Blog Readers Report Inability To Remove Blogs From Their Reading Lists

We're seeing an occasional report, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about inability to manage the Reading List, using the dashboard "Manage Blogs I'm Following" wizard.

Clicking on the dashboard "gear" icon to the right of "Reading List", one should expect to see a list of Followed blogs, in the familiar menu. In some cases, what is seen will be bad news.

We are unable to load your FriendConnect data at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again shortly.

Upon trying again, the same error is frequently seen, repeatedly.

Some frustrated blog owners report that this problem has affected them, for some time.

This has been an issue for months. I need to be able to remove blogs I no longer wish to Follow - especially those which do not have a Friend Connect gadget.

This is not a heavily reported problem - but the blog Followers who cannot remove blogs, especially when faced with spam in the unwanted blogs - will not see this as a minor problem.

We have observed that, in cases where Blogger: Manage Blogs I'm Following (from the "gear" icon) does not perform, you may try Google Friend Connect: Sites I've joined. The latter may work, when the former does not.

Using the latter wizard, you may have to sign into Google again, after clicking on the "Settings" link for the blog / website in question. Having signed in, you may have to click on "Settings" a second time, to get the "Settings" pop up window.

If the "Settings" popup window does not appear - or does not display or operate properly, you may need to check your cookie and script filters.

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The Content Of Your Reading List Is Your Responsibility

Occasionally, we see an odd problem report about Reading List content, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

How did this blog get into my Reading List? I did not Follow this blog!

Most people will not, knowingly, Follow a spam blog. This is one reason why Following is so popular - each blog owner, and blog reader can easily bypass, and actively block - spam. Spammers have, however, found devious ways to convince people to Follow them.

Nobody will, intentionally, Follow a spam blog. If we unintentionally Follow a blog which is owned by somebody gullible to the spammers suggestions, it's not difficult to identify, and stop Following, any blogs owned by gullible people.

You can, using the right reporting procedure, identify the blogs which offend you. It's possible that Blogger / Google will, given the right complaints, remove such blogs.

• Any action taken upon your report of problem blogs is subject to delay - and due process of law - before any results will be seen.
• The content which offends you may not be provided in a Blogger blog. Google has no power over non Google hosted websites.
• Any blogs removed as a result of your complaints will be replaced, in the spam blog cloud, which you are seeing, thanks to the blog which you are Following.

When you see content which offends you, in your Reading List, the proper resolution will be simple.

• Find, and remove, the blogs which you are Following - and which provide the problem content presence in your Reading List.
• Report the blogs which you are Following - not the blogs / websites which provide the unwanted content.

You may, at your discretion, add a third step.

• Report the blogs or websites which provide the unwanted content.

But do the third step, as a third step - not as the only step. Report the problem blogs - as Step #2 - here, or in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken. Be part of The Solution - not The Problem.

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Where's The Dashboard?

We see this confusion, a couple times a week, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?.

Where is the dashboard?

In the Classic Blogger GUI, the display which contained the "Blog List" (at the top), and the "Reading List" (at the bottom) was labeled "Dashboard". Many people also called the "Settings" / "Template" screens for the various blogs, linked from the Blog List, the dashboard.

The New Blogger GUI has no page with the label - and no links "To The Dashboard". The Navbar (another unlabeled feature) has two links - "Design" and "New Post" - which lead to different dashboard sections, when you are appropriately logged in to Blogger. And, the "B" logo at the far left of the navbar will, similarly, take you to the Blog List / Reading List.

The Blogger Dashboard is simply the "Blog List" / "Reading List", and all attached utilities which you, the owner, administrator, or author, access, as you manage the blog.

• Change various blog settings.
• Control the post template.
• Publish and edit posts.
• Edit the blog template.
• Add, delete, and reposition accessory gadgets.

It's similar to driving in The United Kingdom. Each major highway there is named for the neighbouring town, where it leads. If you drive from Town "A", to Town "B", the street in Town "A" will be signed as "Town B Road". When you look at the street signs, and you see that you are now on "Town A Highway", you will know that you are now in Town "B".

When you see the blog utilities, that you seek, then you are there.

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Follow Blogs, Without A Followers Gadget

Recently, Blogger cleaned up the Navbar somewhat - and removed the "Follow" link. This left some blog would be Followers inconvenienced.

How do I Follow blogs, that don't have a Followers gadget?

There has always been a third way to Follow a blog, provided by Blogger - though not everybody may be aware of it.

Blogger has earlier provided three ways for us to Follow any given blog.

1. The Followers / Google Friend Connect gadget, in the blog body.
2. The "Follow" link in the Navbar.
3. The "Manage" wizard, in the Reading List.

Not every option is available on every blog, or to every blog owner / viewer - but given access to a working Blogger account, you can at least give yourself a third option.

If you're looking at a blog that lacks a Followers gadget, and now with no "Follow" navbar link, just login to Blogger and go to your dashboard, and the Reading List display at the bottom of the Blog List.

• For The Classic GUI, the "Add" button beneath the Reading List.
• For The New GUI, the Gear icon gives use the Manage wizard, with a similar "Add" button.

Just click on "Add", and enter the URL of the blog.

When you Add a blog, you'll have two options to Follow - Publicly and Anonymously. In either case, this only works for Public blogs - Private blogs don't publish a feed, and can't be Followed.

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