For a Commenting Profile That Won't Stick

Have you ever tried to comment on a blog post only to have your profile not load? No matter what you do, you can't get the site to recognize you, so you're stuck commenting as "anonymous" (if the blog actually allows anonymous comments, otherwise you're just out of luck). 

No, sorry, I don't have a fix for you. A few weeks back, I attempted to tackle the issue by asking if you had your cookies enabled. Alas, I don't think this solved the problem (but if you haven't tried that, try it first). But I was reminded of something a school IT guy told me. They search and research and ask various people in the hopes of finding someone who has fixed an issue. 

While visiting my brother last month, I asked him the question. He did not have an answer for me, but he was able to articulate a question and input it into Google's Gemini. (Yes, I hate AI, but it gave an answer. It has to be useful for something.) 

So, if you're stuck and have tried everything, there's one more thing to try. 

But first I'll post the answer just in case some of you find it useful. 

The question: Mac user reporting that their profile won’t stick. When they try to log in with user and pass, it doesn’t log them in. It vanishes. Is this more of a browser issue?

Because we were wondering if it was a browser thing (as some of you have reported that one browser works just fine while you have issues with another), we included that information. And Gemini replied that yes, it most likely is. This is good news as if you're having commenting issues, it might be a great time to download a different browser and use it instead. The answer Gemini gave: 

Yes, this is almost certainly a browser issue, specifically tied to how Mac browsers (most notably Safari) handle cross-site tracking and cookie authentication.

Blogger frequently drops users into a "login loop" or vanishes the session immediately after authentication because it negotiates between two separate domains: [www.blogger.com](https://www.blogger.com) (the dashboard) and blogspot.com (the published content). If the browser blocks the communication between these domains, the session data won't stick.

So, basically, when you go to log in (so Blogger recognizes you), your info vanishes because of how the browser communicates with the website. Gemini gave some suggestions on how to fix it. 

1. The Safari Culprit: Cross-Site Tracking

Safari has an aggressive native privacy feature called Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP). If they are using Safari, it routinely blocks the cross-domain authentication tokens required by Blogger.

The Fix: Have them go to Safari > Settings (or Preferences) > Privacy and temporarily uncheck "Prevent cross-site tracking".

After unchecking it, they should clear their history, restart Safari, and try logging in again.

This is for the specific Mac issue. If you're not on Mac, skip this and move on to #2. 

2. Third-Party Cookie Restrictions (Chrome / Arc / Brave)

If they are using Chrome or a Chromium-based Mac browser, strict settings or extensions might be blocking third-party cookies, which prevents the Google authentication state from transferring to Blogger.

The Fix: Have them check chrome://settings/cookies and ensure third-party cookies aren't completely blocked, or add [*.]blogger.com and [*.]google.com to the allowed sites list.

This is for Mac, but it is probably similar for Windows-based systems. Then...

3. State/Onboarding Profile Corruption

Sometimes the login "vanishes" because the Google account is successfully authenticating, but the Blogger backend is bouncing them because the profile lacks a required Display Name or is stuck in an onboarding state.

The Fix: Have them open a new tab and go directly to [https://www.blogger.com/onboarding](https://www.blogger.com/onboarding) or [https://www.blogger.com/profile.g](https://www.blogger.com/profile.g). If it forces them to enter a display name, completing that step will instantly fix the dashboard drop-out.

I wonder if the above is anyone's issue. I'm sure someone is having that issue. And finally, the "quickest triage step": 

Have them try to log in via a completely different browser (like Firefox) or an Incognito/Private window with all extensions disabled. If that works seamlessly, you've confirmed it's a localized cookie/privacy setting on their primary browser.

I hope this helps. If you're having this issue and this helps, or if you're having this issue and this doesn't help, please let me know. I'll keep my eyes and ears open and if I come across another way this could be solved, I'll let you know. 

Spicing Up Your Posts with GIFs

Sometimes I like to insert a GIF into my blog posts. 

And it's super simple to do. If you've been putting images in your blog posts, you already know how to do this. 

(This is what you get when I have no good ideas on what to write about. If you have any blogging questions, feel free to ask in the comments. If I know how to do it, I'll write a blog post about it.) 

Step one: find a GIF you like. I usually go to Giphy, but there are oodles of sites you can use. You can even make your own (which I don't know how to do, but I'm sure there are instructions somewhere on the internet). 

Step two: get the URL of the GIF. On Giphy you can just click on the one you want to use and click on "Copy Link". (You can also "Download", but that's a way more labor intensive way to do this.) 

Step three: paste that URL into "Insert Image". 

The "Insert Image" is the little picture icon. Click on the arrow to get the drop down menu.

And choose "By URL". You'll get a dialog box where you can paste the URL you copied from the GIF site.

And then you click on "Insert Image". (If there's an error, the GIF won't show up on the screen. Check that you have the URL copied correctly. If everything is correct, then Blogger is being difficult and you'll need to pick a different GIF.) 

Once the image is inserted, you can fix the size: 

That box should pop up with the image, but if it doesn't, click on the image and it should. The circled icon is for sizing. It'll say "Original", but you can make it small, medium, or large. 

Just be careful that it isn't bigger than the size allotted for your blog post. (You can check that by hitting "Preview" in the upper right hand corner. If it's too big, you can go back and use a smaller size.) 

And that is all there is to it. Generally it takes me longer to find the GIF I want to use than it takes to insert it in the post. 

Do you use GIFs in your posts? Do you have a good idea for a topic I can do on blogging this summer? 

Eliminating Blogger's Indent

You've noticed it, right? In Blogger blogs, the first line of the first paragraph starts a space over. 

It's a minor thing, but it bugs me. Why does it do that? How can I fix it? 

I don't have an answer to the first question. Not the "why?" anyway. But I do know how it's happening. 

If you open a new blank blog post, you're greeted by a blank template. Before you do anything, switch from "Compose view" to "HTML view". 

click on the image to make it bigger

And you'll notice there's already some code on your page: 

click on the image to make it bigger

It's basically gibberish. It's just some placeholders in between code that means "paragraph". If you look in your toolbar, it'll show "Paragraph" rather than "Normal". "Paragraph" means when you hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard, a gap of a whole line is left after your previous paragraph. 

(If you want to use "Normal", that line isn't left, and you have to hit "Enter" again to get that space.)

If you try to delete that code, in Compose view it'll go back to "Normal". If you hit the back button to delete that space in Compose view, things go wonky. 

So, most bloggers just leave the space in. But you don't have to.

The way to get rid of the space is to begin the post. If you start with writing, start writing. When you hit "Enter" to get a new paragraph, begin writing the new paragraph. 

Only after you have started a second paragraph can you go back to your first word and hit "Backspace" to eliminate that space. 

Yes, I know. It's an annoying extra step. But it's the only thing I've found that works. 

But what if you start with an image? 

If you upload an image using the picture icon in the toolbar, an extra line of space is added to the top of your blog post. 

I have not had luck in hitting backspace before the image to make the extra line go away. (If you have, please leave how you get it to work in the comments.) But I can make that extra space disappear by deleting the first paragraph code (in "HTML view") after I've uploaded the image. 

If you delete everything highlighted in gray, that space goes away. Be very careful to get both "p"s and the carrots on either side. 

When you go back to "Compose view", your post will be back in "Normal". But if you click on the arrow, you can switch it back to "Paragraph", and it'll stick.

Of course, if you haven't noticed this issue and it doesn't bother you, feel free to ignore this post. But things like that irritate me, so I take the time to make sure I don't have that space. 

What about you? Do you eliminate the space? Have you never noticed? Or are you on a different blogging platform and don't have the problem? (Or do you know a better way to fix this?)

Enabling Cookies to Comment

A fellow blogger asked about why they could no longer log in and use their profile when commenting on others' blogs. They try, but instead of logging them in, the comment resets, and they can either comment using anonymous or it won't let them comment at all. 

Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to this. But it got me thinking about when I had a similar problem. I wrote a blog post about it then. 

At that time (three years ago) the Incognito Mode had a screen that looked like this: 

The fix was to turn on the cookies. After I did that, my commenting woes disappeared. And everything was fine, until the IT people in my school district decided to disallow Incognito Mode on district Chromebooks. Deep sigh. 

(It took me a couple months, but I came up with a solution that worked for me: I bought my very own Chromebook just for work.) 

So, I wonder if the logging in and being recognized issue on Blogger blogs is still just a cookies issue. 

What are cookies? They are small pieces of data stored on a user's device by web browsers to remember information and track browsing activity. When you log into Blogger, it's the cookies that hold your username and the information to link back to your user profile. Google's own terms of use describe how they use cookies. (And how to manage cookies in your browser.) 

If you're using Google Chrome, you need to click on your profile (it's your picture in the upper right hand corner), and then you'll choose "Manage Your Google Account".

Then, in the sidebar (on the left side), go into "Data & Privacy". 

At this point you'll want to check a few things. Personalization Settings. Data Sharing. (Under my Data Sharing, I am sharing information with Blogger under "Third-party apps & services". If you aren't, this might be the issue with logging into Blogger comments.) This is probably a good thing to explore even if you aren't having issues as there might be some settings you want to check out. 

(Google's own help topics talks about turning cookies on or off. This might be of help as well.) 

This is a place to start, anyway. Whether it solves the problem or not, I can't be sure. 

If you're using a different browser, finding data and tracking and finding the cookies should be similar. Look under your profile and check the settings. Whether you allow all cookies or just for Blogger will be up to you. 

Safari (for Apple) has protections in place to disallow tracking, so that might be harder. But there should be a way to opt in to cookies, at least for Blogger. 

I hope this helps. Let me know in the comments if it was of any use or not. And if you have a different solution, please also add this into the comments. If anyone can solve the issue, there are many bloggers who would like to know. 

Good Blogging Manners

It is spring break. As is my habit for off-times, I go into my "summer schedule" here on the blog. (My subbing stories from last week will appear next week.) Wednesdays are for blogging minutiae. 

Since it is A to Z Challenge time, I thought I'd talk about commenting. Especially commenting as a return visit when someone new visits your blog. It is considered good manners, and most of the bloggers I encounter do engage in the practice. 

But there are times when I fall down on the job. That's when I can't find the blog of the commenter. 

These instructions are for Blogger. At some point I created a reader profile on WordPress, so when I comment there there's also a link. It seems to work... 

If you click on your name after you've commented on a Blogger blog, you'll get your profile page. Under "My Blogs" should be a link to your blog. 

My problems stem from when there is more than one blog listed. And/or that link goes to a blog that hasn't been updated in a long time. Or it goes to a landing page where the blog is not obvious. 

Sure, I could go to the A to Z Master List. Now. But in non-April times, or really now, as I don't have a lot of time to go blog searching, if I can't figure out where the blog is fairly easily, I won't return visit. (And I'll feel guilty for this, but at a certain point it's more trouble than it's worth.) 

If your profile works, there's a big "Edit Profile" button in the upper right hand corner. Making it clear which blog you want return visitors to find makes things so much simpler. 

But what if your profile doesn't work? What if the only way to you can comment is via "Anonymous"? 

(This happens. Sometimes it's a system glitch. Sometimes I can't get the right Google profile to load. And sometimes it's a problem I can't figure out, and who has time to mess with that, especially in April?)

This is where using some HTML in a comment is fine. 

I usually type something like "Liz A. from Laws of Gravity" as a signature. (If you've seen my "Some Basic HTML" post, you know how to do this.) I have this saved on "Notepad" on my Windows desktop so all I have to do is copy/paste if needed. 

And you can do that, too. 

In HTML, my signature looks like:

The highlighted parts are the important HTML that you'll need for your signature. Or:

You can omit the spaces. (I did it that way to make it stand out.) The red is what you'll replace with your information. (Sorry it's an image. I tried to get one of those boxes things that you can copy, but I couldn't make it work. At least, since it's an image, you can click on it to make it bigger.) 

If you add that to the end of all your comments, there's no question where you want return visits to go. 

I've been bad about this, though. I've been trusting that my links work. And they seem to? That's the problem, of course. If the links don't work, that's the blogger who isn't returning the visit. 

So, how about you? Are you getting return visits? Do you put in a blogging signature? Has anyone figured out how to not have to do an anonymous comment? 

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

The Spam Folder

In December a fellow blogger asked how to find their spam comments folder. And as it is rather hidden, I thought it would make a very good blogging post. 

(You should be checking the folder regularly. There was a point when Blogger marked at least 500 of my comments spam, going back several years. While it took a while to get through that backlog, it was better than letting them languish in spam prison. And since I check the folder daily, I can keep up with rescuing many comments that don't belong there but get sent there for vague reasons.) 

You'll click on your "Comments" in your sidebar. Sometimes Blogger hides the sidebar, so if yours is hidden, first you'll need to open it: 

Click on the "hamburger" in the top left hand corner. That'll open up the sidebar: 

Comments is the third thing in the list. Click on it, and you have a list of all the comments to your blog, in order of posting. Next, you'll go to the arrow next to "All":

Click on that:

And on that pop up menu, you'll click on "Spam". As you can see, at this moment I have zero spam comments: 

Yay!

But not every day is like that. Sometimes I open up that pop up menu to find: 

I click on "Spam":

And there's two comments that are not spam. (I redacted them so as to not call out the commenters.) See how one says "4 hours ago" and one is from December? I've had times when the comments that were in the spam folder were from 2014. And I'm not even exaggerating a little bit. 

Move your cursor over the day or date of the comment to get:

The trash can is to trash the comment if it's actually spam. (Sometimes it's spam.) But mostly things get caught in the folder on accident, so click on the check mark to publish the comment to your blog:

Verify that you want to publish, and it's done. The comment will now appear on your blog. 

If you don't already, get in the habit of checking your spam folder. I don't know why it happens, but with some regularity Blogger sweeps comments into the spam folder that do not belong there. 

How often do you check your spam folder? Is there another blogging topic you'd like me to tackle?

Scheduling Ahead

My normal blogging routine is to write my blog posts on Sunday. I may get a post or two done ahead of that, but for the week, I have things finalized on Sunday. 

Except this week. (I took a lazy Sunday and read all day. It was nice.)

I am writing this on Tuesday. I am going to schedule this to post Wednesday. 

If you're on Blogger, you probably already know how to do this. When you open up a new post, "Published on" is right there in the Post settings sidebar. 

If it's not open, just click on the arrow. (It's usually open when you open a new post.)

"Automatic" will be selected, and the date and time will be the current date and time. As you can see above, I've clicked on "Set date and time". Then I selected the date on the calendar thingy. (If you want to go ahead months, use the little arrows next to the month and year at the top.)

Once you've selected the date, you can select the time. (You can select the time first.) Just click on the time, and a wheel with all the hour and half hour times will pop up. (You can type in a time instead.) 

And that's it. Type in your post as normal, and then hit "Publish". 

It'll show on your posts screen as "Scheduled" with the day it's scheduled to go live. And that's it. It's ready to go. 

Now I need to go and get Thursday's post ready... 

Using Pages

For my last blogging tips post of the summer, I'm going to compile all my posts onto a page for ease of finding. 

(Our first day of school was Monday, and I managed to snag an assignment, so next week my posts will return to the substitute teaching of it all.) 

In case you weren't aware, you can create static pages, like a blog post, but filed separately. It's a great way to stash information out of the way of the daily posts, but within easy reach for when it's needed (like a press kit for a writer or a spot where you can keep track of the blog hops you're involved with). 

My pages appear at the top of the blog, just under my title. 

To add pages to your blog, go under "Layout" and then click on "Add a Gadget". 

Then find "Pages". 

Following the instructions, you can place the pages where you'd like. But, in my case, the pages already exist, so I'm going to just add one. 

It's easy. It just looks like the "Posts" page, only it's under "Pages". I clicked on "New Page".

And I got a blank page that looked exactly like a post, only with fewer settings. 

I created a page with links to all the posts I did this summer about various blogging topics. At the moment it's pretty bare bones, but I can go in later and spruce it up. Just like editing a blog post, you can modify the page and "Update" it. But the page is not up and live on the blog yet. I have to put it there. 

First I went into "Pages" from "Layout".

I clicked on "Edit". (It's hard to see with these small images, so click on them to make them bigger.) And I got: 

I clicked on "Add a New Item". You'll notice that I can reposition my pages to the sidebar if I choose. I happen to like them under my header, so they'll stay there. 

Under "Add a New Item", I got a blank form. I clicked on "Page name" and that list popped up. I clicked on "Beyond Blogging Basics", the title I gave the page, and the URL popped up. Then I clicked "Save". 

And now the page is there. As it's configured now, the page is last. Do I want to keep it there? I can use the arrows to move it. 

I think I want my A to Z completion trophies last. And... I played with it a bit, took a look at how things looked on the blog live, and then I decided on: 

I put it third. I think that works. For now, anyway. 

I mean, it's really easy to change. So, if I decide I don't like it there, I can modify it later. 

So, go ahead, scroll back to the top of this post, and click on it. You'll find a list of all my about blogging posts in an easy to reference spot. 

Do you have pages on your blog? If not, have I now given you ideas? 

Sidebar Refresh

When was the last time you took a look at your sidebar? 

The sidebar is one of those things that we set up when we set up our blogs, and then we kind of forget about it. Perhaps you add something to it from time to time (like when April rolls around), but then you don't think about it again. So, today is just a friendly reminder that it might be time to take a look and weed out some things. Do all your sidebar bits still work? 

First, go take a look at your sidebar. You can either click on "View Blog" or click on the eye icon on any of your posts. 

Slowly scroll. Is there anything there that no longer works? Is there anything there that you no longer want there? Back in April I noticed I had a lot of A to Z Challenge trophies that took up an awful lot of space, so I moved the majority of them to a page and only left the most recent on the sidebar. 

Adding to or deleting from your sidebar is pretty simple. First, go to "Layout".

Then, scroll down to the sidebar. 

Anything you want to delete, first click on "Edit". Then you'll get the choices of "Remove", "Cancel", or "Save". "Remove" will delete it. "Cancel" will leave it there. "Save" is if you make any changes to it (although, when I just check it, I generally click on "Save" just to be safe). 

Of course, not all of my gadgets have labels, so if you're anything like me, be extra careful if you're planning to delete anything. 

Speaking of, have you looked at the gadgets lately? 

Now might be a good time to add some of these. Or update them. 

The main one I want to point out is the HTML/JavaScript one. That's how you can add things not from Google/Blogger to your sidebar. You just need to get the HTML code. Most of the time, if you're adding something that you're getting from another blogger (like the A to Z Challenge trophies), they'll provide the HTML for you. 

If you add a gadget, you can just put it where you want it by dragging the box. Make sure to hit save (the floppy disc icon). Then go back and look to make sure all the gadgets are positioned where you want them. 

What do you have on your sidebar? (Is there anything I should add?) When was the last time you checked it/updated it? Is there anything on my sidebar you have questions about?