Blogger FAQs

Please ask me questions, people! Then I will be able to add to the questions and answers here! :-)

How do I leave comments on other people's blogs? 

The key is to be logged into your Google Account; if you are logged in, you should find it very easy to leave comments on any of the class blogs. Here are instructions on How to Comment, and if you run into any snags not covered there, just let me know! 

What if the Comment Box doesn't show my Google account?

Two students have reported this very strange problem: they are logged in to Google, but for some reason the comment box where they are trying to comment will not show their account. Here are three possible solutions:

1. Try turning your computer off and then on again (the all-purpose computer solution for all problems!).

2. Try clearing your browser cache (the specific instructions vary from computer to computer, but you should find it under the Preferences or Settings for your browser).

3. Try using another browser (this is another good all-purpose solution: if Chrome doesn't work, try Firefox, for example - having two browsers on your computer is always a good idea for exactly this reason). 

What if I want to make my blog private? 

It is easy to remove your profile information and your name from your blog posts. That's actually a Tech Tip you can do for extra credit if you want, configuring the profile to show as much or as little as you want, or removing the profile entirely and also removing your name from the post display — or perhaps you could something in-between and use your first name only or just your initials. Here's how that works: Blogger Profile and Name Display.

Your blog, meanwhile, needs to be public so that other people in the class can read your posts. If you have set your blog to private, here's how to change it back to public:

• Go to your blog, and click on "Design" in the upper right-hand corner (or just go to Blogger.com and access your blog that way).
• Then click on "Settings" in the left-hand column.
• At the bottom of the Basic Settings page, you will see the privacy options; set the Readers option to public so that other people can read your posts:

The same option will apply to your Google Site website as well: you can either choose to display your name as the author of the site, or you can omit your name. As long as I know how each blog and website belongs to, you are good to go. The choice about whether or not to display your name is completely up to you!