"Delete permanently" Means Delete, Permanently

For a long time, blog owners have been requiring the ability to delete their blogs.

In the beginning, people would delete a blog - whether intentionally or mistakenly - then change their mind, or realise their mistake.

I did not really want to delete my blog.

And the inevitable question.

How do I get my very important blog back? Surely, it's in your computer somewhere??

But this question was not always answered, with encouragement.

Too often, Blogger Support would be forced to give the bad news.

You deleted it, and it's gone.

Blogger added the "Deleted blogs" dashboard list.

Eventually, Blogger Support tired of providing negative answers - and Blogger Engineers added the "Deleted blogs" display, to the dashboard.

A blog, deleted by the owner, and listed under "Deleted blogs", can be recovered by the owner, when desired - up to 90 days from deletion. Unfortunately, the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list was not the final solution.

Some blog owners did not want a deleted blog listed, under "Deleted blogs".

Some people would delete a blog - then sometime later, learn that the blog was not really deleted.

I deleted my blog - but now I see it listed, under "Deleted blogs". How do I delete my blog, so it does not exist?

And the answer.

Wait 90 days - and it will be removed.

But that answer did not always satisfy.

I can't wait 90 days - I want it deleted, now!

And for that requirement, there was no answer.

Some blog owners might report deleted blogs, resurrected - but not by them.

Occasionally, we used to see a report in the forum, mentioning a blog that had been deleted - and was now online, with a new owner. Some resurrected blogs might have hacking, malware, or spam added by the owner - others might be part of an identity theft campaign.

Regardless of the nature of each attack, a few former owners were not happy with their personal situation.

Blogger recently added the "Remove permanently" option.

Recently, Blogger added the "Delete permanently" option, to the dashboard "Deleted blogs" list. Now, a deleted blog can be removed immediately, at the discretion of the blog owner.

• A blog, when deleted, goes offline - and is moved to the "Deleted blogs" list.
• If the owner wants the blog restored, he can use "Restore blog".
• If the owner wants the blog gone, he can use "Delete permanently".
• With "Delete permanently" used, the blog disappears from "My blogs".
• With the blog removed from "My blogs", there is no way for the former owner, or a would be new owner (impersonator / spammer), to request un deletion.

And, as noted in Blogger Help: Back up, import, or delete your blog

• When you delete a blog: you have a short period of time to restore it if you change your mind.
• When you permanently delete a blog: all of your blog information, posts, and pages will be deleted, and you won’t be able to restore them.

The "Delete permanently" option can't be reversed.

When used, the option "Delete permanently" has immediate and permanent results.

• The blog is removed from "Deleted blogs".
• The blog contents cannot be restored.
• The URL can never be re used.

In the words of the philosopher,

He's dead, Jim.

End of story.

Let's examine the deletion sequence.

Here's my dashboard - showing my test blog, awaiting deletion. Compare this display, with my test blog, deleted.

Go to the dashboard Settings - Other page, and click on "Delete blog".

There is the "Delete blog" wizard - and a chance to "Download Blog".

So, click on "Delete This Blog".

And, it's deleted. But what does that really mean?



Here's my dashboard - showing my test blog, deleted. Compare this display, with my test blog, awaiting deletion.

Here's my deleted blog, in the "Deleted blogs" list.

Here, I can click on "Undelete" - because I did not choose to Delete permanently. Or, I can click on "Permanently Delete", and end this, immediately.



We do get an on screen warning, before permanent deletion.

Deleting Nitecruzr Delete Blog Test is permanent and you won't be able to undo it



And again, end of story.

---

A #Blogger blog, once deleted, can be restored within 90 days - if "Delete permanently" is not used. Once "Delete permanently" is used, the blog and all content is gone - and the URL can never be used, again.

Blogs LIsted Twice, In The Blogger Profile Or Dashboard

Occasionally, an oddity in our Blogger profiles will cause confusion - and offer some blog owners a opportunity to make a bad mistake. For some unknown reason, some Blogger blogs may be listed twice, in the dashboard or profile Blog List.

If you are one of these blog owners, seeing the same blog listed twice in your dashboard or profile, think before you act! Check the URL behind the blog title, for each entry - you'll see an identical URL behind both.

Seeing the duplication and only wanting a clean list, some blog owners will innocently delete one of the duplicates.

I don't need two of the same!

Since the two entries reflect the same blog, the owner will see the list go from two of the same, to zero of the same.

Now where is my blog?

Hopefully, the mysterious blog will now be present in the deleted blogs list, and can be un deleted.

1. Possibly, the blog can be un deleted - and will produce one entry in the blog list. This is the best result.
2. Less desirably, the blog can be undeleted, and will simply restore both duplicate entries to the list. This is the realistic result.
3. Undesirably, the blog won't appear in the deleted list - or can't be un deleted, even if in the list. This is the undesired (but still possible) result.

Do you feel lucky, punk?

Recalling a few previous reports of this oddity, I've observed that the problem spans GUIs - both the Classic GUI, and now the New (2011) GUI. I'm pretty sure that the problem involves the Blogger profile - the Classic dashboard (dark blue / orange) is where I first observed this, though I won't say that the problem is not also present for blog owners using the new Google profile (orange / white).

It's your blog, and your profile - so you are entitled to see what happens. I recommend just accepting the uncertainty - you won't be charged any more for having two blogs, than for having one.

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Deleted Posts, And The Blog Feed

Occasionally, a bewildered blog owner will write into Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, and ask

How do I completely remove a post? I deleted a post - but my readers still could read it, in Google Reader!

Some owners are not clear about the nature of post deletion, and the blog feed.

One of the solutions for recovering a deleted post is to retrieve it from Google Reader. Even if you have not subscribed to the blog feed, you can, at any time, subscribe, and retrieve the text content of any previously published post. This solution works because once published, a post will remain in the blog feed for eternity.

Until the post is published, it's in Draft status. As soon as the post is published, the published copy goes into the blog feed. If you immediately revert the post to draft status, the post disappears from the blog main page (subject to clearing browser cache) - but once published, the post remains cached in the feed.

As long as the blog exists, and the blog feed exists (the blog remains public, and the feed is enabled), all previously published posts will remain cached in the blog feed. It may be possible to reset the blog feed - though both of these solutions should be examined carefully - for how your existing readers might be affected.

• Make a private blog, even momentarily. A private blog does not publish a feed.
• Turn off the feed, explicitly, momentarily.

Depending upon local caches of feed content, the blog feed may, or may not, be reset for everybody, with either procedure.

This is both good, and bad - but it is simply something that you can't change, easily.

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Deletion Is Not Alternative, If You Cannot Authenticate

Some supposed blog owners, unable to login to their Blogger accounts because they forgot the Blogger account name or password (or never bothered to remember either), try to compromise.

They figure that, if they can't regain access to the blog, then Blogger will be willing to simply delete the blog - and everybody will be happy. They appear to have overlooked the repeatedly stated policy, which promises us that our blogs will be ours, as long as we wish to own them.

The problem is, blog deletions are as sensitive to illegal action as account recovery - and illegal actions are a very real threat to our blogs.

Blogger exercises due diligence, in requiring proper authentication for Blogger account recovery.

Blogger can't delete a blog, any more freely than give control of a blog.

Any requested deletion, of any supposedly owned blog, must be no less controlled.

Blogger promises us

Blogger accounts and Blog*Spot addresses do not expire.

This means that our blogs will not be deleted, or transferred to the control of another person, without careful validation of the person requesting the deletion or transfer. If the other person cannot prove rightful ownership of the blog in question, Blogger is not legally entitled to delete the blog, any more than they are entitled to transfer control of the blog.

We are permitted to own and publish our blogs, without any minimal required activity, and without any required proof of our real life identity. We are entitled to publish our blogs when we see fit - and are entitled to come back to our blogs after any length of time - if we are able to authenticate ourselves.

Blogger lets us publish, at any rate we prefer.

Blogger will not harass us when we are inactive, whether or not anybody else offers to publish to our URL with more vigour. Neither will they give anybody else control of our blogs, either to publish - or to delete. Similarly, they won't give me - or you - access to somebody else's blog, or harass somebody else.

If you find yourself unable to access your blog, and delete it on your own, try using the improved Google account recovery wizard, before asking that Blogger delete your blog for you.

In limited cases, the Google tool Removing Content From Google may be useful. Finally, concentrate on making your blog or website more useful, and organically improving your reputation.

Retrieving The PostID, To Recover A Deleted Post

One of the challenges of using the Blogger dashboard "Posts" menu is the too easy ability to delete posts - if you are not thinking about what you're doing.

Fortunately, under the right circumstances, accidental deletion of a single post won't cause a terrible catastrophe - though you (the blog owner) will need to react properly.

There are several techniques to recreate or recover a post, after it's accidentally deleted from your blog.

You have to be careful, to recover the contents, published to the same URL as before.

• Recover from the blog feed, using scraped text.
• Recover from search engine cache, using scraped text.
• Recover from the blog feed, using the PostID.
• Recover from search engine cache, using the PostID.

The PostID, similar to the BlogID, is a non publicised identifier, which is attached to a post, when it's published to the host blog.

If you delete a post that's been cached by the search engines, you can retrieve the PostID from the cached content. Combining the BlogID and the PostID, you can directly access the Post editor display for the post itself, and re publish the post.

First, retrieve the BlogID. Next, do the same with the PostID.

The previous post in this subject, Recovering A Deleted Post, was cached by the search engines some time ago. Doing a search engine cache search, I can find a cached copy of that post.

Looking at the source code for that page, as cached, I look for (some line breaks inserted, here)

<div class='post hentry'>
<a name='8899607620317019913'></a>
<h3 class='post-title entry-title'>
<a href='http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/01/recovering-deleted-post.html'>
Recovering A Deleted Post</a>
</h3>

There's the PostID

8899607620317019913

Adding the PostID and the BlogID, I can now access the post editor, as

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

From there, I simply

Publish Post

or

Publish

or

Save

or

Update

depending upon what the Post Editor offers -
and my post, with all content and with the original URL, comes right back online.

If you have this problem, just do the same with your blog and page / post - and (hoping that your blog is cached) you should get similar results.

If the blog content is not cached, you may be able to retrieve the PostID from the blog feed.

I'll note that the post editor session, for a given blog, can only be used by a blog author or owner - this is not a security risk. Try editing my post, using the URL above, if you don't believe me.

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What Is The Mysterious 90 Day Period, After Blog Deletion?

We see periodic evidence of confusion, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, about deletion of our blogs.

I deleted my blog last year - can I get it back?

and

I deleted my blog last month - when will I be able to use it with my new Blogger account?

and

I deleted my blog, but it's still visible, on the Internet!

Not everybody is fully able to understand the "90 day" deletion policy.

Confusion about blog deletion, blog recovery, URL availability, and ongoing visibility have been a problem for many years.

The uncertainty started in 2011, when Blogger gave us the ability to restore our deleted blogs. That year, Blogger gave us the "90 day" provision.

From what we know, the "90 day" provision simply says that blogs deleted over 90 days ago, by the owner, cannot be un deleted. Blogger has yet to advise us, definitively, that a blog (URL), deleted over 90 days ago, would produce any secondary result.

• The URL won't be available, for use by you (under another Blogger account) - or by someone else.
• Any removal from search engine cache will happen only if you plan the deletion, before hitting "Delete blog".
• The blog will simply be un recoverable, by us, since Blogger does not archive deleted blogs for un deletion by us, over 90 days.

Further uncertainties:

• If the URL becomes available, it will be equally available to you, and to everybody else, at the same time.
• If you did not delete the blog, you may not know exactly when the 90 days clock started.
• We are not, with 100% certainty, able to predict that all blogs become available, even after the 90 days.

So don't tell your friends of the date when you will have the blog, re published under the URL - if you are depending upon deletion to make the URL available.

The 90 day period may apply only to blogs deleted by the owner. A blog deleted / locked for suspected spam hosting, by Blogger, may remain in that status indefinitely, until reviewed.

When reviewed as a suspected spam host, a blog will be either removed permanently (for righteous spam deletions), or restored (for spurious spam deletions), at the decision of Blogger Support. In neither case will this, reliably, make the URL available to the public.

Whether the blog is visible on our dashboards (or not), and recoverable by us (or not), unless we make preparation for updating services outside Blogger - for instance, Google Webmaster Tools - a deleted blog will be visible in search engine cache, for a long time.

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.

• Deleted by Blogger - saved as Draft, because of DMCA violation accusation.
• Deleted by you - visible in search engine cache.
• Deleted by you - visible in blog feed.

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.

You Can't Take It With You

Recently in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we've had direct contact with a few confirmed spammers.

These are people who have submitted to the noxious 4 step spam confirmation protocol, and who have been given the full benefit of the doubt.

When I come back with the unfortunate (to them) news

OK, all good things end some day.

Your blogs will, quite likely, not be unlocked. You might wish to review the Blogger and Google TOS.

http://www.blogger.com/terms.g

http://www.google.com/terms_of_service.html

the next post is frequently

OK, can Blogger unlock my blog so I can get the content, and move to another host?

or

Can I redirect my address to my new TypePad (WordPress, whateverspammyhostichose, ...) web site?

and the answer is

No, you cannot do that.

What you steal is not yours to keep, when you are caught.

Like ill gotten gains from robbing banks, you're not permitted to take your spoils of illegal act into your next life.

Content, search engine reputation, and traffic - all acquired while misusing Blogger and blogger resources - are not yours to keep, once you are confirmed as an abusive blog publisher. You stole all of those resources from genuine and honest blog owners. You are not permitted to keep any assets, illegally acquired.

If the police arrest you for fraud, and break up your game of "3 Card Monte" - and you're found guilty of whatever law prohibits your "game", you're probably going to spend a few nights in jail. When they let you go, they are not going to give you back your playing cards - or the money that you stole. If you want to get back in business, you'll need a fresh pack of cards - and probably, you need to start over, in a different city.

It's time to start over.

When the blog is deleted, the BlogSpot URL is locked, for life. If the blog was published to a custom domain, the domain URL is also locked, for life.

The BlogSpot and custom domain URLs won't be re usable, in Google. Ever.



Go away, please. You may, if you wish, start over - but the current life of yours is over. Maybe, find another source of income.

Just don't make the same mistakes, next time.

Want Your Blog Deleted Or The URL Freed Up? Do Not Delete Your Blogger Account

In March 2009, Blogger changed its blog deletion procedure, to let you recover a mistakenly deleted blog on your own, and to make a blog's URL available when the blog is deleted.

• When you use the "Delete blog" wizard in Settings - Basic, a deleted blog goes into a "Deleted But Recoverable" status.
• The blog is immediately visible on your dashboard, possibly behind the "View all blogs" link, and is displayed with an "Undelete this blog" link.
• 90 days after you use "Delete blog", the blog is truly deleted, and the URL is made available to the public, on a "first come, first served" basis.

However, this process applies only to deletions using "Delete blog".

• If you delete a Blogger or Google account, any blogs owned by that account are locked to that account. The URLs for those blogs will be permanently un available to the general public.
• If you want the blog URL to be immediately available to another individual Blogger account, you have to transfer control of the blog, properly.
• If you want the URL to be immediately publicly available, you have to rename the blog to publish to another URL.

Please, don't make the mistake of deleting the account that owns a blog, purely to transfer control of a blog to another account. If you do that, you'll have to

• Recover the owning account.
• Rebuild or undelete the blog.
• Transfer control of the blog, properly.

Do it right, the first time, please.

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Please Google, Restore My Deleted Account And Blog!

A frequently seen sign of confusion in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I? is the question

How soon after deletion can I reuse a blog?

And the answer is two part.

Immediately, if you can just undelete it using the same account. Never, if you are trying to transfer the blog.

Occasionally the response to that involves a complication.

But I deleted the account, to make sure that the blog gets freed up.

And now, the blogger gets no choice.

You have to reactivate the account, because the URL is locked to that account.

Now, the blogger has a four fold task ahead of him.

• If you just recreated the Google account, by creating a new account with the same email address, you have to delete the account just created.
• Re activate the original Google account, using Google Accounts: Contacting Support - I can't access my account. Select "No" for "Did this work?", and fill out the form that you see there.
• Alternately, re activate the earlier deleted Google account, using Google Accounts: Google Accounts: Forgot your password?. Enter your email address, then fill out the form that you see next.
• Re activate the blog, if necessary, by un deleting it.
• Finally, what he should have done in the first place.
  • Make a stub, then delete the blog properly.
  • Transfer control of the blog.

And next time, plan the change.

Please Blogger, Restore My Deleted Post!

As many bloggers are periodically enjoying the ability to restore their deleted blogs, other bloggers are discovering the limitations of that ability.

I typed for hours. I made one mistake, the whole post vanished, and just as I realised my mistake, AutoSave executed, and saved the empty post. All of that work gone, in an instant!

or

I deleted the wrong post! How do I get back the post that I deleted?

These folks are discovering the difference between deleting a blog (which can be recovered), and deleting / erasing a post (which cannot be recovered).

When you delete a blog, it's moved into a "Deletion in 90 days" status, and during the 90 days, you get the chance to change your mind, and restore the blog to operational status.

If you want to prevent AutoSave from saving an empty post at the wrong time, disable AutoSave.

Deleted posts are a different issue. From the "Edit Posts" menu, select one or more surplus posts, and hit "Delete Selected". You get one chance to change your mind.

"This action cannot be undone". That looks pretty final.


That's your one chance. Hit OK, and you're done. When you get past that point, your only solution is recovery / rebuilding - if possible. Blogger Support does not provide support, for recovery of deleted posts - sorry.

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Duplicate Blog? Delete The Duplicate, Carefully!

As Blogger makes it easier for us to use the Blogger wizards, occasionally we will do things that we don't need to do, simply by hitting one or two buttons that "didn't used to be there". Sometimes, we may even setup a new blog, without intentionally doing so.

So once you realise that you made a mistake, do you just go into Settings - Basic, and select "Delete This Blog"? Have you ever done that, and as you finger pushed down on the mouse button, looked at the settings and said to yourself

NO! Not that blog - the other one!

Too late. You just deleted your good blog.

Been there, done that.

And deleted blogs don't have a Recycle Bin (Trashcan for you Maccies).

Bet the second time, you'll do this with more care.

1. Go to Settings - Basic, and change the blog description.

   This blog is being deleted.

2. Look at the extra blog, and make sure that the description, in the header, says

   This blog is being deleted.

3. Go back to Settings - Basic, and look at the description again.

   This blog is being deleted.

4. Go to the bottom of that page, and hit "Delete This Blog".

That's a lot of work for nothing, isn't it? How much work might it eliminate? How quickly can you recover a mistakenly deleted blog?

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