Showing posts with label DMCA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DMCA. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Buyer Beware - Don't Buy Pre Published Blogs

Don't develop a blog, that's simply designed to host AdSense ads - and avoid pre published blogs, in general.

Blogs and websites that are blatantly designed as ad hosts are classified as "MFA" ("Made For Ads") - and are never accepted as AdSense hosts. AdSense, and Blogger, want blogs with quality content - informative, interesting, and unique.

Legitimate and useful blogs start with content that is important to the blog owner.

Blogger, some time ago, explicitly prohibited sale of blogs.

Either Blogger will delete the blog as spam - or AdSense will classify it as "MFA".

If you buy a blog, "blogspot.com" or custom domain, with content already in place, it will probably contain copyrighted material. If Blogger does not delete / lock it as spam, AdSense will probably classify it as "MFA" - and the blog will never display ads.

Blogger blogs are based on personal interest. When you buy a pre published blog / domain, you're buying somebody else's discarded personal interest.

Most people who sell blogs do so after learning that what they have won't host ads or get traffic. Pre used blogs are frequently subject to disapproval, by AdSense - or DMCA / Spam classification, by Blogger.

If you do the research, you'll find out why the previous owner sold it to you.

You'll probably end up with a disabled AdSense or Blogger account - and doing the research, you'll find out why the previous owner sold it. It's like a "lemon law" car. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is just that.

You would never, knowingly, buy pre worn underpants. Why would you buy a pre published blog? Start with an available URL, and add your own content. That's how you get content, reputation, and traffic.



#Blogger blogs are supposed to be based on personal experience or interest - using content that's informative, interesting, and unique. Purchasing a previously published blog, with content left in place, violates that principle.

A smart blog owner starts with an empty blog - using an available URL, and adds content.


Sunday, April 3, 2016

A Computer / Tech Blog Is Not A Good AdSense Host

Some blog owners do not understand why ads do not display, on their blogs.

We see a frequent complaint, in AdSense Help Forum: Blogger, YouTube, Partner sites.

I installed ads to my blog - but the ads are not showing. It has been several months already - and I have received no feedback, from AdSense.

Too frequently, the blogs in question turn out to be computer / tech blogs - many offering free downloads of various commercial products.

Many computer / tech blogs do not get AdSense ads, even if approved - for several good reasons.

  • Too many blogs, applying for AdSense, are tech blogs.
  • Too many tech blogs copy content from other blogs and websites.
  • Too many tech blogs offer downloads, and provide possible copyright violations.
  • Too many tech blogs offer code examples, and similar details that nobody knows.

Too many blogs, applying for AdSense, are tech blogs.

There's no market for more tech blogs, because there are too many tech blogs, already.

AdSense puts ads on blogs and websites that are relevant to the product being advertised. Relevant blogs and websites bring relevant traffic - and customers - to the ads displayed, and sell more product.

To get ads, a blog needs informative, interesting, and unique content. With the marketplace for tech blogs saturated, it is unlikely that any relevant blog will have content that is significantly more informative, interesting, and unique than the general population.

Even if approved to host ads, that does not guarantee that any blog will show ads at any time - or on all pages. Ads are placed when available, on the best blogs to host them.

Too many tech blogs copy content from other blogs and websites.

Content copied from other blogs and websites produces little traffic - and sells less product.

AdSense is going to put ads on blogs and websites with unique content, because blogs and websites with unique content get more traffic. And blogs and websites with more traffic sell more product.

Too many tech blogs offer downloads, and provide possible copyright violations.

AdSense won't put ads on blogs and websites which present possible DMCA violations. There is no system, right now, to identify what content, offered for download, is being offered by the content producer - so downloadable content, in general, is suspicious.

If AdSense was to place ads on a blog which offers downloads as significant portions of blog content, they would be placing Google in potential legal jeopardy, for content which is a problem with DMCA action.

Too many tech blogs offer code examples, and similar details that nobody knows.

People who need the code examples won't know the code, and won't search for the code - and your blog won't get search traffic that you need. Without search traffic, your ads won't produce money, for you or for the ad managers who would pay you to host their ads.

Your posts need details that people know, and can search for - as well as the code itself. Typically, this would be discussion about the purpose of the code, how to use the code, what is needed besides the code - and similar details, that people would know and could use in a search.

The bottom line.

In short, if you publish a computer / tech blog, you may have to come up with an imaginative twist to your content, if you hope to host AdSense content.



Some owners of #Blogger blogs which deal with computer / technical subjects don't understand why their blogs - even having been approved for #AdSense ads - don't show ad content. They don't understand that ads are not always available, for all approved blogs.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Deleted Blog Cases Can Involve Multiple Causes

Sometimes, blogs which are under legal action by Blogger / Google can be under action, simultaneously, for multiple, valid reasons.

Occasionally, we get angry complaints, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.
I got a DMCA Complaint email from Google. My blog was deleted, my dashboard is empty, I got no email from Blogger - and ChillingEffects has no complaint detail. How do I get my blog restored?
Since we don't review DMCA cases in Blogger Help - and with no dashboard or email records of a non DMCA deletion, the blog owner is left with no options.

It's not impossible that some blogs can be classified (righteously or spuriously) for dual offenses.

Some blog owners are guilty of multiple offenses, with multiple penalty.

A person who illegally copies content into his blog may also employ spammy practices. And citation for one TOS offense (DMCA) will not, necessarily, make a blog invulnerable from citation for other TOS offenses (hacking, porn, and / or spam hosting) - or even other possible problems.

The blog owner has 2 possible actions here.
  • Continue researching the offense, with ChillingEffects. Appeal the lack of offense detail, with ChillingEffects Support.
  • Investigate a separate offense with Blogger / Google. Diagnose a non DMCA abuse issue (hacking, porn, and / or spam hosting).

If investigating one offense is ambiguous, investigate another.

Employing the lessons of Occam's Razor, we conclude that, if ChillingEffects cannot provide details about offenses of a given blog, maybe the blog was deleted for a non DMCA abuse.

The next task is to diagnose a possible abuse related, non DMCA related, deletion. Lack of dashboard and email offense alerts generally cause some owners to return to the DMCA complaint.

If the monolithic lack of help by ChillingEffects is to not stall the investigation, we must continue with the non DMCA related possibilities.

Multiple accounts being involved can complicate research.

Many blog owners create multiple Blogger and / or email accounts accidentally (and never realise), or intentionally (then later forget). These odd, forgotten accounts are never of any importance, until the owner graduates from college, gets a new job, changes ISP - and forgets the account name / password. Or, has the blog deleted (for any of several different reasons) - with no trace of any warning, because the owner is using the wrong Blogger or email account.

So now, the blog owner is faced with researching a duplicate accounts issue. This is one more reason why every Blogger blog owner must, religiously, keep track of every Blogger and email account.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Try To Resolve Any Ownership Issues, Before You Request Spam Review

Spam review requests, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, are not unusual topics.

Occasionally, we get a spam review request, with a twist.
My blog has been deleted - but I don't have a "Restore", or a "Review" link on my dashboard!
There are various reasons for blogs disappearing from the dashboard, not all of which a blog owner may be immediately aware.

Consider The Issues
I find it's best to try to identify any content / ownership issues, before starting the spam review dialogue - or starting over, with a new blog.
  • It is almost always in the best interest of the owner, to request review using the dashboard link, before requesting a manual review in the forum.
  • If we bypass ownership resolution, and go straight to spam review, the blog may be restored to service. In some cases of "I have no 'Restore' or 'Review' link on the dashboard", the blog, when restored, will be under the control of the account which the owner should be using. This may not be the current account, which has no "Restore" or "Review" link on the dashboard.
  • This is the best time to diagnose and resolve your problems. If you give up and set up another blog - and if you make the same mistakes with the new blog - your Blogger account will be at risk, because you may look like a non repentant spammer.
  • If the blog was deleted because of multiple DMCA violations, nothing can be done from the dashboard. DMCA violations have a formal appeal process.
  • If the blog was deleted / locked because of detected hacking, absolutely nothing can be done. The account, and all blogs owned, have to undergo integrity checking, before any blog can be restored.
  • If the blog was deleted because of detected malware, it can only be restored, and review requested, using the "Restore", then "Review" links. If a blog, deleted / locked for malware, is submitted for spam review, the blog will sit in the spam review queue, then be returned with the verdict "Malware" - and nothing will be accomplished.


Too many Blogger blog owners, accidentally or intentionally, setup multiple Blogger accounts.

Accidental Multiple Accounts
Some blog owners accidentally setup new Blogger accounts. Too many blog owners, because of the Blogger / Google (One Account" login display, end up using the "Create an account" link - when they should login to an existing account, which owns their blog(s). When this happens, they are able to login to Blogger, but find an empty dashboard.

Seeing an empty dashboard, the next step is to recover control of the blog. When this is done, they now are able to login to Blogger, using the right Blogger account - but with the new, accidentally created account still out there.

Some blog owners will continue, periodically logging into Blogger, using the wrong account - then recovering control of the blog, using the email address. This procedure, cumbersome that it may be, will work fine - until the blog is classified as a spam blog, or until the original Blogger account is deleted or locked. In either case, the blog owner will login to Blogger, using the wrong account - but find no dashboard link.

Intentional Multiple Accounts
Other blog owners intentionally setup new Blogger accounts, to publish a blog, anonymously. As long as they religiously remember the proper account name and password, to access each different blog, this is not a problem.

The problem here comes when they forget about using the correct Blogger account, or become temporarily confused by the Blogger / Google (One Account" login display. With the blog in question deleted or locked, as above, they login using the wrong account - and find the Blogger dashboard, again lacking the expected "Restore" or "Review" link.

With either the accidental or intentional account creation, the blog owner will be unable to login to the correct Blogger account, and request review using the dashboard link. This requires the manual review, which takes more time to complete, if the blog was deleted as a spam host. If the blog was not deleted as a spam host, the manual review will be a waste of time.

If and when the blog is reviewed and restored, the owner will still be unable to access the blog from his account. The blog will be online - but with no active owner.

Consider The Possibilities
If the blog owner is aware of possible access, ownership, and TOS issues, before the review process is started, he may be able to resolve his mistake while the review is underway. This will allow him to take control of the newly restored blog, immediately - rather than spending time, after the blog is restored, going through the blog ownership recovery process.

Start Diagnosis Properly
Whatever the origin of the account confusion issue, diagnosis of deletion starts with identification of the owner account. The dashboard of the owner account - and email sent to the owning account - may provide key clues, that indicate why a blog was deleted. Knowing why a blog was deleted may help us avoid an unnecessary spam review.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Don't Copy Content, Inappropriately

Not all blog owners understand the necessity of having unique content, as the basis for a healthy blog.

We see questions periodically, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, about inappropriate use of content from other blogs and websites.
Why was my Blogger account deleted? I never argue when given copyright notices!
or
Why don't I have any readers? I have great content - the other blogs, where I get the content, get lots of traffic.

Google describes the overall issue, about copying content from blog to blog, quite plainly, in Blogger Help: Spam, phishing, or malware on Blogger.
Spam blogs cause various problems, beyond simply wasting a few seconds of your time when you happen to come across one. They can clog up search engines, making it difficult to find real content on the subjects that interest you. They may scrape content from other sites on the web, using other people's writing to make it look as though they have useful information of their own. And if an automated system is creating spam posts at an extremely high rate, it can impact the speed and quality of the service for other, legitimate users.

Spam classification is one of several penalties, which involve copied content. I've seen various content penalties, that are reported, from time to time, in the forums.

Some penalties involve copyrighted material - but non copyrighted material, improperly used, can cause problems. And unrighteous charges will inconvenience you, and cause other problems.
  • Content Warning
  • DMCA Violations
  • Spam Classification
  • Search Engine Reputation

Content Warning
If you copy controversial content, that does not belong in your blog, some of your readers will object. Originally used to block "adult" content from being viewed by younger readers, the "content warning" / "objectionable content" classification is broader in scope than it appears to be. This accusation is sometimes used by readers, who may object in quantity, to any irrelevant subject in any blog.

A Content Warning interstitial will damage your search engine result listings. You'll have to request a review of the blog, to get the warning removed. The people who review content warnings may not do so with high priority.

DMCA Violations
If you improperly copy copyrighted material, and the lawful owners complain, you can be cited for DMCA Violations. You will end up with posts - and later the blog - deleted or locked.

You'll have to search the ChillingEffects database, for details, and appeal the citation. If you don't appeal a citation, and if you continue to make the same mistakes, you can be classified as a "non repentant" abuser - and your Blogger / Google account will be deleted or locked.

Spam Classification
If you unwisely copy material, or supply material to be copied, your blog can be classified as a spam host, with the offense described as "scraping / syndication". This will require a spam review. Until the review is concluded, and the verdict is satisfactory, your blog will remain offline.

If you publish multiple blogs concurrently, with the same content, you can be classified as a spammer. If you publish multiple blogs sequentially, with the same content, you can be classified as a "non repentant" spammer - and your Blogger / Google account will be deleted or locked.

If your blog consists mainly of copied material - even if properly attributed, you will need your own material also. A blog with only copied content is still subject to classification. I strongly recommend no more than 10% copied content, to 90% original content - if you want any decent reputation.

Search Engine Reputation
If you copy or share content - whether cited for content, DMCA, or spam - your blog's search engine reputation will suffer. Multiple blogs and websites, with the same content, will result in higher reputation blogs and websites getting better placement in a SERP. Your blog will end up at the bottom of any relevant SERP listing - and your traffic level will drop.

Using Dynamic Content
If you copy a script from a third party website, that references dynamic content owned by that website, you are responsible for ensuring that the script works - or deal with the consequences. If you host videos served from the website in question, on your blog, this is similar to hot linking. If the video in question is removed by the website owner, and stops playing from your website, you must contact the owner of the website.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line here is that blog content needs to be informative, interesting, relevant, properly targeted, and unique. If you push the limits, you will regret your decision, eventually.

Your blog will need a good search reputation, to get readers. Start with good content, based upon what you know, and are willing to share.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Don't Try To Map The Boundaries Of Abusive Content

We continue to see signs of innovative publishing technique, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about deleted / suspended Blogger accounts, and deleted blogs.
My Blogger account was just deleted! I have gotten a few DMCA complaints, in the past - but I always deleted the offending posts! Why were all of my blogs just deleted?
This blog owner does not understand that multiple offenses must be resolved, to avoid abuse classification - and eventual account deletion.

Young children are always testing the limits, to see what behaviour they can get away with, before penalties are imposed, by their parents.

Spammers, like children, like to test the limits.

Spammers like to test the limits, in Blogger. They will publish multiple blogs, simultaneously, each with different innovative content / technique (aka borderline spam) - then wait to see what blogs get deleted. This is also known as "mapping the boundaries".

Mapping the boundaries, in Blogger, can have unpleasant consequences. Like any parent, Blogger / Google has some patience - but their patience has limits.

Blogger / Google describe what the limits are based on - but not where they are.

Blogger / Google define the limits, in their Google: Terms Of Service, and Blogger: Blogger Content Policy references. Blogger blog owners are advised to stay well within the limits.

Like any legal policy, "terms are subject to change", without warning. And, they are subject to interpretation, by Blogger Policy Enforcement, and by Google Legal. If you repeatedly test the limits, expect to be treated appropriately.

Consequences, for exceeding the limits, may not be pleasant.

The consequences, for blog owners exceeding the limits, are gradual - but finite. The intermediate and long term effects may not be pleasant.

When the final limit is exceeded, and penalties are imposed, the blog owner may have to start over, with a new account and new blogs.

The best advice is to stay well within the stated limits.

Don't test the limits, if you want to publish a Blogger blog, with any real future. Publish good original content, that informs and interests your readers. And, publish regularly. That is how you get traffic, to your blog.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Complaint Volume Affects Speed Of Abuse Resolution

We see various complaints, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about perceived poor response, in removing offensive blogs.
I've reported this blog, repeatedly, for impersonating me - and it's still online!
or
That other blog was removed from service after only a couple of days! Why is this blog still online??
These bloggers do not understand that complaint volume, against different blogs, can affect how promptly Blogger Policy / Google Legal can take action, and remove problem blogs.

Various details affect how many complaints are placed, against any blog.

  • Offensiveness. A blatantly offensive blog will offend more people - and will be reported by more people, than a mildly offensive blog.
  • Traffic. An offensive blog that gets hundreds of hits daily will be seen by more people, than a blog that gets a few hits daily - and will be reported by more people.
  • Victims. An offensive blog that attacks hundreds of people will get reported more than a blog that is only personally offensive, to a few people.

Each of these minor details will cause some blogs to attract more complaints - and to be examined sooner, by Blogger and by Google staff.

Blogger Policy Review and Google Legal prioritise blog investigation, based on complaint report volume.

Blogs which get hundreds of complaints will receive attention sooner than blogs which only get a few complaints. In some cases, the complaint volume may even be used as a major factor, in the final decision to terminate the blog. This is simple business practice, and one more principle of Risk Management.

Knowing that complaint volume affects resolution speed, do not make unnecessary multiple complaints - maybe under multiple accounts or names. Google Security uses sophisticated traffic analysis techniques in dealing with denial of service attacks - such as referer spam, and brute force password guessing. They can apply similar techniques to determine that multiple abuse complaints, against specific blogs, are coming from one person.

Don't subject your computer, or Google account, to placement in a "Denial Of Service" complaint offender database, from detected multiple attempts to have a mildly offensive (or personally offensive) blog deleted, for odd reasons - such as you need to delete your blog, but forgot the password.

Don't misuse the abuse reporting system. Remember that the other blog owners have rights.

Report an offensive blog once - then, be patient. And let Google Legal objectively evaluate the content of the blog in question.

Monday, August 4, 2014

DMCA Violations Must Be Appealed

Some blog owners don't understand the severity of DMCA violation citations.

We see occasional naivete, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken
I got email
After reviewing your account, we noticed that you have violated the terms of service frequently: http://www.blogger.com/go/terms. And where we have sent you several warnings about these abuses and offered you information about our policy towards repeat infringers, we were forced to disable Blogger service provided to you. Thank you for your understanding.
- Blogger Team
Why can I not login to Blogger, now?
This blog owners, and too many others, do not understand about the severity of repeated DMCA / TOS violation, upon their Blogger / Google accounts.

Too many blog owners simply accept the occasional deletion of their posts, and continue publishing.
I deleted the problem posts, whenever warned. Why did I get the notice about "you have violated the terms of service frequently"?
They do not understand that simply deleting a post, when cited for DMCA violation, is the same as entering a "Guilty" - or maybe "Nolo Contendere" plea, in a court of law.

Problem posts, when repeated, make the blog owner look like an intentional, non repentant spammer, mapping out the boundaries of what is accepted.

If your blog is cited for DMCA violations, it's to your benefit to appeal the citation - and hope that you're found innocent.

Of course, if you're guilty of DMCA violations, you'll have no valid recourse, other than starting over - maybe with another Blogger account / blog, maybe with a blog or website hosted elsewhere. That's your choice.

If you remain in Blogger service, you will be expected to clean up your act.

>> Top

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

DMCA Complaints Require Precise Examples

Occasionally we see confusion and impatience, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, about previously submitted DMCA complaints.
I have repeatedly submitted a complaint about "offendingblog.blogspot.com" - and nothing is done! How long must I wait, for results??
We should start by noting that Google staff attention cannot ever be promised immediately - but if a valid complaint is submitted, repeatedly, with no results, maybe the problem is in the presentation of the complaint.

Blogger Policy Enforcement staff advises us that a DMCA complaint, when submitted, needs to include precise and specific examples of the perceived problem. Each example should be described in two parts.

  1. A precise example of some content, in your blog, that was copied.
  2. A precise example of some content, in the offending blog / website, which matches #1.

Instead of guessing or combing through your blog, then through the offending blog / website, and searching for matching content, the Blogger analysts time is better spent taking your complaint and submitting the complaint to Lumen (pka "ChillingEffects").

You know how you have been offended - so tell Blogger exactly how you have been offended, in the DMCA Complaint which you submit.

As always, do not submit frivolous DMCA complaints - your bank account may require discretion.

And be careful to use the right complaint procedure. DMCA Complaints are for very specific and genuine copyright violations. Other offenses must be reported, using different procedures.

Friday, January 13, 2012

When You Search For Important Email, Search Carefully

Many Blogger / Google procedures involve email communications, with you needing to read - and respond to - email from Blogger / Google.

Some email systems automatically sort incoming email, and put important (and not so important) email into different folders. Many times, email from Blogger / Google may be sorted into a folder where you would not always normally look - or may be sent to an email address that you might not think of, immediately.

It's to your personal advantage, to find any email that is being sent to you - even stuff in Bulk / Spam.

One of the best known folders, besides Inbox, where email may be found would be "Bulk" / "Spam".

"False Positive" filter effects are unavoidable.

All email systems may occasionally put important email into either "Bulk" or "Spam". Any time when you are awaiting important email from Blogger / Google, such as when you are trying to recover access to your blog, or when you make (or maybe, need to make) an important purchase, always look in both the "Inbox" and "Bulk" / "Spam" folders.

If your email system provides an "Incoming" mail log, it's never a bad idea to scan the log, periodically.

Consider all possible email accounts that you might own.

Besides checking the multiple sections of any one email account, you should also consider the complex interactions between Blogger accounts, email clients, and Google accounts, and examine any possible email addresses - both GMail and non GMail addresses - current and past, with similar persistence.

Consider all individual email accounts, that may be combined automatically.

If you use GMail, or any email delivery service which provides ability to manage and use multiple email accounts from a single email desktop, you should check settings in every such email system, for multiple account setup.

Your Blogger account needs to be based on an active email account (GMail, or non GMail). If you are intentionally obscuring your Blogger account, you're going to have a problem here. There are various reasons why you may not see every key email message, in your Inbox, at first glance.

Diligent searching may reduce time spent in online forums.

Searching for incoming email, carefully, may reduce the amount of time you spend in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, asking for help retrieving your account name or email address from Blogger records, or asking why your non BlogSpot URL now redirects your readers to a page full of advertisements.

Prevent disappointment and future regret - check your "Bulk" / "Spam" folders, for all possible email accounts and clients which you use, periodically. And consider possible spoof filtering effects.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Recovering A Deleted Page Or Post

In late 2010, Blogger Support announced that they cannot provide the service to restore deleted posts.

Once you (the blog owner) delete a page or post, it's gone - though we have asked for a recovery option. Fortunately, there are several possibilities, to recover deleted pages or posts - though some work may be required.

There are several possible techniques, for recovering one or more deleted pages or posts, that were previously published.

The choices of recovery / restore may depend upon how the deletion / removal occurred.



The post was saved as Draft, because of DMCA violation accusation.

If Blogger deletes a post, because of an accused DMCA violation (righteous, or spurious), you'll find the post saved as Draft. You can, possibly, republish the deleted post(s) - though if you don't have the DMCA Violation accusation resolved, you risk having your Blogger account and blog deleted as a repeat and unrepentant offender.

The post may be retrievable from search engine cache.

If you can find the content of the post, in search engine cache, you can retrieve the PostID. Knowing both the BlogID and the PostID, you can edit the post, and re publish it.

If I was to delete this post, I (or another blog administrator), when logged in to Blogger, could edit this post, and Publish it again, using the Post Editor URL and the PostID - possibly with some extra effort.

You should see some or all of the following detail, in the top portion of the post - when you are able to find the post in cache. You can find "blogID" in other areas of the template. "postID" may be a bit elusive, though.

Note that different templates will put the "blogID" and "postID" in different places. What we see here is from this blog, previously published to the "Simple" template.

<meta content='24069595' itemprop='blogId'/>
<meta content='8899607620317019913' itemprop='postId'/>
<a name='8899607620317019913'></a>
<h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'>
<a href='http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/01/recovering-deleted-post.html'>Recovering A Deleted Page Or Post</a>
</h3>

Using "blogID" and "pageID" / "postID", I can build the recovery URL:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24069595#editor/target=post;postID=8899607620317019913

Similarly, for a deleted page,

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=24069595#editor/target=page;pageID=8872543322493900789

Blogger Page / Post Editor may use a different URL structure. Alternately, you may try

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=24069595&postID=8899607620317019913

or

http://www.blogger.com/page-edit.g?blogID=24069595&pageID=8872543322493900789

Using the above technique, and substituting your blogID and pageID / postID, you can recover the entire page or post, including all content and formatting - and the original URL. This technique won't work for un indexed blogs, or for new pages, however. Private blogs are unlikely to be indexed, also.

In some cases, even if you're able to retrieve the postID and recover the post editor session, you may be unable to re publish. If you get a bX error when re publishing, copy the contents from HTML mode - then make a new post, and paste. After you publish the new post, under a new URL, you'll have to add a Custom Redirect, from the Old URL to the New URL.

The post may be retrievable from blog feed.

You may, with a little work, be able to retrieve the BlogID and PostID from the blog posts newsfeed, using a text browser.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/posts/default

In that case, you can re publish the post, using the above URL construction. This may work, for pages, also.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/feeds/pages/default


If search engine cache isn't available, and if the blog publishes a post feed, you can possibly subscribe to the post feed in Google Reader or a similar feed reader, and retrieve the text content of the post. Having the text of the missing post visible to you, you can copy and paste the content, into post editor, and Publish the post again. Again, this may similarly work for pages.

Feed content retrieval will provide text, which must be reformatted.

Using this technique, you'll have to reformat the post content - as feed content is formatted relatively simply. When you publish the post, it will publish as a new post, with a new URL.

Again, add a Custom Redirect from the Old URL to the New URL, if you want to retain post reputation. This technique won't work for private blogs, or for blogs where the feed is disabled.

So, if you delete a post, or if Blogger deletes it on your behalf, there are various options for recovery - though neither search engine cache nor blog feed options will likely work, for private blogs. And some options may be more or less desirable than others.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Blogger Magic - Reporting Abusive Blogs Or People

The Internet Is a wonderful thing - it has brought many people, from many lands, together, ignoring geographic and political limitations. Unfortunately, "many people, from many lands" is not always a good thing. In any group of people, there will be people who do not know or understand each other - and there will be conflict.

Blogger / Google has given us tools to report a problem, when we experience conflict - and when that conflict involves someone else, misusing a Blogger blog. These tools were developed on an "as needed" basis - so don't expect them to be well defined, and well instructed, in every problem which you may have. And, you have to use these tools correctly - they are not magic.

If you report a problem, with a blog or a person, you have to report the problem properly - and you have to understand the limitations, both legal and realistic. Abuse reporting is not magic - you cannot wave a magic wand, and make your problems go away.

There are several possibilities, which you need to consider.
  • DMCA Violation. A DMCA Violation complaint is for obvious, and definable copyright or trademark violations. A DMCA Violation complaint can be filed against any Blogger / non Blogger blog or website.
  • Blogger / Google TOS Offense. A TOS Offense complaint is for any Blogger blog, which is offensive in specific categories. A TOS Offense complaint can be filed against a Blogger blog or Google website, only.
  • Any other complaint, that you may have, is a civil issue - between you, and the offending parties. Blogger / Google cannot assist you, in this case.

Use the right form, and the right reporting selection. We have the DMCA Violation Report, and the "Report Abuse" wizard, and they each have a different purpose. Within "Report Abuse", there are distinct reporting categories. When you report a problem, you need to use one wizard, or the other - and to select the right categories, when available.

If you submit repeated and blatantly inappropriate reports, you may be perceived as a spammer, conducting a denial of service attack against the reporting process - so submit one complaint, properly chosen and written.

Be realistic. Blogger / Google has to investigate, and verify your complaint - and the other party in the dispute has to have a chance to defend himself. This will require time - and may not produce favourable results, for you, personally.

Don't expect miracles. Any immediate and physical problems need to be reported to your local police agency, as they are the ones responsible for your physical safety. And when you deal with an Internet based threat, remember that there are many website hosts. Just because Blogger / Google is being used, right now, in your personal situation, does not mean that your attacker will only use Blogger / Google, in the future.

If you don't find a clear and well defined reporting category for your complaint - or if you don't get immediate or favourable results after submitting your complaint, you may do best to hire a lawyer - and when you do, choose one who is experienced in Internet legal situations.

>> Top

Friday, April 2, 2010

The DMCA Violation Form May Have A Just Use, After All

The MPAA / RIAA stranglehold, in the USA, on the electronic consumer, may have reached a peak with their ability to coerce the US Congress to pass the DMCA. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, thought by some to be the most noxious bit of legislation since the British Tea Act of 1773, may have a valid use, though.

It's possible that the DMCA Violation Form, which Blogger / Google provides, may be useful in reporting content that's been pirated, personally, from you. If you believe that your pictures, and / or articles, are being unjustly copied within Blogger / Google hosting space, you may get some relief from reporting this as a DMCA Violation.

Note, however, that a DMCA Violation report is a serious complaint, and can have repercussions both upon the source and target of the complaint.
Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is infringing your copyrights. Indeed, in a recent case (please see http://www.onlinepolicy.org/action/legpolicy/opg_v_diebold/ for more information), a company that sent an infringement notification seeking removal of online materials that were protected by the fair use doctrine was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys fees. The company agreed to pay over $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.


Don't use the DMCA Violation Complaint as a casual harassment technique - only use it where you are extremely certain that your legal rights are being violated. If the Fair Use Doctrine might transcend your personal rights, or if you are unsure here what your rights provide to you, protect yourself and contact a lawyer.

If you receive a DMCA Notice, and you believe yourself to be innocent of any wrongdoing, file a Counter Claim.
The administrator of an affected site or the provider of affected content may make a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. When we receive a counter notification, we may reinstate the material in question.


>> Top

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Including Content From Other Websites In Your Posts

I use excerpts of articles from other websites, in a few of my posts - when the other websites provide more in depth description of the issue being discussed.

I use some websites, such as WikiPedia, more than others. It's good practice to at least link back to the originating website, when copying or quoting any significant amount of unique content. There are so few restrictions, in general, what content we may include in our blogs - so it makes sense to be polite when we include content from other websites.

In most cases, and to keep my posts relatively short, I prefer to simply quote a brief, relevant snippet of content, and link back to the originating website.

In WikiPedia: Occam's razor, we see the advice
the simplest solution is usually the correct one.

For best results, ask for permission from the legal owner.

Since every different blog / website, with a different owner, could be published under a separate content policy, it's always best to ask for permission, before copying. Without permission, you could find yourself here later, asking about various content related penalties.

  • Some owners might appreciate the free publicity.
  • Other owners might not want their content used in another website.
  • Some owners might be paying a third party for the right to use their content.

You won't know, until you ask.

I like to add " target="_blank"" to any link that takes the reader to another website, however temporary.
In WikiPedia: <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor" target="_blank">Occam's razor</a></span>, we see the advice<blockquote>the simplest solution is usually the correct one.</blockquote>

Content such as Lorem Ipsum is ancient public domain, and it's available all over the Net. It may or may not be necessary to attribute that, for brief snippets.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

When you include original content from a specific website, however, it's good practice to attribute.
The text is derived from sections 1.10.32-33 of Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum (On the Ends of Goods and Evils, or alternatively [About] The Purposes of Good and Evil ).[3] The original passage began: Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit (Translation: "Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"). It is not known exactly when the text acquired its current standard form; it may have been as late as the 1960s. The passage was discovered by Richard McClintock, a Latin scholar who is the publications director at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, by searching for citings of the rarely used Latin word "consectetur" in classical literature.[1][2]

The original version (with the excerpted items highlighted) appears in Book 1, sections 1.10.32-33 (pagination varies by publisher):

[32] Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci[ng] velit, sed quia non numquam [do] eius modi tempora inci[di]dunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur?
[33] At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.[2]
- From Wikipedia: Lorem Ipsum


Blogger spam classification looks for scraped content.

Blogger is now diligently screening blogs for "spam" and other forms of misbehaviour. One of their classifications of "spam" is termed "scraping". Many blogs consist, largely, of content scraped from various websites, minimally relevant.

Your blog needs more than scraped content - if you wish to continue.

People who publish blogs that contain material from other websites, simply must make it a consistent practice to distinctly attribute copied material - or face the possibility of spam classification by the Blogger bot.

Note that, however you attribute, yor blog will simply serve as a gateway to the other source blog / website. With the other website higher in page rank than yours, you'll just be sending your readers to theirs - and the SERPs will list theirs ahead of yours.

You're not going to gain much - except empty volume - by including their content.

You will be responsible for content from other blogs and websites.

Note that any time you include material from - or link to - another blog or website, what you include or link to must be abuse and malice free. You are responsible for the comfort and safety of your readers - and anything that you do, to possibly disturb their comfort or safety, can cause your blog to be locked or deleted, as abusive or malicious.

A connection to another blog or website - using a feed, iframe, or link - puts a portion of your blog under the control of the other blog or website. If an abuse / spam classification bot determines the other blog or website to be abusive / malicious, your blog will suffer the consequences.

Friday, February 26, 2010

InterPersonal Conflict - Defamation Vs Impersonation

As blogs are being increasingly used by ordinary people, to make their mark in the world, they are also being used by people to annoy or assault others, mock others, and other attacks of varying severity.

In Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we regularly get questions like
How do I get a stalker's defamatory blog removed?
or
How long does it take to resolve an impersonated blog complaint?
or
Someone has created a fake blog using my name - how do I get Blogger to remove this, or do I just sue?

With these questions posed, the first thing that we need to do is identify the difference between Defamation and Impersonation.

Understand the difference between defamation and impersonation.

  • Defamation (libel, ridicule, slander, trash talk) is a civil offense. The offended party will need to get a lawyer, initiate a lawsuit, and / or get a court order requiring specific action by Blogger / Google.
    US domain sites such as Google.com, Blogger, Page Creator, etc. are sites regulated only by U.S. law. Given this fact, and pursuant to Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act, we do not remove allegedly defamatory material from U.S. domains. The only exception to this rule is if the material has been found to be defamatory by a court, as evidenced by a court order.
  • Impersonation (identity theft, masquerading), on the other hand, is a TOS Violation.
    Impersonating others: Please don't mislead or confuse readers by pretending to be someone else or pretending to represent an organization when you don't. We're not saying you can't publish parody or satire - just avoid content that is likely to mislead readers about your true identity.

You report TOS violations using the Blogger "Report Abuse" wizard. Problems which do not constitute predefined TOS violations are personal issues, which you have to resolve on your own, and using your own funds.

You use Blogger Help: Report a Terms of Service Violation, where you have selections for both Defamation, and Impersonation, among others. Selecting Defamation, you'll get the above advice.
Given this fact, and pursuant to Section 230(c) of the Communications Decency Act, we do not remove allegedly defamatory material from U.S. domains.
What will happen, as the CC TLD aliases are deployed for more countries, remains to be seen.

In either case, you should probably start by hiring a lawyer. Blogger and Google, being based in the USA, will decide the case, impartially.

Understand rights, responsibilities - and limitations.

Be aware of personal rights and responsibilities, and the limitations, before you start.

  • Yours.
  • The party with whom you are disagreeing.
  • Blogger / Google / Any other web site host.

Be aware of Blogger / Google legal guidelines.


You can make a complaint, but be aware of Blogger / Google's concerns. Just as they don't want you unjustly persecuted, they don't want a third party to be so, either.

You may check Blogger Help: Report inappropriate content - and Blogger Help: Harassment and bullying content on Blogger, for some suggestions, however.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A quick note about music blog removals

Earlier today, word spread about some popular music blogs that were recently removed from Blogger. While we make it a policy to not publicly discuss individual users or their accounts, we wanted to clarify a few things about how and when Blogger enforces its Terms of Service as they relate to our DMCA policy.

Last summer, we updated our enforcement of the DMCA. Our current policy is that when we receive a DMCA complaint, we:
  • Notify the blogger about the complaint by e-mail and on the Blogger dashboard.

  • Reset the offending post to 'draft' status, allowing the blogger to remove the offending content.

  • Send a copy of the complaint to ChillingEffects.org.

When we receive multiple DMCA complaints about the same blog, and have no indication that the offending content is being used in an authorized manner, we will remove the blog.

Inevitably, we occasionally receive DMCA complaints even though the blogger does have the legal right to link to the music in question. Whether this is the result of miscommunication by staff at the record label, or confusion over which MP3s are "official," it happens. If this happens to you, it is imperative that you file a DMCA counter-claim so we know you have the right to the music in question. Otherwise, if we receive multiple DMCA complaints for your blog, this could very well constitute repeat offenses, compelling us to take action.

Update: Should have linked directly to the instructions for filing a counter-notification.

Update 2/11/10:  We looked into this issue further and identified one case where a blogger did not receive notification of any DMCA complaints before their blog was removed. We're sorry about this.

We've contacted the blog owner and restored their blog, effective immediately, and we fixed the bug that caused the termination without prior notification. We're also looking into additional preventative protections. We know the DMCA process can be difficult to navigate, and we're working on ways to make this process as smooth as possible.

Navigate» Become author for this Blog