Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Bizarre: Blabbeando blocked for 24 hours

On August 10th it'll be three years since I began this blog. So far I haven't encountered any problems with Blogger (which is owned by Google) and - considering my time limitations - I haven't had the need for features available on other blog services other than the ones that Blogger offers.

I do remember when I first noticed that "FLAG BLOG" tab on the top of the page and wondering how Google would be able to determine if a "flagged" blog was indeed violating some of the content agreements or just being reported by people who simply did not like the content (which of course comes into play on issues such as LGBT rights which might draw the ire of a certain number of people).

This came to mind last night when I logged into my dashboard and - to my surprise - a message appeared on the editing page saying that I had been blocked from uploading additional posts because Blabbeando had been automatically identified by a Google bot as a "Spam" blog.

The message provided directions of how to click on a button and request that the blog be inspected for content and promised to investigate and solve the problem. Checking some online boards I discovered that some people had been waiting for more than 20 days for a response. Trouble is that the message also said the blog would be erased after 20 days if there was no action.

Today the warning message changed! It now said that the blog was being blocked for "possible content issues" which made me think it might be due to some trigger-happy people pressing that "FLAG BLOG" button. I mean, I talk about sexuality from time to time but so far I could see no reason why my previous posts might have violated content agreements.

I also discovered that while I wasn't able to do regular posts, I could still ad Page Elements to the right hand column which is why this afternoon I posted something that read:
SPECIAL ALERT TO READERS: BLABBEANDO ON STANDBY

Blogger has blocked my ability to post entries on this blog as of April 29, 2008, pending a content review. Apparently I can still post page elements on the side bar which makes it possible for me to post this notice.

Hopefully the issue will be resolved satisfactorily sooner than later. In the meantime thanks for visiting the blog!
Happily, the issue seems to have been resolved because I just regained access to the "New Post" area on my editing dashboard. Bizarre.

2 comments:

libhom said...

It certainly sounds like someone was trying to sabotage your blog. I'm glad the issue has been resolved.

Ray said...

good to hear ur back. :)