The Real Blogger Status

URL redirection is a Blogger magic trick, similar to a common sleight of hand trick in stage magic performances. The Blogger HTTPS Redirection , a recently added feature in Blogger security, may be a similar Blogger magic trick - and a possible problem. Some browsers treat websites with multiple redirects as possibly malicious. Private blogs, accessed through the Blogger / Google interstitial login , may also complicate HTTPS Redirection.

If you use a computer that runs Microsoft Windows, you may have been affected by Microsoft supplied updates , distributed 3 weeks ago. May 10 was the day termed "Patch Tuesday" - the day when Microsoft releases important security related patches , to its various Internet updated products. During the 3 weeks after May 10, we've seen a significant number of security related discussions, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . It appears that Microsoft updates, for May 2016, affect use of Blogger.

People reporting a problem with blog access / performance, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , will be frequently advised to diagnose their problems using affinity / differential testing . Some diagnostic advice starts with simple instructions to " clear cache, cookies, and sessions ". Some people, alternately, advise "use a different browser" - and test as a reader. These different strategies, seemingly redundant, will frequently lead to different results.

The Blogger dashboard, and blog displays, is less of a pair of websites - and more of an application with code that runs on our computers . The Blogger code on our computers requires cookies and scripts , which are installed as we use the various Blogger dashboard pages. The cookies and scripts are susceptible to interference, from overly restrictive layered security . If you have a problem with Blogger - either accessing / using the dashboard, or using / viewing a blog - one of the simplest things to check, complementing script filter settings , is the browser cookie filter settings.

Some blog owners don't understand the need to identify themselves , when commenting on our blogs. We see an occasional question, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , about comment authentication. Why, if I've selected "Anyone - including Anonymous Users " under comment settings, for "Who can Comment?", do my visitors complain of having to login? This blog owner, like many others, does not understand the Blogger spam mitigation policy, in Blogger Comments.

Blogger recently redesigned the Stats "Don't track ..." option - and removed third party cookies from the picture. The "Don't track ..." wizard is now accessed from the blog URL. The wizard still produces cookies - but they are ordinary first party cookies , which are much less feared than third party cookies. But, every silver lining has a cloud.

The new Stats "Don't track" option is an improvement, to many blog owners. "Manage tracking your own pageviews", as before, starts from the Stats dashboard page. The wizard now runs from a sub directory of the blog managed by the dashboard - and uses a normal (first party) cookie. Now, blog owners no longer must enable third party cookies , to make Stats ignore their page views. This is an improvement - but it can still present a challenge, for some blog owners.

Besides the confusion about being in the right Circles, some Google+ comments can be overlooked, because of the comment view selector. We see odd problem reports, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . When a friend mentioned she'd commented, I found that odd - because I couldn't find the comment anymore. It had shown up previously - but it was now gone. The view selector is not so obvious, either. It's similar to the "Compose" / "HTML" buttons , in Post Editor.

Last month, Blogger launched an improved Page / Post Editor image uploader - Image Drag and Drop . Today, we are happy to announce that users will be able to drag and drop images directly into posts drafts. In the past, users had to click on “Insert image” to upload the file from the posts drafts. However, with the new drag and drop feature, users will have an easier way to add pictures into post drafts. Like many Blogger major improvements, this one comes with challenges.

Blog guests and owners who wish to use OpenID, for posting comments, may need to logout from Blogger, before commenting. It appears that when commenting, someone logged in to Blogger or Google will use the Blogger / Google account for authentication, automatically - instead of an OpenID account - even when preferring to use OpenID, and the blog permits use of OpenID.

Almost 2 years ago, motion picture actor Paul Walker and Roger Rojas decided to joyride, take a spin , in suburban Los Angeles California. What followed was $500,000 + destruction, at speed exceeding twice the posted 45 MPH. Driven in an industrial / office complex , the street legal race car - his buddy Roger at the wheel - left the road, and wrapped itself around a tree. It takes money to own, and to race, a super car - like a Porsche Carrera GT, that took Paul's life. It takes no money, however, to own a super web application - like a Blogger blog.

Having spent time during July 2015, setting up the EU Cookie Notice Banner - and more time during August 2015, verifying operation of the banner , some blog owners are curious about banner regulation. Would the cookie notice have to be visible to the visitor as soon as they click onto the blog? or Since I don't live in Europe, should I care about the notice? Both are valid concerns, from blog owners who don't blindly follow the leader, with no reason.

The European Union cookie privacy issue became urgent, early this year - and Google provided the CookieChoices cookie advice banner , as a blog / website accessory, in April. The CookieChoices banner required manual installation, on a blog by blog basis - and some amount of effort, using the Template Editor. Not every Blogger blog owner needs to use the Template Editor - and some should not have done so. It's possible that some complaints of template corruption, and similar malfunctions, seen recently in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue , or Blogger Help Forum: Discuss Layouts & Templates , might not have been necessary, without the owners having to dig into "Edit HTML" when not qualified to do so.

In April 2015, Blogger blog owners first were faced with the requirements of the European Union , and their problem with cookies used by our blogs and websites . Google released the CookieChoices website, and some useful tools which some blog owners used, to add a cookie notice banner , to their blogs. In July 2015, Blogger added a cookie notice banner, to save blog owners the trouble of using the CookieChoices website tools.

If you're a repeat customer at some restaurants or shops, you may notice that your return status is appreciated by the staff. Maybe the coffee shop will make your coffee extra strong, or the waiter will bring you your meal a little more promptly, because they recognise you - and want you to know that they appreciate your patronage. As you surf your favourite blogs and websites, you may notice similar treatment. Being recognised as a return "customer" is frequently flattering, and may encourage you to return yet a third, fourth, ... time. Out of the millions of Internet "customers", your favourite blog or website recognises you - and makes your visit a little less impersonal. But how does this happen?

We're seeing questions about commenting, and identification, in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . Why do I have to click on 3 pictures of steak, to post a comment? This blog reader is not enjoying the new CAPTCHA - and has a problem with using it, repeatedly. When you comment, you now have to identify yourself as a person - not a robotic process (aka "autobot" or "bot"). For most of us, this is not an issue. We login to Blogger (or Google) once a day, and we're done. The "once a day" solution does not work, for everybody.

Many people have multiple computers. That detail is becoming more and more normal, in the population in general, each year. I own 3 computers - actually, 5 (two of them run Windows XP, and are off line). So, I use my 3 computers - 2 Google ChromeBooks, and 1 smart phone (no, not a Nexus), for Blogger and other projects. Since I don't want Stats pageview counts, for this blog, affected by my browsing this blog, I logged in to Blogger as the owner, using the browser on each of my 3 computers - and selected the "Don't track your own pageviews" option. The "Don't track ..." option is set, in a cookie. Cookies are unique, to the browser where they are set. On a ChromeBook, with only 1 browser - Chrome - this detail is not so interesting. One computer - 1 browser - 1 user - 1 cookie.

Some blog owners, having published their blog to their new custom domain, find that the Stats "Don't track my own pageviews" option has now stopped working - and their activity, on their blog, is being counted. Owners of custom domain published blogs, who consider their own activity to create significant inaccuracy in Stats figures, may not be pleased to discover Stats unable to ignore their activity - even if they did previously select the "Don't track ..." option. Finding it inconvenient to locate the misbehaving filter that prevents the Stats "Don't track" cookie from being installed on their browser, they will complain in Blogger Help Forum: Get Help with an Issue . We now see a possible workaround, for this problem.

The controversy over "third party" cookies, and filtering, continues daily. Today, a blog owner suggests that solving the problem of inability to comment, by "requiring" each reader to un filter "third party" cookies, is unacceptable - because each reader has to take action, to solve the problem. Another blog owner, asking why Blogger won't ignore his pageviews when visiting his blog, takes only a couple hours to read and to diagnose the problem, then dismisses the advice That didn't really help. Both blog owners are ignoring the actual problem. Blogger did not create a requirement called "third party cookies" . Blogger, like Google, and like most Internet services, use cookies to retain information, from each of us, as we use Blogger.

We see occasional reports of people unable to accept membership in a private or team blog. Even when an invitation is sent repeatedly, and accepted properly, some prospective blog members can't achieve membership. This blog is open to invited readers only http://myownbloggerblog.blogspot.com/ It doesn't look like you have been invited to read this blog. We see this periodically, when trying to view a private blog - or access a team blog as an administrator. Even after accepting membership, some people may see this message.