We're seeing a problem with Blogger Hosted Comments - and "Bad Request Error 400", following the use of the comment "Preview" feature.
When a blog owner or reader composes a long or important comment, use of the Preview feature is normal. Right now, after hitting "Publish", following a successful Preview, one frequently sees the bad news.
Bad Request
Error 400
There is a workaround for this annoyance - and it's not difficult to use.
Until Blogger Engineers fix the "Error 400" problem, there is a workaround - and the workaround adds very little time to comment publishing.
The most obvious alternative would be to not use Preview. But how well can you eyeball your comment, without Preview?
If you find it inconvenient to eyeball check a comment without using Preview, it's a small effort to copy then paste, before Publishing. Just a little planning, before composing, lets you copy then paste.
OMG, where is my comment? All my work, gone??
Opening a new tab / window lets you publish, after the preview / edit cycles (and avoid the "Error 400"), when composing an important or long comment.
Here's the key to the workaround. "Open link in new tab" - a context menu option, for any link.
With most browsers, you'll either "Alt" click or right click on the link, to get the context menu.
- Recover the comment content, if you're looking at the "Error 400".
- Open the post, where a comment is needed.
- Open a comment composition window, in a new tab / window.
- Compose the comment, carefully edited.
- When satisfied by the Preview display, click Edit once more.
- Copy the edited comment.
- Close that browser tab / window.
- Open a comment composition window, again.
- Immediately paste into the new comment composition window.
- Immediately Publish.
- Done.
Recover the comment content, if you're looking at the "Error 400".
If you're looking at the "Error 400" display, right now, refresh the display and follow the prompts. Recover the comment composition window, with your work in progress. Skip ahead, to Step #6.
Open the post, where a comment is needed.
Start with a post - and the "Post a Comment" link at the bottom of the post.
Open a comment composition window, in a new tab / window.
Click on the "Post a Comment" link - and use the "Open in new tab / window" browser option. With most browsers, you'll either "Alt" click or right click on the link, to get the context menu - and the "Open in new tab" / "Open in new window" option.
Compose the comment, carefully edited.
Use Preview and Edit, and the composition window, as necessary. Compose, preview, and edit - until your comment is properly phrased.
When satisfied by the Preview display, click Edit once more.
If it's an important or long comment, you'll use the Preview - Edit sequence, a few times. Just finish, with a final "Edit".
Copy the edited comment.
From the comment composition window, hit "Ctrl - A" to select everything as edited, then "Ctrl - C" to copy.
Close that browser tab / window.
Close the tab / window - and bid farewell to the carefully written content, and the Bad Request.
Open a comment composition window, again.
Click on "Post a Comment" from the displayed post - again, using "New tab / window". You will have an empty comment composition window.
Immediately paste into the new comment composition window.
Immediately paste the copied comment ("Ctrl - V") into the empty comment composition window.
Immediately Publish.
You already previewed and edited your comment - now, Publish.
Done.
The comment publishes - and, you're done.
Do this a few times - you'll see that this adds maybe 30 seconds to the comment composition / preview / edit cycle.
How long does it take to compose (preview, edit) a comment, to your liking? I take a lot longer than 30 seconds.
Just copy, close, open, paste, and publish.
And you're done.
Publishing a comment, using #Blogger hosted comments, following use of the Preview feature, subjects us to "Bad Request Error 400". Using a browser supplied new tab / window, and copying then pasting, we can workaround the "Error 400".
We periodically see hopeful - yet naive - requests from blog owners, in Blogger Help Forum: Learn More About Blogger, asking about comment moderation improvement.
How do I add a disruptive commenter to a killfile list - and never see his/her nonsense ever again, without moderating every comment, being published?
This would be a popular feature - if it could be provided, in any way that would achieve results.
Using a killfile, to filter disruptive / malicios commenters, is not a likely possibility.
Anybody who does not want to be identified can comment as desired.
It is not possible to reliabily identify a comment publisher, who does not wish to be identified.
- Blogger / Google identity.
- IP address.
Disruptive individuals can't be identified, with any chance of success. Anybody who wants to publish comments can do so, using multiple accounts, and / or IP addresses.
Both Blogger / Google accounts and IP addresses can be easily cloaked.
Using either multiple Blogger / Google accounts - or IP addresses - is a trivial exercise for anybody who is determined enough to persistently publish unwanted comments.
Given the impossibility of identifying people who don't provide effective identification, Blogger is unlikely to provide a feature that would accomplish nothing - and possibly interfere with legitimate commenting.
The only solution for blocking unacceptable comments will always involve collaborative, fuzzy filters, trained by each blog owner.
Some #Blogger blog owners would like to use a killfile, to filter unacceptable comments. They don't understand that anybody who wants to persistently publish disruptive or malicious comments can easily mask their identity - and make killfile use an exercis in futility.
One source of occasional confusion, seen in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, is about Google+ and the lack of control.
We have discussed the lack of commenting moderation options - but that's just a small part of what you don't get.Under Settings, then Posts and comments, I don't have the same choices as shown.
This blog owner is used to the array of comment settings, that seem natural, to somebody using Blogger comments.
With Google+ comments, you get one setting, under "Posts and comments" - Comments.
Comment Location
Everything else is part of Google+, and stream behaviour.
Anybody who can see the blog can publish a comment.
Besides the lack of moderation options, the lack of control over who can comment can be disconcerting. With Google+ Comments, anybody, who has an Exciting Google+ account, can comment - just as in the Google+ stream, anybody can post anything they wish.
Unless you, the blog owner, are in a Circle that's addressed by a commenter, you won't even see a non Public comment - even if your blog is mentioned. This leads to more confusion.
Why does the comment count go up for this post - even with no comments visible?
Google+ will count comments that you may not get to see. This too can be disconcerting. Anybody can comment, on your blog - and you can't see the comments. Comment moderation is left to the people who can see the comments.
Google+ Comments only work for public blogs.
But there's a more intriguing oddity. We are told to use Google+ for distribution of private blog posts - but you cannot use Google+ Comments on a private blog.
Google+ hosted comments only work, with public blogs. With a private blog, you use Google+ to distribute the posts - but you can only use Blogger hosted comments.
Since automatic post sharing only works for Public shares, you have to manually share each post - so you can select the appropriate Circles to view each individual post.
If you have a private blog, your readers can discuss your blog posts, in their streams - but nothing will show up on the blog. And, they can view the blog - and possibly comment there - but nothing will show up in their streams.
