Diagnose Problems Using Affinity Testing

When you go to the doctor to report a health problem, you'll likely tell him

Doctor, I have a pain.

and he will likely ask you

Where does it hurt?

If you tell him

My stomach hurts.

he will probably ask

When does it hurt?

and

How long has it been hurting?

None of these are formalities or mere protocol, they are systematic problem identification procedures. We diagnose problems with Blogger, using similar techniques.

If you write in BHF: Something Is Broken and report

My readers can't access my blog.

or maybe

I can't access Blogger!

you'll likely get similar questions.

If enough people report a similar problem and provide useful details, we can identify an "affinity" to the problem. This may help Blogger Support to isolate a segment in their code base, or an errant server in their network, that's causing your problems.

If you report

Some of my readers can't access my blog!

you might be asked

Where are your readers located, who can't access your blog? Where are your readers located, in general?

and maybe

What language do your readers speak?

and

What language is the blog published in?

and

When was this problem first observed?

and

When was this problem last not observed?

None of these questions are asked, by the "doctors" in the clinic, or in the Blogger Support forums, as an attempt to annoy you, or to show off. And as simple as they sound, they are actually lead ins to much more complicated diagnostics, or maybe to referrals to other specialists.

Affinity testing compares multiple tests, and asks which tests produce the same results. Similarly, differential testing compares multiple tests, and asks which tests produce different results.

One of my simplest "tools" which I may use to identify an affinity would be my simple 7+ link set. That set of 7+ links (7 base links - plus more links which I may add, varying according to your initial problem report) represents a carefully chosen set of addresses.

Some addresses, in the link set, are in the Blogger / Google hosting space - and others may be outside Blogger / Google. Systematic analysis of the results of trying each link, one after the other, can lead to any of several different diagnoses.

If you have readers complaining of a problem with your blog, you can email the list of links to your readers, and have them click on each of the links, and report results. If the problem comes and goes on your computer, you can click on each of the links, repeatedly. By combining and comparing the results, you can identify an "affinity".

If you are given that list of links, as a reply to your question, and you're able to say (for instance)

I can access only #4 and #5 ("0001100").

or maybe

I cannot access #2 and #3, but I can access #1, 4, and 5 ("1001100").

you are well on the way to a diagnosis. On the other hand, if you can only reply

Some of the links get me nothing.

you are not as well on the way to a diagnosis.

Blogger provides a simpler (and no more consistently observed) affinity dialogue, at the top of the "Post a question" wizard, in some forums.

• Your Blogs URL:
• Browser(s) used:
• Location:

When properly answered

Your Blogs URL: http://blogger-status-for-real.blogspot.com/
Browser(s) used: Firefox V3 / IE V8
Location: California USA

There are good clues, that may help the helpers, or Blogger Engineering, to identify a new problem - and may help them to help you faster. On the other hand, a frequently seen set of mildly amusing "answers"

Your Blogs URL: blogger-status-for-real.blogger
Browser(s) used: i dunno, it came with the computer
Location: planet earth

are less useful.

It's your choice what details to provide, to the forum helpers. In the same way, you get to chose whether to tell your doctor that you've started smoking, again.

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Blogger Templates Cannot Be Easily Validated, Using Public Diagnostic Tools

We see panic, exhibited by many blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I used the W3 Template Validator, and got hundreds of errors! Is my blog broken?

This blog owner, like many others, does not understand the differences between W3 Standard HTML / XHTML, and Blogger HTML / XML.

The unpleasant truth is that, ever since Blogger released the Layout class templates, in 2007, Blogger has been providing templates that can't be successfully validated using HTML / XHTML standards. Blogger has a lot of features that don't validate, according to public standards.

That's not to say that the W3 Template Validator, and similar online analysis tools and code validators won't be useful, in helping you proactively check your blog for problems.

If you've tweaked your template, and / or added various HTML based accessories, you may find a few informative entries, in a typical validation report.

Upon examining the validation report for this blog, I can find more than a few references to various accessories and tweaks that I've made in the past, which I can identify. Some of the 498 errors (as of today) can maybe be fixed - but many can't.

If you want to look for problems with your blog, start by creating a test blog, using the same template that you have. Then, run the validation of your choice against your test blog. The report that comes from your test blog, you can use as a baseline.

Take your baseline report, and compare it with the report for your working blog. Unless you've done a lot of customisation to your blog, you'll find a lot more errors identified on both reports, than not. You can (maybe, should) fix the problems which are unique to your working blog - and you may have to walk away from the others.

Like the frustrations caused by referer spam, which you learn to live with, I may have to ignore some coding imperfections. Your blog may be the same.

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Diagnose Problems Using Differential Testing

Sometimes, you may find yourself reporting a problem, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken - and observe that nobody else has the same problem.

If there's any normal problem activity in the forum, you might find yourself waiting - in vain - for an immediate answer to your problem report. While you wait for advice, why not do some basic analysis of your problem?

A differential test set of your problem, based on some reasonably basic details, can help you see where many problems may originate.

Sometimes, you can identify the basic source of your problem - or at least, offer some ideas to a forum helper.

Similar to affinity testing, differential testing can be a big help when you have a problem. Here are a few simple differentials, which you can perform, with a little determination and planning.

1. Account. Use a different Blogger account, and try the same procedures against your blog.
2. Blog. Setup a different blog, and try the same features and procedures on the other blog.
3. Browser. Use a different browser, and try the same procedures on your blog.
4. Computer. Use a different computer, and try the same procedures on your blog.
5. Connection. Use this browser / computer from a different Internet connection - or use a different computer which uses a different Internet connection - and try the same procedures on your blog.
6. Logout. Logout from Blogger completely, when diagnosing a problem that involves viewing the published blog.
7. Posts. Identify the last few posts, published before you first observed the problems. Edit those posts, and save them as Draft copies.
8. Template. Change the blog, to use a different template.

Maybe, you can think of still more differential tests.

By changing exactly one significant detail at a time, and carefully observing the result of the change, you can at least get an idea what actions which you may have made, to contribute to the problem.

Use a different Blogger account, to maintain / publish your blog. As an alternative, first clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3, in this case!), then restart the browser. A second alternative would be to use an "incognito" / "private browsing" window, in this browser. Both alternatives may complement each other, when used simultaneously.

Set up a different blog, with similar features / content. As an alternative, ensure that your blog uses a standard Blogger template - then reset the post template, and remove any shiny third party accessories. Note that all problem third party code may not have been recently installed - but may still cause problems.

Use a different browser, to maintain / publish your blog. As an alternative, ensure that you have the latest browser update - then disable all add-ons and extensions, in this browser. The "incognito" / "private browsing" window may be useful, in this case also.

Use a different computer, to maintain / publish your blog. As an alternative, check (and update) all cookie and script filters, on this browser / computer.

Use a different Internet connection, to maintain / publish your blog. As an alternative, try changing your Internet address - if your ISP will permit this.

For problems which involve viewing the published blog, logout completely from Blogger. As an alternative, first clear cache, cookies, and sessions (yes, all 3, in this case!), then restart the browser. A second alternative would be to use an "incognito" / "private browsing" window, in this browser. In this case, all three alternatives may complement each other, when used simultaneously.

Remove any recently published posts, from the blog. As an alternative to deleting your recent work, edit each questionable post and save it as draft.

Use a different template, on this blog. After changing the blog template, remember to reset the post template. As an alternative, reset all gadgets and the post template. If you're using a custom, third party template, update to a Blogger standard.

If you have any experience with Blogger problem analysis and resolution, you'll note that none of the alternatives, suggested above, will create the full effect of the specific differential. However, each alternative will give you a partial differential - if the complete change is not convenient.

Many Blogger problems start with you - and can best be reproduced by you. That being the case, it's best that you try to reproduce the problems (or "bX codes"), through a differential analysis - and observe the results of your tests.

The best idea here is to try at least 2 differentials.

• Make one change at a time.
• Observe the results of each change, separately.

If you try a different browser - and magically the problem goes away, you're good - for right now. But what happens next week, if you experience a different problem? Do you want to try a third browser?

How many browsers can you use - and break - before running out of browsers, that you like? Using a second or third differential, now, may help you more precisely identify the cause of the problem - and that's when you are more likely to get the attention of Blogger Engineering.

It's a lot more useful to diagnose a problem, with you carefully making changes, and observing what happens, then it is for you to report

I can't see my blog!

and get the reply

Your blog is fine!

High level (differential) testing can go a long way, towards getting a problem identified - and possibly, resolved.

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Diagnosing The Mysterious bX Codes

One of the most misunderstood features of Blogger blogs is the mysterious bX codes.

Every day, we see the frustration

It says there's something wrong and I should give this "error code" so Blogger can fix it. What should I do? Where can I send the "error code"?

When you get a bX code, there's not a lot you can do, to directly diagnose the problem.

Excepting for diagnosing bX codes related to custom domain issues, your first step is to use Google Search, and target the complete code

bX-sp4hmm

Then see if someone else has reported that exact same code

bX-sp4hmm

.
After you use Google Search, you can help narrow down the problem - and maybe encourage other people to do the same.

You can identify which portion of your Blogger activity contributes to your observation of any specific bX code, using a differential analysis.

A differential analysis won't necessarily fix a bX code - most bX codes represent problems that originate deep within the Blogger code base. It may, though, help Blogger Engineering to identify the source of the problem.

Your details, added to similar reports by other blog owners, could make the difference between a problem that gets fixed in a couple weeks - or in a couple hours.

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