Saturday, August 2, 2008

Blogger Fixed

Well, this was fun!

Later.

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MESSAGE TO READERS:


As of 9:43 PM, July 31, 2008, my blog has been locked by BLOGGER. It may have been locked longer than that, but that's when I received the email notification from Google.

I can't make any new posts.

I can't edit previous posts.

THIS IS NOT A SPAM BLOG.


Your blog at: http://freedomeden.blogspot.com/ has been identified as a potential spam blog. To correct this, please request a review by filling out the form at http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=********

Your blog will be deleted within 20 days if it isn't reviewed, and you'll be unable to publish posts during this time. After we receive your request, we'll review your blog and unlock it within two business days.

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UPDATE:

We received your unlock request on August 1, 2008. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.

I commend Blogger's efforts to control spam, but I don't see how my blog could have been deemed spam.

Was it bots? Was my blog flagged by someone with malicious intent?

Blogger asks for patience.

My patience has its limits.

A review "within two business days" could mean my blog may be locked until Monday night.

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UPDATE 2:

While we wish that every post on this blog could be about cool features or other Blogger news, sometimes we have to step in and admit a mistake.

We've noticed that a few users have had their blogs mistakenly marked as spam, and wanted to sound off real quick to let you know that, despite it being Friday afternoon, we are working hard to sort this out. So to those folks who have received an email saying that your blog has been classified as spam and can't post right now, we offer our sincere apologies for the trouble.

We hope to have this resolved shortly, and appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks.

OK. Blogger is acknowledging the problem.

Still, I would like to know how these "few users" came to have their blogs marked as spam.

Was it a technical glitch? Were they flagged as spam by someone and then immediately locked by Blogger?

I look forward to a thorough explanation.

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UPDATE 3:

As of August 2, 2008, my blog is still locked.

Maybe I'll start writing posts on the sidebar.

How difficult is it to unlock the blogs? Blogger should err on the side of the legitimate users and worry about spammers later.

I wonder how many Blogger users are spending this downtime moving to WordPress or TypePad.


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SITEMETER:

SiteMeter is preventing people using IE from accessing sites.

SITEMETER UPDATE:

SiteMeter is fixed.

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