Just call me stupid! After all this time I’ve only just discovered that emails from a ‘noreply’ address means don’t bother replying because it won’t reach the sender. I didn’t read it as two words joined together. Am I thick or what? It started with the onset of Blogger problems, when most of us were unable to leave comments on our favourite blogs. So, on receipt of all those lovely comment notifications in my mail box I frequently settled down to reply, sometimes at length, to show my gratitude to the person who was kind enough to comment on my blog. Jeez, now I learn that I’ve been wasting my time.So, about the comments: I used to respond my replying on the blog itself but when Blogger/Google decided to restrict entry to my own comment box (sob) I thought I would adopt a practice used by some blogging friends, i.e. respond by email. I changed my comment welcome blurb to inform folk that forthwith this would be done.
Now I find out that only a selected few received a reply, those with proper email addresses. I suppose now I’ll have to apologise to those who didn’t and explain that I thought they actually were receiving brief notes from me.
I wonder how other people deal with comments. Do they reciprocate? I appreciate the time taken to leave comments and feel it’s the nice thing to do to acknowledge them.
This matter has been raised by other bloggers but we don’t all share the same followers so I’m mentioning it again. In any case I suspect everyone but me knew about the noreply address and that was my real reason for writing this post!
Finally let me tell you how fed-up I am with Google/Blogger/Internet Explorer. As well as the chart of followers going AWOL I have now lost my profile which means no-one can get in touch unless they’re already privy to my email address. To cover this I’ve put a profile in the sidebar. It was available to all and sundry anyway so it may as well be on the front of a blog and not hidden behind a ‘click’. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this one. Do you think I should leave it or remove it?
The latest blogging mystery is Error 503 which keeps cropping up when I try to access certain things to do with my blog. Has anyone come across it? I went to the Help section and read all the questions about it but naturally there were no answers. ‘Is anyone listening?’ was a question frequently asked.
I have reinstated Firefox which is much faster and more reliable than Internet Explorer but even with that there are things to moan about. It's easier to leave comments on blogs but only on a chosen few, so I have to switch back to IE to complete the commenting tour!
Honestly, right now Wordpress seem very interesting. I did have a look at at it but couldn’t get beyond the email address. For some reason it wouldn’t recognise it. Just one more thing to irritate. My family think I’m a whiz with technology but just lately I’m beginning to think they’re wrong.
No way anyone could or should
ReplyDeletecall you stupid....
Blogger has its own ups and downs...
but i keep hanging on.. wordpress
seems a little like too much work.
I dropped IE and use Firefox
... the latest version of IE was
just another headache.
Hi Faye, I agree about Wordpress. I like Firefox, the only trouble is it won't allow me to comment on certain blogs, I have to switch back to IE to do it and then I have to put up with an oh so slow procedure. I definitely won't be updating IE.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed a lot of blogs, including mine, have lost their list of followers and I'm still having trouble commenting on some blogs - Blogger really do need to get their act together. No-one could call you stupid Valerie - you know a lot more about technology than I do - My son is coming over tomorrow to wipe my laptop to try to resolve some of the issues I'm having with it as I wouldn't know where to start!
ReplyDeleteugh i kept getting 503 yesterday...that was my first time dealing with it...i did switch to firefox myself which seemed to smooth out a lot...
ReplyDeleteHi Val - I've had trouble getting some blogs to even open up so I can comment - then sometimes it takes me a couple tries to get a comment window. As for "Lifer", I think the general meaning is, a birder has gotten to see a bird for the very first time in his/her life - hence it's a "Lifer", so when I was in Alaska and saw the Gray Jays for the first time, it's a "Lifer" for me.
ReplyDeleteYes, Valerie...I did in fact receive your email responses to the comments I left on your blog, so thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I like how you've added your profile on your sidebar, using a seperate widget. I do the same thing on my blog.
OMG...like you, I'm having major issues with Blogger. Not with commenting, but getting that error 503 sometimes. Also, everytime I try to log into my account, it's soooooooo slow.
Last week, while I was off from blogging, I also looked into Wordpress. I have a blog there which I no longer post on, so I'm familiar with out it works. I have off from work in July, so I may just be moving over there then. We'll see.
Have a great Monday, dear lady!
X
I'm like you, Valerie. I like to respond to comments left on my blog because it shows appreciation for the time a person has taken to comment. Luckily, I haven't had any problems commenting on my own blog although I have sometimes had problems with other people's, but nowhere near as much as some people, including yourself, have had.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried Chrome? It's Google's browser and I find it works really well.
I have had a few problems with Blogger in the past month with errors but I guess they are working on something. I most use Firefox now after year of using IE. It seems to run better. I have been doing replies on my comment box so other follows can see I do read the comments left. Blogger gives them the option to received follow-up comments. I try to visit the Blogs of my follower and people who comment too. I just have fun with my Blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mona. At least it's good to know I'm not alone with the blogging problem.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about 'Lifer' ... here we say 'that's a first'
Pearl, I found the answer to Blogger's commenting problem so that's one hurdle overcome.
Brian, 503 is becoming a problem all round. Grrr.
Ron, IE is so sssslllllooooowwww. At least Firefox is faster. I do better on the iPhone. Thanks for your comment about the profile etc. Maybe you could give lessons on Wordpress hahahahaha.
Sharon, I have Chrome. I wondered if that was the real problem. Isn't it good to know we're all together in this?
I don't understand enough to be able to help you Valerie. I only occasionally have the odd problem. I use google chrome.It seems very fast. I know to clear cookies sometimes too.
ReplyDeleteHello Valerie,
ReplyDeleteI constantly have problems with blogger. You know my blog LIFE IN MOTION was blocked and I had to start a new blog. In the process I lost many of my followers.
When I get a comment in my blog I visit the person who has commented and write a comment in that persons blog.This way the person who has commented knows that I have reciprocated.
It is good you have discussed these problems in great detail.
Best wishes,
Joseph
Joseph, that's a good idea, especially as we visit the blogs of those who leave their lovely comments.
ReplyDeleteDan, the problems have been going on for too long... you'd think that whatever work is being done should have been completed by now.
DUYH, I have Chrome too. So far I've found that the fastest way to get around the internet is by using Firefox. But even that has it's faults...grins.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people have had problems with Blogger. There have been days that my followers showed up; other days they were gone. As of right now, they show up on the page. I've had trouble commenting on blogs, too. I have received your emails. Thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteWe've all done it Val!
ReplyDelete