Diagnosing Problems With Blogger Comments

One monolithic complaint, frequently seen in Blogger Help Forum, is

My readers can't comment on my blog.

This complaint, as with many like it, could benefit from some structured diagnostic practice.

Start by observing the complaint level that's currently endemic in the forums. Sometimes, Blogger will cause their own problems (yes, this is known to happen), and you'll see a flood of complaints. Here, it is helpful to be familiar with the normal complaint level.

If you wait a while, say an hour or maybe a day, and don't see an increasing flood of complaints about comments, maybe the problem is with your blog, or with your computer (your readers computers).

• Check the commenting settings on your blog.
  • Check Settings - Comments, for the blog.
  • Check the "Blog Posts" wizard. Look at the Post Page Options, and the 4th option. Make sure that option is enabled, and make sure that the caption hasn't been changed to something arbitrary, blank, or outrageous.
  • Check Post Options, for each post.
• If your blog uses Inline ("Embedded below post") comments, check the Settings - Archiving - "Enable Post Pages?" setting.
• If nobody can comment on your blog, check for post template corruption. If you're using a third party commenting platform, like Disqus, and you just migrated the blog to a custom domain - or changed the URL for any other reason, verify the URL in the Disqus setup or the blog code.
• If you (and other administrators) can comment, but no guests can do so, and if you're using CAPTCHA (word puzzle) verification, check for proper comment form size.
• If you have a private blog, note that selecting "Only members of this blog" for "Who Can Comment?" will leave your Designated Readers unable to comment. Readers are not blog members.
• If some readers can comment on your blog, and others can't, have the readers with problems check their Blogger accounts and security settings.
  • The most likely problem cause, in this case, would be "third party cookies", although security settings, in general, can cause the same effect.
  • If your blog uses a popup comments form, a popup blocker may block the comments form.
  • If the blog uses an embedded comment form, and / or CAPTCHA ("word verification") screening, third party cookies will need to be enabled, and any script blockers should be checked.
• If the problem is with your blog, and a solution is not immediately apparent, spend a few minutes and objectively evaluate your choice of comment form style, against the abilities of your readers.
• If you are unable to comment on other peoples blogs, again check security settings on your computer.
• If neither of the above apply consistently, consider that you have a compound problem. Now, it's time to try peer support, and Blogger Help Forum.

Whatever you do, be methodical and objective. And when you do make your report in Blogger Help Forum, be a good blogger. Make your problem report complete, concise, and polite.

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