The Mysterious "Destination" / "Points To" Label

Some blog owners buy domains, for publishing a Blogger blog, and ask about how to address the domain.

What address do I use for "Points to"?

Other owners may ask a similar question, referencing "Destination" or maybe "Target".

There is no real difference, between all 3 labels. "Destination", "Target", and "Points to" all refer to the same DNS address value.

To compound the confusion, 4 different addresses are required, when addressing a Blogger custom domain root.

Defining the DNS servers used by the domain root ("naked domain") requires 4 address records - and the labels used, in the zone editor, will vary from registrar to registrar.

We know of 3 different labels, used by Blogger custom domain instructions.

The referential Blogger document How do I use a custom domain name for my blog? uses 3 labels to identify the 4 name servers, which are provided by Google. Blogger uses the triplet label "Destination, Target, or Points to" as their example.

Note that not all registrars use "Name, Label, or Host" and "Destination, Target, or Points to" - because not all registrar zone editors display addresses in a neat column based display.

Google provides 4 name servers, to give us multiple redundancy.

Google provides four mutually redundant individual servers, each responding to a specific IP address - for custom domain clients to address the domain root, in a round robin sequence.

There are 4 name servers provided by Blogger, to address a custom domain root.



Each domain root name server entry uses 2 important label values ("Name, Label, or Host" - and "Destination, Target, or Points to") - with a zone editor that displays addresses in columns.

Each label may have 1 of 3 values, depending upon the zone editor provided by the registrar.

Here is the Dig Log, for the domain root. Look at the 2, 4, 6, and 8, in the 4 address entries.

mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.32.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.34.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.36.21
mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.38.21

In the GoDaddy zone editor, you'll see these entries depicted as

  Host   Points to           TTL
  @      216.239.32.21    1 Hour
  @      216.239.34.21    1 Hour
  @      216.239.36.21    1 Hour
  @      216.239.38.21    1 Hour

The GoDaddy zone editor uses the labels "Host" and "Points to".

Similar labels ("Name", "Label" and "Destination", "Target") are used by various other registrars, in their own zone editor.

A Zone Editor display, showing the base DNS addresses, for GoDaddy.

Here is the display, used by GoDaddy, for "nitecruzr.co.uk".

Here is the zone editor display, as provided by GoDaddy.
Do you see the 4 address records, beneath "Points to"?



The labels in the address records differ, from registrar to registrar. The "Name, Label, or Host" address values (here, shown as "@") will differ, from registrar to registrar - but the "Destination, Target, or Points to" address values will not differ. A properly addressed domain will have the same 4 "Destination, Target, or Points to" address values, as every other properly addressed domain.

mydomain.com. 3600 IN A 216.239.3n.21

Each address will have one of four values for n: 2, 4, 6, or 8.

Complementing "Destination, Target, or Points to", we have another label set.

Complementing the 3 "Destination, Target, or Points to" label address values, for addressing the 4 name servers provided by Google, we have a similar set of 3 "Name, Label, or Host" label address values.

Addressing "Name, Label, or Host" is somewhat simpler - as all 4 entries are identical to each other, for any domain root address entry.

The Blogger instructions, like the GoDaddy zone editor, use "@", when addressing the domain root. The zone editor value used, however, may differ from registrar to registrar.

Any blog owner, wishing to have a working custom domain, needs to understand how to setup a domain for the registrar involved.

The end result.

Both the "Name, Label, or Host" - and the "Destination, Target, or Points to" - label triplets are only examples. Other unidentified registrars may use other labels.

Some registrars - such as 1and1 in their instructions 1&1 Help Center - Enter a CNAME for Your Subdomain - do not use a column based display. Neither "Name, Label, or Host" or "Destination, Target, or Points to" is part of the 1and1 instructions.

Considering the Blogger instructions, and the terminology required, Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue will not soon run out of blog owners, requesting assistance for making their custom domains work.

---

Some #Blogger blog owners, in the process of setting up their blogs using custom domain publishing, find that labels "Name", "Label", or "Host" - and "Destination", "Points to", or "Target" - are only examples, in the Blogger Help document.

There is no attempt at standardisation, used by the thousands of different Internet registrars, in their dashboards (aka "zone editors").




https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/blogger/kMDo0O1xtDM

Using The Meta Search Description In Your Blog

There is some confusion, about including "search description" meta content, in blog template code, to provide source for data shares to social sharing sites.

In various topics in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue, I've seen references to "data:post.metaDescription", "data:post.snippet", and "data:post.pageTitle" used, in providing the blog post source for the FaceBook "og:description" tag. As far as I can tell, none of these exist.

The Layout data tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which provides "og:description", does exist - though it seems to be referenced, ambiguously.

Some FaceBook Open Graph content references different Blogger tags, depending upon page type. The FaceBook "og:title" references "data:blog.pageName" with an "item" (post) page, and "data:blog.title"; with other pages.

"og:description", on the other hand, only references one Blogger tag - "data:blog.metaDescription". The latter appears to change its source, depending upon whether the main page, or a post page, is being viewed.

• In main page mode, the per blog "Description", from Settings - Search preferences, is referenced.
• In post page mode, the per post "Search Description", from the Post Editor "Post settings", is referenced.

Source listing for this blog, in main page view.

"What Blogger won't (or can't) tell you. Blogger features and problems explained, using real life examples."

Source listing for this post, in post page view.

"Blogger provides the meta tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which seems to vary in source. Learn how it varies."



There is no mention of "data:blog.metaDescription", in the reference Blogger Help: Layouts Data Tags - as either a per blog, or per post, data element.

In my earlier post, my reference to "'data:blog.metaDescription' name='description'" was simple. But simplicity can lead to confusion.

<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' name='description' property='og:description'/>

Some tags are universal, others vary depending upon page type ("item" being post page).

<!-- BEGIN Open Graph tags -->
<meta expr:content='data:blog.metaDescription' name='description'' property='og:description'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.pageTitle' name='keywords'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<meta content='article' property='og:type'/>
<meta content='https://plus.google.com/nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn/about' property='article:author'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.canonicalUrl' property='og:url'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.pageName' property='og:title'/>
<b:if cond='data:blog.postImageUrl'>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.postImageUrl' property='og:image'/>
<b:else/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<b:else/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.title' property='og:title'/>
<meta expr:content='data:blog.canonicalHomepageUrl' property='og:url'/>
<meta content='blog' property='og:type'/>
<meta content='http://xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxx/S1600-R/yyyyyyyyyyyyy.gif' property='og:image'/>
</b:if>
<meta expr:content='"en_US"' property='og:locale'/>
<!-- END Open Graph tags -->

'data:blog.metaDescription' name='description' is referenced once, in the template code - and the source is apparently determined, based on the context.

If you find this confusing, I have to agree with you.

---

#Blogger provides the Layout data tag "data:blog.metaDescription", which is used for the FaceBook meta ag "og:description" - for both blog main page, and post pages, when shared. This is in contrast to the FaceBook meta tag "og:title" and others, which use different Blogger data tags for the main page and post pages.

This variation has caused some confusion - and attempted use of different non existent Blogger data tags.

Blogger Terminology - Blogs Vs Posts

Sometimes, we see odd confusion in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue.

I deleted my blog - can somebody help me restore it? I worked so many days writing it!

or alternately

I am trying to write a new blog, but it says my url has already been taken (by me).

If the first owner is kind enough to include the URL of the deleted "blog", we may use our favourite online diagnostic tool - and discover that the blog is still online, and not deleted! In the second case, we may find a new blog, with one post.

Investigating further, we discover that the problem here involves terminology. This article that I am writing, "Blogger Terminology - Blogs Vs Posts", is a post, which is part of my blog, "The REAL Blogger Status" (which right now is actually The ONLY Blogger Status - but that is another tale).

The terminology here is pedantic, to us - but it's very real, to the blog owner who has just deleted an important post. Or to the owner who has published one post - and now wants to publish a second (not blog, post).

A Blogger blog is a collection of pages and posts, under a common root URL.

A Blogger blog contains pages and posts.

You publish new posts (and pages), to a blog, to add indexable content. Both pages and posts will add value, given informative, interesting, and unique material.

So why do some people confuse blogs, and posts?

So what is the confusion, between blogs and posts? I've seen some helpers muse that social networks, like FaceBook, may offer the option to create a "blog" as part of your Wall. A FaceBook "blog", which is equivalent to one Blogger "post", becomes one more article that's part of the FaceBook experience - which is passed on by one's acquaintances.

People used to writing on FaceBook walls may be used to creating a "blog", which we simply call a "post". It's a simple mistake. Similar to "blog" vs "post", some blog owners confuse "pages" and "posts".

Call it a "blog" - or a "post" - your choice - just please don't work on it, unpublished!

Whatever you wish to call it, please don't spend days editing it, before Publishing. Terminology aside, losing days of work is not a trivial concern. The lament described above is very real, for too many blog owners.

Also, don't create a "duplicate" blog, to publish a new article - add a post (or a page) to the existing blog.

Adding An HTML / JavaScript / Text Gadget?

An interesting bit of confusion is seen, occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken.

I added a gadget using code from a third party website - but the new gadget shows the code, instead of the gadget content, when I view my blog!

This is somebody who was confused by the options offered by the gadget setup wizard.

When you add an HTML / JavaScript, or a Text, gadget to a blog, you can get odd results.

"Add a Gadget" provides the "HTML / JavaScript" and "Text" gadgets - your choice.

The captions and labels in the "Configure HTML/JavaScript" or "Configure Text" wizard can be a bit confusing. From the "Add a Gadget" wizard, you can select either an "HTML/JavaScript" gadget ("Configure HTML/JavaScript") or a "Text" gadget ("Configure Text").

The "HTML / JavaScript" and "Text" gadgets are identical - excepting the title.

Both the "Configure HTML/JavaScript" and "Configure Text" wizards use the same code - the only difference between the two is the header.

• Configure HTML/JavaScript
• Configure Text

Everything else is the same. Either wizard can create an "HTML / JavaScript" gadget (in HTML mode) - or a "Text" gadget (in Text mode) - as you wish.

• When the wizard is in HTML mode, the caption at the upper right border of the Content window will read "Rich Text". Positioning the cursor over "Rich Text" (and noting that the cursor does not change to a pointer), and clicking on "Rich Text", brings up the Text mode of the wizard.
• When the wizard is in Text mode, the caption will read "Edit Html" - and clicking on "Edit Html" puts the wizard into HTML mode, again.

The title of the wizard does not change, when switching modes.

The header of the wizard - "Configure HTML/JavaScript" or "Configure Text" - will remain as it was when the wizard was opened, ignoring any mode changes. The caption, at the upper right border of the Content window, is what matters.

• If you want to add code (HTML / JavaScript), you will want the caption to read "Rich Text".
• If you want to add text (Rich Text), you will want the caption to read "Edit Html".

Being in the wrong mode will produce inconsistent and odd results.

If you're in the wrong mode, you'll be able to enter a limited amount of content - but with odd results.

• If you're in HTML mode (with "Rich Text" showing), you'll be able to enter text - to a limited degree. HTML is simply fancy text, with tags (special keywords and symbols).
• The HTML editor toolbar will lack a few buttons - and using special characters like ampersand ("&"), greater than (">") - and less than ("<"), will produce random and unpredictable results.
• If you're in Text mode (with "Edit html" showing), you'll be able to enter the HTML code - but when the blog is displayed, you'll see code (which is just text) in place of a working gadget.

If you just added a new gadget - and ended up with visible code, when you tried to setup an HTML gadget - now you know why. Similarly, if the "Save" button is now broken, and you are trying to add or update a Text gadget.

This is one of several possible causes of problems seen when adding / updating the HTML / JavaScript / Text gadgets.

Better Get Into The New Blogger GUI Soon - And Tell Blogger What Problems You Find

The New Blogger GUI (2011) was pushed out, during the past week, to a number of blog owners - and the complaints are showing up in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken. Some are polite.

Please, Blogger - allow us the option of staying with the old format.

and some less polite

Are you listening Google? Your new interface SUCKS!

Only one thing is obvious - many people, suddenly finding themselves using the New GUI, do not like the New GUI.

Unfortunately, there are real reasons why the New GUI has been developed - and those reasons are not going to go away. The New GUI is here - to stay. Right now, comprehensive and objective criticism is needed, to convince Blogger to make it better - before they remove the Classic GUI altogether.

Both major and minor features, developed recently by other groups in Blogger, and by other divisions of Google, are integrated into the New GUI.

• Blogger Dynamic Templates, and the supporting separation of the Layout and Template menu options.
• Google+.
• Better Post Editor.
• Better support for non BlogSpot (aka "custom domain") publishing.
• Blogs accessed under Country Code TLD Aliases.

We've seen evidence of all of these efforts, recently.

As long as Blogger has to maintain two GUI versions, they will have to move slower to keep both versions working. Staff has to be employed to both maintain both versions, and keep the various features in both versions working together. As long as there are two versions of the GUI, some staff, that should be improving the New GUI, is going to be busy supporting the Classic GUI.

One of the causes, of some New GUI problems, involves people switching back and forth between the two GUIs, to better use the features that they prefer. If you have observed problems with your blog recently

• Custom Domain Publishing.
• Post Editor paragraphing.
• Post Editor advance post scheduling.

you are possibly observing a problem caused by conflicting code in the two GUI versions. Until everybody is using the same GUI version, the conflicting code will continue to cause problems - and some Blogger Support staff will have to spend time identifying and patching the problems.

Yet, there are features that are present in the Classic GUI, that need to be added to the New GUI, before substantial numbers of people can start using the New GUI. In order to identify those features, enough people have to start using the New GUI - and let Blogger know what features are missing, that need to be provided, immediately.

We have a problem rollup discussion, currently hosted in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken, where we am actively soliciting comments from people who have tried the New Blogger GUI. Please keep your comments brief, polite, and on topic.

Just try to make your comments before it's too late - when The New Blogger Interface becomes The Blogger Interface.

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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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The Many Faces Of Spam Classification - And Varying Consequences

Many blog owners and readers are completely unaware of the many ways our AdSense, Blogger, GMail, and Google accounts, our blogs, and our forum activity, are subject to spam classification - and the various consequences that we may suffer, when we trip a spam classification threshold. Questions in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken are seen daily.

Why was my forum account locked?

and

Why do my comments go straight to the Spam tab, on my friend's blog?

and

Why am I seeing ominous messages about "suspicious activity" on my account, when I sign into Blogger or GMail?

These are but 3 examples of the questions, that we deal with, almost constantly.

Spam classification, by Blogger / Google is a collaborative, fuzzy, and ubiquitous process, which affects all aspects of our use of Blogger and Google services. Each different Google service may produce input into the spam classification process - and each service may be differently affected, when we are (righteously, or spuriously) classified as a potential spammer, by another service.

Some services may use automated classification or detection - and others may use user contributed abuse reports. When user contributed reports are used, collaboration - either by multiple users, or automated or manual verification by Google staff - is involved. A single, accidental click on a "Report Abuse" link will not cause a problem.

Some automated classification processes, on the other hand, may result in false positive detection. We are repeatedly advised that Blogger cannot whitelist your blog. The volume of spam content in Blogger requires immediate locking of all suspected spam blogs, with spuriously classified blogs being unlocked after review.

There are a few common sense ways that we may reduce the chances of many blogs being classified as suspected spam hosts.

Here are 3 services, which we use in publishing and viewing, and asking for help about publishing and viewing, various Blogger blogs.

Causes of spam detection

• Blogger account / blog
  • Spammy content.
  • No content, and clone detection.
  • Linking to spammy content.
  • Comments repeatedly flagged as "Spam", by other blog owners.
  • Use of URL obfuscation services, such as "gooo . gl", "bit . ly", or "spaam . ru".
  • Excessive posting volume.
  • Suspicious / Unusual account activity.
• Forum account
  • Post floods.
  • Spammy links, or excessive signatures in posts.
  • Similar to spammy commenting, advertising one's blog / web site in forums where it is not considered appropriate or relevant.
• GMail account
  • Brute force login attempts, using hijacked computers, supposedly controlled by Net based neighbours.
  • Repeated login retries, by the account owner, which can look like brute force login attempts.

Consequences of spam detection

• AdSense account
  • Deleted / suspended AdSense account.
• Blogger account / blog
  • Locked account.
  • Deleted blogs.
  • Comments going straight to "Spam" tab.
  • Having to solve a CAPTCHA to publish posts.
• Forum account
  • Cleared / deleted discussions list.
  • Frozen / deleted accounts.
  • Frozen / reduced forum Level.
  • Loss of custom forum icon.
• GMail account
  • Deleted / locked GMail account.

Other Google services will have other causes and consequences, too - and the combinations of the various causes and consequences are almost infinite. The Blogger Help Forums - and the various other Google Support forums - will remain in business for a very, very long time.

Choose Your Registrar, When Buying A Domain

When you purchase a domain - either as part of the "Buy a domain" wizard, or when you purchase directly from a registrar - you are free to use any registrar that you wish, for the purchase. The "Buy a domain" wizard (which should be your preferred method of purchase) lets you use either eNom or GoDaddy - and which registrar you use is your choice - though the choice is not made obvious, by the wizard layout.

The selection of which registrar to use, in "Buy a domain", is always your decision - though the selection process is somewhat obscure. Just go slowly, and look carefully for the right link.

Start from the Good News display. Find the tiny link at the bottom - "Learn more", next to the name of the chosen registrar.


And, there it is. If you don't like the choice made for you, pick the other.



The choice is right there - you just have to know where to look.

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Your Blogger Account: Privacy Vs Account Recovery

Occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we see questions about publishing a blog, anonymously.

How do I publish a blog, without having my identity revealed?

One of the best techniques for keeping yourself anonymous is to use different Blogger / Google accounts, for different blogs. But, there's a downside to that technique.

I can't regain access to my blog, because I don't remember the email address!

Sometimes, it's a bit more embarrassing.

I can't regain access to my blog, because I don't remember the GMail address!

And here, we see blog owners who took the need for secrecy a bit far.

Regardless of whether a Blogger account is based on a GMail, or a non GMail address, backup access - should one forget the account name or password - uses the email address.

You can't maintain anonymity, if you ever have to reveal your email address.

If you want to publish your blog without revealing your identity, that's fine - Blogger permits this - and even supports your need. In order to support this need, though, you have to allow them to refuse to disclose any personal details.

Neither the account name - or email address, should you forget either, can be disclosed, without revealing your identity.

If you maintain email account access, you can always recover Blogger access.

One of the reasons for using one's email address (Gmail, or non GMail) as your Blogger account name is so you won't forget the account name. If you forget your email address, you'll have worse problems than just inability to publish your Blogger blog.

You need your Blogger account based on an active email address.

Unfortunately, if you choose to use one "email address" to read and send your email, and a second "email address" (whether bogus, or genuine) to publish a Blogger blog, you are not as likely to remember your Blogger account name. That's a decision that you have to make. If you want to publish your blog anonymously, don't expect Blogger to gratuitously break your anonymity, later.

If you forget an identity detail, you must break anonymity.

In this case, you're going to have to hope that you can supply your email account hosts - either GMail, or non GMail - with enough personal details (anonymity not possible, now) so they can restore your email account, and / or recover access to your Inbox - and you can open the Blogger account recovery message, and regain access to your Blogger account.

If you'e forgotten the backup email address of the active account, again, don't expect Blogger to tell you what you need to remember. Now, you'll have do do some research, and hope that you can find the forgotten email address mentioned in email, in one of your remembered accounts - or maybe in a friends email account.

You'll have problem with a deleted / locked account or blog, without email.

This scenario will be intensified, when a blog is deleted for any of several different reasons - possibly including accused DMCA Violation.

There is one valid reason to have multiple email addresses.

There is one reason to maintain two (or more) email addresses. If you have a small business, or you communicate through your blog using email, don't use your Blogger account email for casual contact with the public.

Here, using two (or more) email addresses makes sense - but maintain Blogger account names and email addresses, constantly.

Use Google Two Step Verification, for extra protection.

At any rate, if you're able to recover access, this time, consider using Two Step Verification, for future protection. Especially if you travel.

Abuse Reporting - Personal Vs Private Information

One interesting example of the lack of precision in abuse reporting involves the nature of private information

When will Google do something about this blog that is publishing private information about me? They have my home address, my Social Security Number, my telephone number, for everyone to see!

This person does not appear to understand the difference between personal, and private, information.

One of the categories, in Blogger Help: Report Abuse, is

Posting of private information

You can report any blog, genuinely publishing private information about you. Unfortunately, everything that is personal to you may not be private.

Anybody with Internet access, and possibly also an active bank card, can access all sorts of personal information about you. Your name, home address, business address, make and model of your car(s) - and yes, your telephone number - is all visible, in one or more publicly accessible online databases.

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (aka HIPAA), medical records of US citizens are considered private information - and anyone publishing a blog identifying local residents, who recently had certain medical tests performed, would likely find their blog deleted, promptly enough.

On the other hand, getting a blog deleted, when it simply contains a directory of residents listing name, address, and phone number, would probably involve a decision from a local court, because none of this is private (though it is personal).

But wait - there's more.

If you successfully get your name and address considered private, by a court, will it really be private? If your name and address becomes part of a court decision, anybody with access to court documents can find it. And again, anybody with Internet access and the right bank card can search it out.

Face it - nothing - but maybe HIPAA protected medical records - is truly private. Your ability to have Blogger / Google delete an offending blog, not withstanding.

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Referer Spam Does Not Represent Real Traffic, To Our Blogs

We've been discussing referer spam for many years.

Every week, besides many people who wonder

Why doesn't Google put an end to this, for good?

there are occasionally some folks who wonder

But is this all bad? Doesn't this help us in our overall Blogger statistics as far as traffic counts go? If so, it's not all bad - for those of us with less than ginormous followings.

And both attitudes reflect people who just don't understand what it is.

We've already discussed, repeatedly, why Google can't just put a end to it, unilaterally.

The latter musing, considering that it may possibly be beneficial to any Blogger blogs, is no more valid than the former. Referer spam simply cannot be blocked, because it is not different from legitimate traffic.

Stats logs entries, from referer spam, do not reflect people viewing the blog.

The numbers reflected in our Stats logs do not represent any actual traffic against our blogs, or any websites with links to our blogs. The only person who benefits from referer spam is the owner of the advertised (fake referer URL) sites - and that happens only when we click on the links in the Stats display.

Only Stats, which builds its pageview counts and graphs using the Blogger server activity logs, is subject to referer spam. All third party visitor logs and meters, which depend upon snippets or widgets added to the blog template, are not subject to this problem.

Don't click on the links - and use a third party visitor log for verification.

So, besides my facetious advice that you simply

Don't click on the links.

comes equally facetious advice that you

Get a third party visitor log / meter, for accurate and comprehensive pageview counts.

The Need To Comment, Anonymously, Has To Remain A Possibility

Not all blog owners understand the need for people to post anonymous comments, against our blog posts. Periodically, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, we see the naivete expressed by some.

How do I find out who is posting anonymous comments to my blog?

These people do not understand the need for anonymous commenting.

You, as a blog owner, have the ability to select the level of authentication, to be required of anybody preparing to post a comment to your blog. For "Who Can Comment?", we find the selection list

1. Anyone - includes Anonymous Users
2. Registered Users - includes OpenID
3. Users with Google Accounts
4. Only members of this blog

People who wish to comment anonymously, yet provide a "Name" / "URL" to link back to their Blogger profile, or their blog / website, may do this at their discretion. Anybody doing this provides no guarantee of being genuine, however.

If you allow "anonymous users" to comment, then people who wish to comment anonymously need to be assured that their privacy will be respected. You can gather demographic data about your blogs visitors - and you may infer specific details about individual commenters - but the relevance of that policy will be limited by the precautions exercised by your commenters.

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Blogger Blogs - Know The Options

Remember buying an American manufactured car in the 1980's?

If you want Option a, you have to buy OptionPack 1. You cannot get Option b with OptionPack 1, Option b is only available with Option c and OptionPack 2. OptionPacks 1 and 2 cannot be ordered together. Option d is only available with Extended OptionPack 2, and cannot be ordered with Options b or c.

Some bloggers are starting to feel confused about Blogger and their options, reminiscing how I felt in the 1980s.

Right now, we have the following options, all ordered separately.

1. Classic vs Layout template.
   • Your blog is configured for a Classic (HTML) template using Layout - "Edit HTML" - "Revert".
   • Your blog is configured for a Layout (XML) template using Template - "Customize Design".
   • Your blog requires a Layout template, to have Gadgets, "Older Posts" / "Newer Posts" links (this distinction was removed in April 2010), Dynamic Label indexes, and Static Pages.
   • Your blog can use HTML content in a Layouts template, but cannot use XML content in a Classic template.
2. New Post Editor vs Old Post Editor.
   • The new post editor and old post editor are alternately selected, using Settings - Basic - "Global Settings".
   • The new post editor is required for the enhanced photo upload wizard and for static pages.
   • The old post editor is required, for spell check and video upload, in Production (Orange) Blogger.
   • The new post editor in Draft (Blue) Blogger has both spell check and video upload.
   • If you get the New Post Editor, it will apply to all of your blogs. If you are a member of a team blog, all members of the team will end up with the New Post Editor.
3. Draft (Blue) vs Production (Orange) Blogger.
   • Draft Blogger is accessed directly, as "draft.blogger.com".
   • Production Blogger is accessed directly, as "www.blogger.com".
   • Production Blogger will redirect to Draft Blogger, if you select "Make Draft Blogger my default", from the Draft Dashboard. But, you have to use the "Layout" link from the Draft Blogger dashboard. The navbar "Customize" link will always lead to Production (Orange) features, even if you have the Draft dashboard selected as your default.
   • Draft Blogger is was formerly required (the Template Designer was made a part of production Blogger in June 2010) to access the Designer Templates wizard.

So know your options, and pick what you need. And when you need help, state carefully which options you need help with.

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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.

• Blogger Content Policy.
• Blogger Terms Of Service.
• Google Terms Of Service.

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.

Schizophrenia And Custom Domain Blogs Published To Additional Virtual Hosts

Long ago, when custom domain publishing was first offered as an option by Blogger, there was a noticeable design deficiency.

If you published your blog to the root of the domain ("xxxxxxx.com"), you'd have no content for the "www" alias ("www.xxxxxxx.com") - and if you published to the "www" alias, the root would, similarly, lack content. It was a significant day for many custom domain bloggers, when this discrepancy was eliminated.

This deficiency was most noticeable because BlogSpot blogs have traditionally provided content to both the "xxxxxxx.blogspot.com" and "www.xxxxxxx.blogspot.com" aliases, for any blog with name "xxxxxxx".

Later, custom domains were enhanced, so you could publish your blog to somewhere other than the root or "www" alias, aka "Additional Virtual Host". The need for publishing to "blog.xxxxxxx.com" and having "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com" redirected to "blog.xxxxxxx.com" - or conversely publishing to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com" and having "blog.xxxxxxx.com" redirected to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com" - was a built in requirement.

Recent reports from Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken makes this earlier accepted convention appear to not, consistently, be true.

Some blog owners are reporting that, having published to "blog.xxxxxxx.com", they were then offered the option to

Redirect "xxxxxxx.com" to "blog.xxxxxxx.com"?

I experienced this once, tried it, and found that, yes, "nitecruzr.net" did redirect to "test.nitecruzr.net". Needless to say, I didn't leave it published that way, for long.

Some bloggers have reported that, when given the option to

Redirect "xxxxxxx.com" to "blog.xxxxxxx.com"?

they were alternately able to publish to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com", then were given

Redirect "blog.xxxxxxx.com" to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com"?

This is a non symmetrical option, but it will work. The blog will contain internal links to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com", but "blog.xxxxxxx.com" will redirect as suggested.

If your virtual host published blog gives you these options, try them. You can still advertise the blog as "blog.xxxxxxx.com". It's odd, but better that than having the root "xxxxxxx.com" redirected.

With the blog published to "www.blog.xxxxxxx.com", but your readers given "blog.xxxxxxx.com" for a URL, you may have a problem with search engine reputation. So having followed the above workaround, use Google Webmaster Tools, and the "Preferred domain" option to correct the search engines back to indexing the blog as "blog.xxxxxxx.com".

Your Blog, Schizophrenia, And The Search Engines

One of my most intriguing subjects (to me, anyway) examines the differences between the "root" alias of a BlogSpot blog, and the "www" alias (ie, "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com" and "www.bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com").

The fact that they are separately stored in browser cache will cause mysterious results, when the blog is viewed alternately using the two different aliases.

This is not a terrible problem for your readers, when they simply read the blog. It can cause problems with the search engines, though, as they index your blog based upon inlinks from your readers.

When you publicise your BlogSpot blog, you are hopefully careful to use only one of the aliases, consistently.

If this blog was published only to "bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com", that is the URL that I would use. But there are reasons why Blogger provides us with the use of the "www" alias too, and that has very likely spawned a community of bloggers who refer to their blogs using the "www" alias.

If your blog is inlinked by a blogger of the latter community, I will bet that some of them are similarly inlinking to the "www" alias on your blog. So now, you are going to have some readers inlinking to the "root" of your blog, and others inlinking to the "www" alias.

What do the search engines do? They index based upon the inlinks, then they see duplicated content between the two diferent addresses, and they levy the infamous "duplicated content" penalty. Worse yet - because of the asynchronous cache issue, they're going to also index different content occasionally.

Google has provided us with a solution to this "split personality" problem. If you setup Google Webmaster Tools for your blog, click on the "gear" icon, and select "Site Settings". For "Preferred domain", you'll have the choice to have your blog indexed consistently, as either the "root" or the "www" alias.

If you specify your preferred domain as http://www.example.com and we find a link to your site that is formatted as http://example.com, we'll treat that link as if it was http://www.example.com.

You should note that, if you're using a custom domain published blog, as in "www.example.com", this option is more likely to work if you setup the domain DNS properly.

A very simple setting, easy to make, and with apparently magical results. No more schizophrenic indexing. Simple, no?
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What Access Do You Have To Your Blog?

Occasionally, you see bloggers becoming confused about what access they have to their blog.

I can look at the Edit Posts menu, but there are no posts listed.

or

I can't access the Template Designer (edit the template, add users to the blog, ...).

These are bloggers who are confused over a blog where they are an Administrator, vs a blog where they are an Author.

Let's look at my dashboard, and at a pair of blogs which we see there.


Here's my dashboard. Among the many entries, you'll see one blog listed where I am an Author, and a second where I am an Administrator. Let's first look at a blog where I am an Author.


Let's look at "Edit Posts".

I'm an Author in this blog, and I haven't created any posts. There are plenty of posts in the blog, just none that I've created. I have no access to any posts that I haven't created.


Let's look at "Settings".

I'm an Author in this blog, so all of the Settings that I have are Email and Permissions.

The Email access gives you the ability to setup your own Mail-to-Blogger entry. The Permissions access lets people who have previously accepted Guest ("Author") membership in a blog to remove themselves, without having to contact the blog administrator.

Let's next look at a second blog, where I am an Administrator.


Let's look at "Edit Posts".

I'm an Administrator in this blog. Look at my Edit Posts menu.


Let's look at "Settings".

I'm an Administrator in this blog. Look at my Settings menu.


Let's look at "Design".

I'm an Administrator in this blog. I have a Design section (For a Classical blog, this would be "Template", but there would be lots less tabs under "Template".).



If you're not seeing either of the above, or you're seeing access as an Author, where you should be seeing Administrator, you lost access to your account or your blog.

• First, verify that you are the primary administrator / owner of the blog.
• You may have inadvertently created a second Blogger account.
• You may have tried to transfer control of the blog from one account to another, and made a mistake.
• You successfully transferred control to an administrator who should not have been trusted.
• You may have any of several different connectivity or security issues on your computer or network, which prevents you from accessing your account or your blog.

Unfortunately, these problems may be your responsibility to resolve, as you alone have the responsibility for retaining access to your blog, and for your own connectivity to the Internet.

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The Two Templates

Your Blogger blog uses two different yet related HTML / XML templates, in formatting and displaying your posts.

The blog template defines objects that are consistent for the entire blog - and the post template defines objects that are consistent for each post (though the content of each post will vary, from post to post). You can change the blog tempate, when you wish.

The post template, when the blog is published, becomes part of the blog template - but the two are maintained separately. This lets you change your blog template (and the page layout) without affecting the post template (and the posts layout), and vice versa. When Blogger makes changes to post related features, they change post template code.

The blog template is configured using the dashboard Layout and Template pages.

The blog template is configured using the dashboard Layout page - or the Template - "Edit HTML" Template Editor.

You can add / arrange objects on the page, and re locate any object that you want, anywhere on the page (with a few exceptions), using a GUI drag and drop process. Wherever you drag it, the object becomes part of the page, and displays in that location on the page. And when the page is displayed, the object in question is displayed there, with one copy of each object / page.

When there are problems with any of the blog content except the posts themselves, and the problem can't be resolved by editing a widget or using the Layout "Edit HTML" wizard, the blog template is possibly corrupt - or probably just out of date.

Third party developers don't have access to the latest Blogger post template code. If you install a third party template, you frequently get out of date post template code - and broken comment / post features.

A corrupt / out of date blog template is, most easily, resolved by getting a new template.

When you have a corrupt blog template, if you didn't back the template up previously, you'll have to use the "Pick New Template" wizard, and get a fresh copy of your template. Or copy it and paste it into the "Edit HTML" window. Note that each widget includes a quickedit function (the "screwdriver / wrench" icon), which is also part of the blog template.

The post template is configured using "Configure Blog Posts".

The posts template is configured using the "Configure Blog Posts" widget in the dashboard Layout wizard. You can arrange (but can't add) objects using the GUI blog posts widget. If you want to add an object to be part of the posts, and display with each post, you either add it into each post manually, or using the (Settings - "Posts and comments") Post Template "Edit" link.

The Post Template Editor (please, do not confuse this with the "Template Editor") uses HTML code, not GUI - and it works for new posts only.

When there are problems with the posts, and the problems can't be resolved by editing the posts using the post editor, the post template is possibly corrupt. This can sometimes result from unwisely applied tweaks, made by the blog owner.

A corrupt post template is resolved by refreshing "Blog1", using Template Editor.

When you have a corrupt / out of date post template, you have to refresh the post template. This requires that you reset gadget "Blog1", in the Template Editor.

Any time you install a third party template, you should refresh the post template. Third party template developers have their own product development schedules - and will not reliably have access to the latest version of the post template.

Note that the post template also includes the post quick edit function (the "pencil" icon), the comments, and the labels - all elements which are different for each post.

Be sure to backup the template, before and after refreshing the post template.

New Custom Domains "In Transition"

DNS, which is the backbone of Google Custom Domain publishing, is a distributed directory of all Internet hosts - like the Google servers where your domain is published.

We say that DNS is a "distributed" service, because the data provided to you, by DNS, resides not in one, or two, but millions of servers - all over the Internet, and owned by many different companies and individuals.

When you setup a new domain, using a DNS Management utility provided by your domain registrar or another DNS host, you can add the DNS entry when convenient to you. Some DNS management utilities will provide advice

Please wait 12 to 24 hours before trying to use your new URL.

or a similar message, simply because the DNS information that you enter, through the utility to your DNS server, has to be distributed to the other DNS servers, all over the Internet.

If your registrar's DNS servers aren't immediately accessible to the Google servers, and you try to publish to your brand new personal domain, you may see problems.

Seconds after you setup the new domain with your registrar, the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard may not be able to access the DNS entries which you just created. You'll probably see an old friend

Another blog is already hosted at this address.

where the wizard is simply saying to you

We don't see that domain pointing to "ghs.google.com".

In an alternative scenario, your registrar may be immediately accessible to the Google servers, you publish your blog to your custom domain, and you're happy. But wait - there's more! One of your readers, on the other side of the world, sees your advertisement

Hey! Checkout my new non-BlogSpot URL for my blog!

and checks it out, and gets another old friend

404 Not Found

because your reader uses a DNS server that has no immediate access to your registrar.

The latter two scenarios involve you when you manually set up your custom domain - using your registrar's DNS utility, followed by the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard. If you use the Blogger "Buy A Domain For Your Blog" utility, you use neither of those wizards.

The latter wizard takes a mere few seconds, when you're properly prepared. That wizard, replacing both the registrar's utility and the Blogger "Advanced Settings" wizard, can't include a 12 to 24 hour delay. So instead of the wizard taking 12 to 24 hours, it does immediately the work of the registrar's setup, and queues up a separate task - the equivalent of the "Advanced Settings" wizard - to run after the (formerly) "12 to 24" hours. To make sure that the "12 to 24" hour period is not too short, Blogger gives you (the DNS system) "72 hours" to catch up.

When you finish the purchase and setup of your new custom domain, go to your dashboard, and click on the "View Blog" link. There, you will likely see an old friend in the making

Your blog is in transition

Unfortunately, as I state above, the observed transition period has been 72 hours, not "12 to 24 hours". During the 72 hours (currently, slightly longer)

1. The blog contents will be published, using the new domain URL.
2. The BlogSpot URL will continue to load the blog with the BlogSpot URL.
3. The custom domain URL "mydomain.com" will load the blog with the domain URL.
4. You will, effectively, appear to have 2 separate blog aliases.
5. Accessories like Following will issue mysterious error messages.

   We're sorry...
   
   This gadget is configured incorrectly. Webmaster hint: Please ensure that "Friend Connect Settings - Home URL" matches the URL of this site.

During the transition period, consider carefully the dual personality of the BlogSpot URLs. Remember that the "www" alias of the BlogSpot URL does not simply redirect to the root of the BlogSpot URL, in the same way that the root of the custom domain URL might redirect to the "www" alias. Expect unpredicted behaviour here, when comparing the BlogSpot URLs.

If you are concerned with search engine reputation and visibility, and are diligently keeping your blog's sitemaps updated, you'll want to consider these issues carefully. You should wait until after the transition period has ended, to update the sitemap.

• You don't want the search engines trying to index a URL that might give them a "404" from their own DNS servers not having your new domain.
• You don't want the search engines trying to index the new URL while the old one is still active, and distinct, lest both the BlogSpot and domain URLs be perceived as "duplicate content".
• You don't want the search engines to start indexing the domain URL, until the BlogSpot URL provides the "301 Moved Permanently" to the domain URL, and gives the new domain its starting kick.
• You do want the search engines to start, re indexing the entire blog, as soon as possible - after migration completes.

Timing is everything, here. Wait until the Transition period ends, and the "301 Moved Permanently" is in effect. Be aware of the issues - and manage the migration, aggressively.

If you purchased the domain using "Buy a domain", the above details are not a problem, because Blogger applies the Transition time period, automatically. If you setup the domain yourself, after purchasing from a registrar - as is the case for every domain purchased after 2012 - you need to maintain a Transition period, yourself, or expect problems, during the first week or so.

Classic or Layouts Template? Your Choice (Maybe)

Does anybody remember Old Blogger (pre 2006), and the process of adding or relocating an accessory - maybe a picture or linklist - to the blog? For many of us, that memory is fast fading. New Blogger 2006, and the Layouts templates with their GUI linklist setup, is so much more user friendly. You can use a Layouts template with any blog published to a BlogSpot URL - or to a non-BlogSpot URL on a Google server, using Custom Domain publishing.

Even with New Blogger 2006 being the reality (and Old Blogger a distant memory), some bloggers are still stuck with a Classic template. Maybe by choice

I hate new Blogger, and the widgets. I like having a template that I can understand.

or maybe forced upon them

I want to publish my blog to my own server.

some bloggers are sticking with a Classic template. Publishing your blog to a non-BlogSpot URL on an external server, using FTP, requires static HTML and a Classical template.

Occasionally, you hear the puzzled question

What does this mean?

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly.

That's awfully mysterious, to the new blogger who just got a (Classic) template at Templates-R-Us, and tried to install it to his (Designer / Layout) blog. To those of us who have seen that message a few hundred times, it's a 5 second diagnosis. You cannot install a Classic template into a Designer / Layouts blog.

If you're lucky and you're simply trying to install a widget that uses HTML, all that you have to do is create a new HTML page element. If it's a full blown template, you're going to have to revert the blog to use a Classic template, before installing the new code.

Not everybody knows if they have a Classic or Designer / Layout template. To the folks who understand the differences, though, it's as clear as night and day.


My Classic Template Laboratory is where I test blog changes against a Classical template. See the "Template" link?



The Real Blogger Status (this blog) uses a Designer template, with its many widgets, to bring you the information that you need. See the "Layout" link (which will now say "Design")?



Another example can be seen if you click the "Customize" or "Design" link in the Navbar. What do you see then?

To edit a Classic template, you have 1 choice - "Edit HTML".

To edit a Designer / Layout template, you have several choices.

1. Edit HTML.
2. Page Elements.
3. Template Designer.

For some changes, you may have alternate solutions. And many changes are far easier to make, by using "Page Elements" or "Template Designer", than by using "Edit HTML".

You can generally access each of the above wizards using the (obvious) menu structure. In some cases, if the template is damaged, the wizards won't work correctly, so you may need manual procedures to access the right wizard.

Having said all of the above, I will note that you can use HTML in a layouts template, and that is easier to do than you would think. That's still a layout template, though - there is no way to add XML code into a classic HTML based template.

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