"go.blogger.com", And SMS Based Blogging, Has Been Deprecated

We're seeing a few queries recently, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about a little used option in mobile blog publishing.

Is "go.blogger.com" down? I'm trying to claim a mobile token, but having no success.

This blog owner, like a few others, is trying to use a dying Blogger feature.

"go.blogger.com", and MMS / SMS, was the Blogger solution for blog publishing using "mobile" phones, provided several years ago.

SMS is a protocol used for sending text messages between computers, that was used on "mobile" phones, before most "mobile phones" became just pocket sized computers using "cellular" (3g, 4g, etc) networking.

You can think of SMS as the original "Chat" protocol, used before cellular Internet service became the normal communications service.

With the gaining popularity of using "smart" phones with cellular service, most people will publish blogs using either a browser on the phone, email (and "Mail-To-Blogger") on the phone, or (for supported phones) the "Blogger" app.

Recently, I asked Blogger Support if "go.blogger.com" and SMS based blogging had any future. The reply was bleak.

So that feature has been deprecated.

Basically, Blogger has moved onwards - and is trying to support mobile blogging using modern equipment and services.

Even when people in the USA were using "go.blogger.com" and SMS for blog publishing, SMS was a constant problem. SMS is a proprietary protocol, provided by various phone carriers, over the individual cellular networks.

Even with SMS in the USA, years ago, there were some cellular services providing SMS, that did not work with Blogger. SMS outside the USA is worse - and globalisation of Blogger made this a problem.

Nowadays, not every cellular service provides SMS. Most cellular Internet providers focus on regular Internet service. If you want to "chat" with somebody, you use a normal "chat" client like GTalk - or now, Google Hangout.

If your "smart phone" (or mobile computer) supports email over voice, you can use Mail-To-Blogger. If not, you'll need a modern and supported phone, with cellular Internet service - if you want to publish your blog using your phone.

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Mail-To-Blogger - July 2012

We have seen a significant number of reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, again mentioning inability to post to our blogs using EMail / Phone / SMS. The problem appears to have started several days ago - but was quiet for a while, and has been rather noticeable today.

Blogger Support posted last Thursday, acknowledging the problem - but since then, the problem appears to have gotten worse.

Oddly enough, I conducted my standard functionality test, and sent a message at 18:00 my time, which posted to my test blog at 18:16. Normal latency would be 1 - 2 minutes, not 16 minutes. Before posting, I was forced to update my MTB "secret word", as I examined my settings and found that the "secret word" had been previously cleared.

We have a rollup discussion where we are requesting diagnostic details, from blog owners observing the problem.

1. What is the URL of the blog?
2. When did you, initially, observe a problem?
3. When did you, most recently, observe a problem?
4. When did you, most recently, not observe a problem?
5. Do you receive an email refusal (aka "bounce back message"), or does the email / message simply disappear?
6. How long has it been since you last changed the MTB "secret word"?
7. Do you post using GMail based email, Non GMail based email, or Phone / SMS?

If you're able, please provide reports of your involvement with this problem.

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(Update 7/30): Blogger Support has reported the problem as fixed.

Update, 7/30: This has been fixed.

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CAPTCHA Verification Required For Excessive Posting Volume

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, we see a query from a confused blog owner.

I made a large number of posts today, and Blogger is now requiring me to solve a CAPTCHA, for every post. I tried to find the form to submit, so that my website could be reviewed, but I could not find it. What do I do, now?

This blog owner, like too many, does not understand the spam mitigation policy.

Long ago, we first became aware of the Blogger policy on excessive posting volume. At the time when the anti spam policy was first publicised, we were told that CAPTCHA screening would be required, for any new posts exceeding a count of 50 in any day - and that the counter would reset at the end of the day.

Recently, we have some blog owners explicitly state that they are publishing less than 50 posts, and still being subjected to CAPTCHA screening. There are two possibilities, here.

• The Blogger anti-spam policy is dynamic, and the threshold may vary, dynamically, depending upon details not being stated.
• The breaking time of the day may not coincide with the local clock observed by any blog owner. It's possible that some activity from the previous local day might contribute to a count of 50 posts, as observed by any given blog owner.

It may not be accurate, to advise any blog owner, reporting this problem, that exactly 50 posts, in any day, will consistently trigger CAPTCHA screening.

In complete accuracy, we can only note that excessive posting volume, approximating 50 new posts in any 24 hour period, will trigger CAPTCHA screening - and that sometime during the next 24 hours, the count would reset - and normal posting would then resume.

It's possible that the "24 hour" period is calculated according to a local clock - but the reset, following a period of acceptable activity, is a worldwide process for all blogs, simultaneously. This would make the reset period more like "48 hours", for some blog owners.

The exact time span of the "48 hour" period is not known. This is simply a reality of the 24 hour, worldwide, use of Blogger.

Other cases where high posting volume may be a problem include use of Mail-To-Blogger, and the Blogger app on smart phones. Mail-to-Blogger now produces Draft posts, which can be published from the Posts menu. We have reports that the Blogger app is also saving Draft posts - but we're not yet sure what options are provided for Publishing the Draft posts.

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