No-reply commenter

Hi there - 

My other blog - A Left-Handed Quilter - asked a question today -

• Are you a "no-reply" commenter?  NO?  Are you SURE?

and gave you a short answer - adding that if you want a detailed explanation of the problem - and my solution - to come visit me for the LOOOOOOONG version.

So - here goes - 

I'll try to explain this the best I can - 

WARNING - This answer is going to be REALLY LONG.
And it isn't the same old "Check the Show Email Address box in your Profile" problem - either - in case you think you've heard it all before and want to skip this post entirely.  You might want to keep reading - this problem may apply to you - and you don't even know it!!  I sure didn't know it applied to me!!

Anyway - I didn’t think I was a "no-reply" commenter - but Connie - Quilting by the River - said I was – so I had to check it out.   

It turns out that sometimes I WAS - and - sometimes I WASN'T.

Weird, huh?

Wonder why that is?

I have been leaving comments on other blogs for a long time now.  Sometimes I leave them as “Kitty” and sometimes as “A Left-Handed Quilter” – with a link to my blog.  It all depends on the other blogger’s comment section – the part that says “Choose an Identity”.

The choices are usually -

• Google Account
• OpenID
• Name/Url
• Anonymous

If I could – I would always choose "Name/Url" -
I just figured that my blog name on a comment might generate more visits to my blog – free publicity and all that.  Can’t hurt to have more readers, right?

That choice would pop up two more boxes -

• Name – and I would enter - A Left-Handed Quilter
• URL - and I would enter - http://alefthandedquilter.blogspot.com/

If that wasn’t an option - I would check the first box – Google Account – and leave my comment as “Kitty”.  Not my first choice - but a generic "default" sort of thing.

Either way – I would leave my comment – and then go on to read the next blog.

Sometimes I would get a response - and sometimes not.

I never really paid much attention -

UNTIL -

Connie emailed me to say that she had tried to answer my comment –
And that it came up as “no-reply”.

Huh???

Julie - My Quilt Diary - answered my comments sometimes –

How come Connie couldn’t?

Weird.

I emailed Connie back and said - 

I have no idea why my comment would show as "no-reply".  My profile shows both my email address and my web page.  What else would it need?

Kitty

She then replied –

Now this works, here is something I copied from Sew Many Ways to check to see if people can sent you email.
·    first, go to your blogger dashboard
·    near your picture or logo on the left, click "Edit Profile"
·    go to the first section labeled "Privacy"
·    in this section, the third line down should say "Show Email Address"
·    make sure the IS a Check Mark in the "Show Email Address"
·    if you don't have an email address listed, you can fill it in in the "Identity" section
·    The MOST IMPORTANT part when you finish, is to go to the bottom of the page and click "Save Profile" on the bottom left side. If you do not click save it won't work.

Connie

So – I checked to see whether or not I had “Checked the Box” –
(By the way - Connie - great instructions!)

And –

Yeah – IT WAS CHECKED!!

What the...???

OK – this makes NO SENSE!!

So –

I looked at the comment I left on Julie’s blog –
An orange Blogger icon/profile image – "Kitty"

And the comment I left on Connie’s blog –
A grayed out icon/profile image – "A Left-Handed Quilter"

I could get a response if I commented as ''Kitty"
But not as “A Left-Handed Quilter”

Hmmmmm...........interesting.

That lead to Blogger HELP – ALL evening – researching – researching -

And then I found a blurb –

Just a little blurb –

That made all the difference in the world!!
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=517bd987aec2c511&hl=en

It got me to thinking –

And – as much as this computer crap gives me a headache sometimes –

I DO have experience in the area –

And – I like puzzles –

So – I came up with a theory -

And – Sunday morning – with Connie's help - I tested my hypothesis –

Like the song goes – 

The knee bone is connected to the leg bone – the leg bone is connected to the ankle bone…  (or something like that..)

Anyway – here’s the deal –

Your Email address is connected to your Google Account –
You log in to your Google Account  -
and you have access to your email - 
and your blog (if you have one)

And –

Your Email address is connected to your Blogger Profile –
You check the box (or not) –
And your email address will show (or not) on your Blogger Profile

BUT –

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!

Your BLOGGER NAME/URL is NOT DIRECTLY connected to your EMAIL ADDRESS

So if you use it to leave a comment - it shows you as a “NO-REPLY” COMMENTER.

The other blogger (the one you left a comment on) has to click on your name in the comment - 
Go to your Profile - 
And then to your email – IF - and only IF - you have an email contact listed
(Like Connie's instructions explain)

The other blogger can get there – eventually - 
but NOT DIRECTLY –
it’s a really long way around something that should be simple.

So –

My theory is/was –

I could change my Google Account Name to the Name of my blog –
and then all I have to do is leave my comment using my Google Account Name.

Simple.

Problem solved.

I made some changes - and left a comment on Connie’s blog to test my theory.

Then I emailed Connie to tell her that I had left a comment -
and asked her to tell me if it still came up "no-reply" -

It DIDN'T - 

It WORKED!!

I'm sure that other bloggers are probably way ahead of me and have already figured this out - but somehow I didn't get the memo and they neglected to tell me.  ;))

Anyway - if you are leaving comments using your Name/URL - be aware that you are coming up as a "no-reply" commenter.

Here’s a quick test you can use to see if you are a "no-reply" commenter - 

• Go to another blog where you have left a comment.

• If the little icon/symbol/profile image next to your name on the comment is GRAYED OUT – you are a “no-reply” commenter.

• If the little icon/symbol/profile image next to your name on the comment is the orange Blogger symbol – or your Google Account picture – you are good to go.

I can be so clever sometimes –

But right now – I have a HUGE HEADACHE!!  ;))