The Ridiculously Simple Solution to Blogger Error Codes When Installing or Publishing a Template or Layout

"Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird...It's a Plane... It's Superman!"

No it's not.  It's Blogger publishing error codes.  And at last count, there were at least 5 error codes specific to New Blogger that seemed to provide the bulk of the angst plaguing both newbies and techno-geeks alike.  The error codes all seem to occur during an attempt to either install a new template OR publish one with new mods.  The errors include, but might not be limited to:

1. Error code bX-aigizw;
2. Error code bX-bl6ew0;
3. Error code bX-8o4rmd;
4. Error code bX-88j389; and,
5. Error code bX-1n3uk8

As I ran face first into a couple of these blogger error notifications myself, I surfed on over to Google's "Blogger Help" group to immediately begin an inquiry.  Once I arrived, I found no shortage of the usual cries for help by countless bloggers seeking solutions to the very same set of demonic error codes.

But Then I Noticed Something Peculiar

Actually, I noticed a few things that were peculiar.

First, there were no solutions!  There were a handful of replies by the usual good Samaritans who really wanted to help but, as you'll seen see, they were doing so in vain.  Many responses focused on whether or not the blogger template's XML code was clean or properly installed.  While others suggested that maybe the blogger had too many widgets or had somehow duplicated widget IDs by "pasting the template code" into to the save window rather than uploading it.

(But remember, that's just filler text because none of that mattered.)

Second, inquiries about blogger publishing error codes were rarely ever followed up with a second inquiry and definitely not with a third.  If any of us had a problem publishing our modified templates or installing new ones, we'd be bouncing all over the map trying to find an answer.  Yet in almost every instance, there was the initial complaint, then maybe a follow-up the next day.  And then.... crickets.   Cheep, cheep.... cheep cheep...

So, No Solutions, Yet Few, If Any, Follow-Ups Equals?

(These poor, poor, people all have a bad case of
Error Codes bX-aigizw; bX-bl6ew0; bX-8o4rmd; bX-88j389; and, bX-1n3uk8 )

But wait.  There was a third thing that was peculiar:   no solutions, no followup and.... no solutions anywhere on Google search results! 

Everyone with an error code problem of ANY kind knows they can usually just run right over to Google, plug in the error code (and sometimes another word or two) and, voila, 8 zillion results come up from techno-droid forums and blogs all across the universe.  So isn't "no solutions, very few follow-ups and no solutions on Google search results" just a tad bit unusual for a blogger publishing error code that seems to trouble so many unsuspecting bloggers?

So Then What Is It?!  And Why Does This Have to Be So Eerie?!!

"WHEN IN DOUBT, REBOOT!"

I won't go into complete detail as to how I troubleshot this thing.  It's enough to just say that I had like 20 tabs open across 3 windows on Firefox and another 5 windows open on IE (because you can only log into one gmail acct per browser).  I was going to do a full reboot but wanted to see if it would really be enough just to free up a bunch of resources and after shutting down both browsers and restarting FireFox, there were no more publishing error codes and my blogs published like a charm.

IN CONCLUSION

To answer Aditya who, in the first comment on Improbulus', "Blogger Error Code Blog" post, asked...

""How can an error exist that the programmers don’t know about? Shouldn’t errors on an implemented system be known? Otherwise how is the system running?"

...the answer is:  Because they weren't following Chris Ortman on Twitter.  Had they been, they'd have solved that "problem" in no-time!

(Btw, if you have a sense of humor, then take 2 seconds and follow Chris Ortman on Twitter.  He'll just start getting massive follow notices out of the clear blue for no apparent reason at all and it'll boggle his mind.)

And if you want to help bloggers who are desperate for an answer to these error code problems, then link back.  Even though they're only going to suffer for about 18 hours tops, do you really want them to suffer that long when a simple link back could have helped prevent it all?

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A Trackback Widget for New Blogger - Ok Its a Mashup.

Look, New Blogger! 

It's a trackback widget!  It's a trackback mashup!  It's a trackback hack! 

No, it's Super New Blogger Trackback Widget Mashup Hack!

Well, guess what?  I really don't know the nitty-gritty difference between the three terms because I'm a "marketer/blogger" not a "blogger/marketer."  But what I DO know is that the target new blogger users who are avidly seeking a trackback solution to their new blogger templates probably don't know which it's called either.  But they still need the darn information and they're going to search for it by one of those three terms so now maybe you are beginning see the wisdom of my selective ignorance.

So let's get right to it.

Death to Haloscan!

In my previous post "Death to Haloscan!", I wrote about how the once thriving comment form and trackback solution for handicapped or lackluster blogs could be found following in the footsteps of the ancient Babylonians.  Individuals' help requests have gone unanswered in the forums for what seems like months.  But everything still works... IF you don't have any special requirements.  And most people don't.

I had been searching far and wide for my own TRACKBACK ONLY widget, hack or mashup for NEW BLOGGER to no avail.  Haloscan's auto installation for new blogger blogs included their commenting system which was not an option for me.  Why?  Because the Haloscan comment system bypasses the Blogger comment system.  Thus, two things occur:

1. All previous comments made on your blogger blog are no longer accessible to you or your visitors; and
2. Your blog becomes vulnerable to spammers who still know how to find and post to your blogger comment system.

Yes, last I heard, the blogger comment system, while invisible to you and visitors, is still accessible to those who know how to find it.  How can you delete spam comments about whose existence you aren't even aware?  But the trackback management gives great control and works just fine!

The GreaseMonkey-Firefox "Solution" for New Blogger Trackback Only

The closest I had come in my search for the elusive trackback widget for new blogger was in Andy Beard's, "GreaseMonkey & Firefox - How To Send a Trackback With Blogger (Part 2)" but even he had reservations about the GreaseMonkey - Firefox combo,

"Good But No Banana… yet! It isn't a perfect solution as is, because it is using the blog name for the link URL on the receiving end, rather than the blog post title.  It should be possible to hack the Greasemonkey script to use your post title, so that it uses the post title for links on the receiving end."

(Newbie translation:  It means the search engine optimization benefit of using that trackback method would not be as great as any trackback method that uses your post TITLE in the trackback link.  Post titles usually have juicy keywords in them that search engines love plus a post title also helps draw in prospective readers.)

Andy's blog refers to Singpolyma's, "For New Blogger - Blogger del.icio.us categorising, pinging, and trackback helper" and for some it might be just fine.  But for those not technically inclined, I don't recommend the GreaseMonkey - Firefox new blogger trackback combo.

My New Blogger Trackback Only Solution

It was so simple...so simple, indeed, that I'm actually doubting myself.  I mean, it appears to work just fine but why have I not found this simple Haloscan code hack (read COPY/PASTE) anywhere else on the web?  I'm a pretty avid searcher and it never crossed my radar.  Have the uber-bloggers with the most publicity (read: SEO and Social Bookmarking wisdom) become so technically inclined, and so accustomed to advanced blogging that the simple and obvious are, to them, no longer simple and obvious?

Or is it me?  Am I just "simply" out of my gourd?

Finally, the Instructions for Haloscan
Trackback Only for New Blogger 

I'll explain how I arrived at this afterwards for those who relish in such details, but for those who just need the darn instruction, here goes:

DISCLAIMER:  Always backup your template before editing it.  And follow any editing instructions from ANYWHERE at your own risk.  While the following trackback hack works just fine for me and I strongly believe it will work fine for anyone using New Blogger, life is full of all kinds of unintended consequences for which none of us can be completely prepared.  Besides, it doesn't alter your template except to add a little code that you can just as easily remove if it isn't working right for you.

• Get a Haloscan account right now (opens new window).  It's free and it will take you less time to sign up than it has to read this far.

• In your blog DASHBOARD, open your blog template's HTML by clicking on LAYOUT then TEMPLATE then EDIT HTML

• BACKUP your New Blogger template using the BACKUP tool above the HTML form.

• Check the box that says, "Expand Widget Templates" to the top right of the HTML form.

Your blog template's HTML should now appear with all widgets and edits included. 

• COPY the FOLLOWING HALOSCAN code (labeled PART 1):

<!-- start haloscan (part 1) --><script src='http://www.haloscan.com/load/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME' type='text/javascript'> </script><span class='post-comment-link'><a class='comment-link' expr:href='"http://www.haloscan.com/tb/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME/" + data:post.id + "/"' expr:onclick='"HaloScanTB(" + "\""+ data:post.id + "\"" + ");return false;"'><script type='text/javascript'>postCountTB('<data:post.id/>');</script></a></span><!-- end haloscan -->

• PASTE the HALOSCAN PART 1 CODE somewhere right after the following tags, experimenting with placement to suit your tastes.  This will display the Haloscan trackback link after the BODY of your posts. 

<div class='post-body'>
<p><data:post.body/>

• REPLACE ALL INSTANCES OF YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME WITH YOUR ACTUAL HALOSCAN USERNAME!

• COPY the FOLLOWING HALOSCAN CODE (labeled PART 2):

<!-- start haloscan (part 2 - post) --><script src='http://www.haloscan.com/load/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME' type='text/javascript'></script><span class='post-comment-link'><p><a class='comment-link' expr:href='"http://www.haloscan.com/tb/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME/" + data:post.id + "/"' expr:onclick='"HaloScanTB(" + "\""+ data:post.id + "\"" + ");return false;"'><script type='text/javascript'>postCountTB('<data:post.id/>');</script></a></p><script expr:src='"http://www.haloscan.com/comments/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME/" + data:post.id + "/?m=1"' type='text/javascript'/></script><noscript><a expr:href='"http://www.haloscan.com/tb/YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME/" + data:post.id + "/"'>Trackback</a></noscript><br/></span><!-- end haloscan -->

• PASTE the HALOSCAN PART 1 CODE somewhere right after the following tags, experimenting with placement to suit your tastes.  This will display the Haloscan trackback link after the COMMENT SECTION of your posts.

<p class='comment-footer'>
<a expr:href='data:post.addCommentUrl' expr:onclick='data:post.addCommentOnclick'><data:postCommentMsg/></a>

• AGAIN, REPLACE ALL INSTANCES OF YOURHALOSCANUSERNAME WITH YOUR ACTUAL HALOSCAN USERNAME!

• Save your template and go play with it.  To test it, write a short blog post around the term "new blogger trackback hack" or anything having to do with New Blogger, trackback, Haloscan and "widgets and hacks" and leave a trackback using the trackback link below.

If you found this post useful, please link here, write a post, bookmark it, or leave a trackback or a comment.  In short, get the word out.  And if you see anything that could use some modifying, then DEFINITELY leave a comment.

Post Script:  How I Did This.

Again, it was so simple I thought there was no way I could be one of the first to even think of it.  So I AM wondering why I could not find any reference to it by the superbloggers.

The way I did it was simple.  I first backed up my template and then used Haloscan's, "New Blogger Auto Installation" which simply and quickly installed both Haloscan commenting AND trackback.  Then I reviewed the finished template, isolated only the Haloscan code and removed not only code that suppressed New Blogger's comment system but also any that published Haloscan's comments and , thus was left with Haloscan's "trackback only" code in place.

Lastly, I experimented with placing it where I thought it would be most noticeable by readers and commenters and that, ladies and gentleman, is all she wrote.  It was that simple.  So why does it seem like I was the only one to do this (and report on it)?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?

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Death to Haloscan!

Haloscan, home of the third-party comment and trackback widget (trackback definition) that many bloggers have been using for quite some time seems to have gone the way of the ancient Babylonians.

That Was Then...

This Is Now...

When it first came out, it was, as my British counterparts might say, a "smashing" idea.  It allowed bloggers to install a comment and trackback system on blogging platforms where commenting was drab and trackback non-existent.  Notwithstanding "black hatters" abuse of both, Haloscan allowed such handicapped bloggers access to a whole new traffic-generating experience.

And though more advanced bloggers now have more advanced things up their more advanced sleeves, frankly, for a while, Haloscan was cool.

But now, unfortunately, a call for help in their forums goes unheeded for months... or, more likely, forever.  The advertising link on their home page simply reads, "Advertise here."; a real shame, since their Alexa traffic rank shows a traffic rank of 2,650 and 8,020 sites linking in (I bet someone grabs it now!).  And their "news" subdomain doesn't even load any more.

But what's far worse, in my opinion, is that their instructions on implementing something like "haloscan trackback only on New Blogger" are antiquated.  The automatic installation seemed to work just fine for MY new blogger (which I tested but uninstalled) but it's of little use to me, or anyone, who doesn't want to use Haloscan's commenting system since there's no "trackback only" option.

In my next blog, "A Trackback Widget for New Blogger - Ok Its a Mashup", I'll explain EXACTLY what I did to get Haloscan "Trackback Only" to work on this New Blogger blog but for now, it's safe to say to Haloscan, "the lights are on but you're not home."

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