I’m not sure if many genealogy bloggers know this. They make it really difficult for folks to comment on their blogs. There have been many times I’ve gone to comment then realized that I can’t because the options for authentification don’t apply to me.
Let me give you an example. On blogger blogs, you can allow a person many options for authentification. They can sign into Gmail, Word Press, Blogger, LiveId, etc. But, what if they don’t have one of these accounts? Or, what if they don’t use them for genealogical purposes?
These are the problems I have had trying to comment on blogs. It asks for a Blogger account. I don’t have one. It asks for a Gmail account. I don’t use my Gmail account for blogging. I have another email account for my website and blogs. It asks for a Word Press account. I do have a Word Press account. However, no matter how many times I try to comment using Word Press it never works. I leave my comment, check the box and give the appropriate information, and then it says “you must log in to your Word Press account first” (or something to that affect). I log into Word Press and Poof! my comments disappear and I have to start over. I’m stuck in a loop.
If you are a blogger, please, please, please consider allowing people to authenticate with a Name/URL. This allows folks without the appropriate account to leave their comments in an easy format. If you are worried about getting spam or weird comments, you can always set things up so your comments must be approved before they go live.
I’d love to comment on your blog. Give me the chance, please!
Here are the choices for whom to allow to comment at Blogger:
Anyone – includes Anonymous Users
Registered Users – includes OpenID
Users with Google Accounts
Only members of this blog
I do not see other choices, like the Name/URL you suggest. However, I believe the Anyone field would cover you.
Seems that Blogger does not act the same all the time. Sometimes one my followers or readers can leave a comment, sometimes the same reader cannot.
There are some blogs (not blogger formats) that I cannot leave comments on either, because they want me to have a word press (?) ID. Word Press or nothing, there are no other choices. No way to email or contact that blogger either, I have looked and looked. I rarely read that blog now.
I will keep tabs on this post and comments, maybe someone will come along and inform on how to set up the blogger to accept URL’s as you suggest.
Carol, I think there must be differences between Blogger.com blogs. Take a look at genea-musings.com. Under comments the choices are Google Account, Open ID, Name/URL, and Anonymous. I came across another Blogger.com blog recently (sorry, I forget the blog name!) that only had Google Account. I haven’t used Blogger.com for a blog in over a year. Is there a setting for preferences in allowing comments?
The choices I laid out above were from within the program and in the set up areas. It appears that you can say, I only want people with GOOGLE accts to be able to comment on my blog, the rest of ya, toooooo bad!
IF you go to comment ON my blog with the preferences I currently have in place you will be offered:
Google
Live Journal
Word Press
Type Pad
AIM
Open ID
Name/URL
Anonymous
That seems to be more than genea-musings has.
I guess there could be differences in blogger.com blogs, but, and I ain’t NO expert, that is for sure, I think it is all in the set up.
Set up choices in my first post and choices that you see as a reader are TWO different cans of worms, as it may. LOL
PLUS the fact that sometimes Blogger just acts totally weird about stuff like comments.
Also note on the list I have just typed here hat you can do a Name/URL comment.
I do know this, I MUST be signed on to Google at my blog to successfully leave comments. So, right now, I am signed ONTO my blog and onto my gmail acct and hopefully, when I go to post this comment, I won’t have disappearing comments.
Something else I have done, if I have spent considerable time typing a comment is to copy it before I try to post. That way, if it does go poof into blogger comment cyberspace, I can try again with the comments in the copy clipboard.
I hope this is clearer than mud! LOL
I’ll be watching for further comments and maybe someone that really knows will tell us both! LOL
I’d love to read your comments at my blog and have tried to make it super-easy for folks to do so. All you need is your name and your comment; email and url are optional. My blog hosting service makes it easy and helps deflect spam (so far so good). Drop by and try it out!
http://www.thefamilycurator.com
Denise
Denise, I just left a comment on your blog. I appreciate (and I know other’s do too!) how easy you have made it! Thanks!