "Spam" button.

A comment, in the "Spam" queue, can be moved in two ways.

1. Into "Published", using the "Not spam" button.
2. Into Oblivion, using the "Delete" button.

It's apparently possible to move comments back and forth, between "Published" and "Spam". Presumably, either movement provides some training of the comment spam filters.

1. From "Published" to "Spam", using the "Spam" button.
2. From "Spam" to "Published", using the "Not spam" button.

There is no similar symmetry of movement, for the "Awaiting moderation" or Oblivion states.

1. A comment in "Awaiting moderation" can be moved into either of the other 3 states - Oblivion, "Published", or "Spam". Once moved, a comment cannot be moved back into "Awaiting moderation".
2. A comment can be moved into Oblivion, from any of the other 3 states - "Awaiting moderation", "Published", or "Spam". Once moved, a comment cannot be returned from Oblivion.

If you're moderating comments, you need to understand the asymmetry. Once you move a comment, and you recognise a mistake, you cannot always move it back to correct your mistake.

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Confusion About The Post Feed Redirect Feature

The world of Blogger blogs contains a lot of confusing terminology.

Some Blogger features don't even have names. Some names, which I use, are terms which I made up on my own, years ago - simply because Blogger did not provide a name, at that time. One term, which Blogger did give us, still causes confusion. The term "Post Feed Redirect" seems to describe an option, in Blogger, to redirect the post feed to a different URL.

The Post Feed Redirect feature is used by some confused blog owners, improperly. There are several specific cases, all too common.

• Change the URL of the feed. Redirecting the blog feed, to simply change the URL, causes the feed to redirect to non existent content - or a dead feed.
• Publishing the blog to a non BlogSpot URL. Custom domain publishing provides automatic redirection of the blog URL - and by extension, the blog feed URL. Adding a feed redirect causes an infinite loop.
• Randomly expose the blog to new audiences. Redirecting the blog feed to a random redirector causes the blog readers to report a hijacked Reading List - and later, to simply remove the blog, using a redirected feed, from the Reading List.

This redirection, contrary to the term "Post Feed", also affects the comments feeds and the labels feeds, relevant to the blog where the setting is used.

Besides the fact that the option in question affects all feeds in the blog, the biggest confusion is that using the option does not actually redirect the feed - it redirects the references to the feed. People use this option in the expectation that it will change the URL of the feed. This option does not change the URL of the feed - it changes the URL used by references to the feed.

To change the feed references, successfully, you must have the URL mentioned by the setting already published, in a separate effort.

• If you renamed the blog to a different BlogSpot URL, you can redirect the feed reference, from a stub blog, to the feed published under the new URL.
• If you used a different service, like FeedBurner, to create a reformatted feed replica, you can redirect the feed reference to the FeedBurner feed URL.
• In either case, the URL has to exist, from a separate effort.

If you are reading this post, look down the page, after the "Newer Post Home Older Post" links.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

There is an example of the original feed reference. The purpose of the post feed redirect feature, long ago, was to let the blog owners generate a different feed for the blog - maybe a FeedBurner republished post feed - and force that link to reference the FeedBurner republished feed.

If you use that link, and subscribe to the feed from this blog, you should get a subscription offer, using the FeedBurner feed for this blog.

The Post Feed Redirect simply lets people setup and use an alternate feed URL, without having to update the code for all links which reference the post feed - such as that link.

That's it - pure and simple.

If you have - even unintentionally - misused the post feed redirect in your blog, it's easy to correct the mistake. Just understand why you should correct the mistake.

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Browser Cache, And Confusion About Blogs Locked After Suspected Account Hacking

The effects of browser cache, upon our Internet life, are not always understood.

Most of us know, by now, to clear cache and restart the browser, after updating a blog, for consistent testing. Some folks know that blog security changes don't always take complete and immediate effect.

Recently, we're seeing a new effect, reported by owners of Blogger accounts locked, after hacking activity is detected.

I got a message mentioning suspicious account activity, when I logged in to Blogger. I provided my phone number, and I received a code on my phone, that I had to enter before I could then log in. My blog was working fine just after I logged in. A short while later, though, it was gone. Why was my blog deleted, because I unlocked my account?

This blog owner is just slightly confused, about the cause and effect here.

Google robotic processes are constantly monitoring account login activity, and watching for signs of hacking activity, such as brute force password entry.

When hacking is detected, the detection may not be immediate - so Google protects us by considering the possibility that the hacking could have been successful, and deletes or locks blogs owned by the account under attack. The blogs in question are taken offline, immediately, when hacking is detected.

If a blog owner has just been working on a blog, as is frequently the case, the blog contents will be cached somewhere between the owner and the Blogger servers. Blogger can take the blogs offline, on their servers - but any cache containing the blogs will remain. If the blog owner is working on a blog while the Blogger account is under attack, what's in cache will remain, visible to the owner, until cache expires.

If a Blogger account is attacked, and the attack is detected, shortly after the owner has viewed a blog, what's in cache will be used, until it expires. The owner won't see the effects of the blog being deleted until the cache expires, and the browser tries to retrieve a fresh copy from the Blogger servers.

The blog owner sees the blog go offline shortly after he verifies account ownership, and thinks that the verification process caused the blog to go offline. In reality, the blog was taken offline before the owner even knew of "suspicious" account activity.

Now, the blog owner can do nothing, except wait until the account and the blogs are examined for signs of tampering. In some cases, no notification of progress will be received - and the owner will see the blog(s) returned to service, sometime later.

How much later the blogs return to service will vary widely, depending upon several details - and this variation, added to the uncertainty caused by cache latency, leads to mystery.

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