The Real Blogger Status

We have a small number of blog owners reporting problems using Blogger. My Blogger dashboard shows Oops! You don't seem to have a suitable Google+ Profile. You can go to Google+ to configure your profile, or switch to a limited Blogger Profile for use with Blogger. If you use a Google+ Profile, please ensure that it meets the Google+ Community Standards . I have a very active Google+ Following, Why is my profile not acceptable?

Everybody who has owned or read a Blogger blog, for more than a week, surely knows about the infamous bX codes - and has probably asked how to fix one. Some people have fixed one - but immediately, seen another. Others have seen theirs go away, then later discovered that the blog is broken. Some folks see the errors as major problems, others minor annoyances . it's disheartening to see that the bx error code problems are still existing. Not everybody realises that the codes are not the problems - they are simply a method to identify the problems. Many Blogger problems cannot be identified easily in language.

Occasionally, someone may publish a blog as private, invite / accept readers, then later decide that results are not as positive as desired. It's easy enough to change a blog, from Private to Public. Just go to the Permissions wizard, in the dashboard menu Settings - Basic, and change Blog Readers from "Private" to "Public". Unfortunately, this may not leave everybody able to access the blog. I made my blog public, last week. Some of my friends are now seeing Your current account does not have access to view this page. Why is this still an issue? The blog owner, in this case, is seeing the effect of cache, and authentication. In many cases, simple instructions to " clear cache, cookies, and sessions " may resolve this problem. This does not always work, however - and the mystery why it does not always work may frustrate us, almost as much as the original symptom.

Most of us, as we surf the Internet, are going to surf some websites, repeatedly. Everybody has favourite websites. When we surf the same website, over and over, some of what we do and see may not change a lot. To keep us from wasting our time, and generating unnecessary network traffic, our browsers keep track of the websites that we visit over and over, save records of what we do and copies of what we see, and note what has changed. The website content, stored locally, is known as "private" data.

Occasionally, in Blogger Help Forum: How Do I? , we see a plaintive query How do I remove my blog from using Draft Blogger? Some blog owners use Draft Blogger because of a specific problem - then discover later, that use of Draft Blogger, in general, is not a good idea .

Google has been providing single login access, to (almost all) Google services, for many years. Properly maintained, we can have one Google account, which lets us access all services, using one login. The single login approach is a convenience, when all of the services, which we use, are part of the same Google account. The single login approach becomes a challenge, when some of the services, which we use, are part of different Google accounts . As owners of Blogger blogs, there are some scenarios, where we have to deal with two different Google accounts simultaneously. Accessing non Blogger applications, like Google Apps . Recovering account / blog control . Transferring control of a blog . When we have to deal with two Google accounts, simultaneously, the single login approach becomes a problem.

We are currently seeing frustration, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , about new blog creation. Would be new blog owners have various concerns I can't create a blog - the "Create" button is grey (inoperative)! or It keeps saying Verifying availability when I enter a blog name!! or even It said This blog address is available. until I hit "Create blog!" - then it changed to Sorry, this blog address is not available.

Recently, we're seeing numerous reports from people in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , unable to successfully login to Blogger. I cannot log into Blogger - I keep getting this error The page isn't redirecting properly. Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete. In a few cases, we are seeing a key clue to the cause of the problem. This problem can sometimes be caused by disabling or refusing to accept cookies. And this now looks like another case of overly aggressive layered security procedures and settings .

One odd feature of the dynamic templates - giving your readers the choice how they want to view your blog - is a detail that not everybody seems to get. In the ongoing discussion What do you think of Dynamic Views? , we see some dissenting opinions. I don't like the fact that readers can change the way they view my blog. I want things to be viewed the way I set them up, and not have them be changeable by the viewer. Personally, as long as each view lets some people view my blog, I'm happy to let anybody select the template that lets them view the blog, as it pleases them.

Very few computers, owned by Blogger blog owners, members, and guests, are only used for participating in Blogger blog based activity. Almost everybody here publishes - or at least surfs - to other websites. Occasionally, when surfing to an unfamiliar blog or website, we may see an odd bit of advice. Your browser has cookies disabled. This may present a problem, as you surf this website. Click here to learn how to enable cookies, so you may use this website best. or We see that you are blocking JavaScript. If you want the full benefit of this website, you'll need JavaScript enabled. These are signs of computers that are properly protected, to prevent unwanted access by undesirable individuals or websites. Unfortunately, what is protecting us is also preventing us from using the blogs and websites in question.

Many Blogger problems that originate from conditions that we, the owners and users of our computers can control, start with clearing private browser data . Clear cache, cookies, and authenticated sessions - then restart the browser. There are known problems, though, with thoughtlessly clearing private data . Sometimes, it would be better to clear only the specific data that might be causing the problem - or alternately, logout then login , to correct some problems.

Many blog owners are familiar with the confusion or despair felt when logging in to Blogger, and not seeing a dashboard with the expected owned or Followed blogs. Help! I can't manage my blog! or Why can't I see my Reading List? These are problems that we deal with, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , daily.

The concept of layered security , as causing various problems with Blogger logins, with commenting, with Stats, and with Template Designer, will make some blog owners so desperate, that they are willing to try mysterious incantations and maybe even sacrificing an elephant , to get any of those applications working on their computers. Some blogger "experts" are so helpful, that they have come with an almost equally mysterious hint Install the latest version of Firefox (Use Internet Explorer, Chrome, what have you, instead). I did that, and it worked for me!

One of the biggest problems with Blogger, right now, is how we allow Blogger programs to run, on our computers. Whether a problem involves Blogger / Google logins, commenting, Stats, Template Designer, or the Dynamic Templates, Blogger writes the code - and we run the code - when we allow the code to run, without interference. If we want our computers to remain under our control, and not become part of one or more worldwide collection of computers controlled by hackers , we have to be selective about what code we allow to run on our computers .

I've been advising people about clearing cache and cookies , for a long time. Recently, I realised that terminology is changing - and some browsers refer to "cache" and "cookies" generically as "private data". Some browsers also refer to a third type of "private data", as "active logins" or "authenticated sessions". It's important to understand why you should not clear cache, cookies, and sessions, indiscriminately - and when you should clear cache, cookies, and sessions .

I've been advising people with various problems with accessing and maintaining Blogger blogs, that involve cache and cookies , for a while. Recently, I explored the ongoing problem with Blogger Stats and the "Don't track my pageviews" setting . Besides the known (and widely argued) problem with blocked third party cookies , I discovered a similar problem, with cookies being cleared when the browser is closed . Besides Stats, it appears that the Blogger login process, and authenticated commenting, are also sensitive to blocked cookies / scripts - and to inappropriately cleared content. If regular clearing "cache and cookies" , which is now generally known as "private data", is part of your browser optimisation or security strategy, you may wish to examine your policies carefully. If you have a problem with cookie filtering, clearing cookies won't make your problem go away. If you want to avoid problems with Commenting, Login, and Stats...

Occasionally in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken , we see the panic. OMG, all of the blogs - hundreds of them - that I was Following just disappeared! Sometimes, this points to a major problem with Following - and combining a low background noise level in the forum, and understanding of epidemiological trends in the forums , we may unearth a new problem. Frequently, though, this does not point to any catastrophe at all.

In every Blogger forum I read, you see occasional complaints I just made changes to my blog. Other folks can see my changes, but I can't. What is the problem? The buttons on my Post Edit toolbar / my Navbar won't do anything. Help!! The problem is quite simple. Portions of your blog, and of every other website that you've accesed recently, are stored locally, on your computer . The next time you access that blog or website, your computer won't have to waste your bandwidth downloading the same files. Have you ever noticed that the first time you visit a new website, you computer seems to run slower than subsequent times accessing that same website? This is not your imagination. In some cases, as when you make changes and can't see those changes immediately, this is not a good thing. Until a file reaches a certain age (sits locally on your computer for a while), your computer won't even bother to check for its update. Your friends will see the changes, ...

All too frequently, you read complaints I sign in from the Navbar link, but it pops up my dashboard for the wrong account. or Help! I started my browser, but it says I'm logged in. I can't get to the page layout editor. or I checked "Remember Me". It still makes me login, each time. Why?? or even Help! My blogs are missing from my dashboard!! And even after clearing cache and restarting , the problem remains. But besides what's stored in cache, you have another factor affecting what you see in your browser. Cookies. The cookies contain settings, used by the many web pages that you've loaded onto your computer, that affect how those pages get displayed . The cache contains the actual page contents , as temporary files. Cache and Cookies complement each other, but don't confuse them - they are not the same. The problem is that many security experts believe that cookies are a major security threat. Many well trusted security malware...

If you're a Blogger Unpaid Staff Member, like me, you just posted to your blog (and with no errors ), and you're getting any of the several afflictions that so many are complaining of, when trying to access your blog: A blank screen. The blog will load as HTML, or look like garbage. Only part of the blog will load. Any or all of the following may apply: Posts will be missing from the body. Part or all of the sidebar will be blank. The footer will be missing. Maybe your blog WILL load, but it will take like 5 minutes each time you open a new post. Obviously, your visitors won't stand for THAT, which is why your visit count is way down. Or maybe you're trying to Create or Edit a post, and having no luck. Maybe the Post Editor won't load properly. Or it loads so slowly, that you start to type into the post window before it finishes loading, then when it refreshes as it loads, what you just typed in gets erased. Maybe you're missing key pieces of the post window ...