As you may have read in my previous post, Blogger's new commenting system makes it very difficult for readers to leave a link to their blog's URL in their comments. But thanks to Blog Bloke, I have been discovered how to use OpenId to leave comments with a link to my blog URL on Blogger Blogs. This also means that the MyBlogLog comment avatars will still work if you leave a comment in a blog which has enabled these avatars to display (here at Blogger Buster for example). The process is relatively simple, though I admit we do have to take more steps to achieve something which previously took only seconds! Read on for instructions to install and use this new system on your own Blogger blogs.
The new commenting system (or should I say, "systems"..?)
Most Blogger blogs now will only allow you to leave a comment using three persona's:
- Using your Google/Blogger account (thus creating a link to your Blogger profile page)
- Anonymously (therefore your comment will be posted by "Anonymous")
- Using a nickname (no link here either!)
This will allow anyone to leave a comment in your blog so that their name will become a hyperlink to their OpenId/profile page, wether or not they have a Google/Blogger account. So long as they choose the correct option to log in.
How to use the OpenID system
If you would prefer to login with an OpenId instead of your Google/Blogger account, you will need to create an OpenID account. There are a few different methods you could choose for this, including ClaimID which Angel kindly pointed out in her comment. I have chosen to use MyOpenID as (at present) this is the only system I know of which will allow you to create a link back to your own blog when leaving a comment using Blogger's awful new system. You can create your free MyOpenId account here. This is the first step to enable backlinks in your comments...
Make your Blogger comments link back to your blog
Assuming you have set-up and verified your MyOpenId account, you may now prefer to leave comments where your name will link back to your blog instead of your MyOpenId profile page. For this you will need to verify that you are the owner of your blog by adding some code to the head section of your blog's template.
To do this, go to Template>Edit HTML in your blogger dashboard (this doesn't need to be the Blogger in Draft version though), and locate the closing </head> tag in your template code. Just before this line, add the following section of code, ensuring that you substitute all instances of "http://youraccount.myopenid.com" with the correct URL for your own MyOpenId account (eg: http://JoeBloggs.myopenid.com):
<link rel="openid.server" href="http://www.myopenid.com/server" />(This method was taken from the help section of the MyOpenId site)
<link rel="openid.delegate" href="http://youraccount.myopenid.com/" />
<link rel="openid2.local_id" href="http://youraccount.myopenid.com" />
<link rel="openid2.provider" href="http://www.myopenid.com/server" />
<meta http-equiv="X-XRDS-Location" content="http://www.myopenid.com/xrds?username=youraccount.myopenid.com" />
Then whenever you have the option to use your OpenID to leave comments, you should enter the URL of your blog instead of your OpenID URL. This will then substitute your OpenId profile link with that of your blog's URL instead. Also, if you are a MyBlogLog member, your avatar will display in commenting systems where MyBlogLog comment avatars have been enabled. Take a look at my test comments below to see how this works.
So many steps for such a simple task...
Although I am glad that I can still create a link back to my blog when leaving comments, and also make use of the MyBlogLog commenting system, I am still rather frustrated that Blogger have made it so difficult for readers to allow links back to their blogs. In order to make this happen, we have to go through far too many steps, whereas the previous commenting system was simpler, easier and far more user friendly. At this rate, Blogger will become a closed system, in which users of other blogging platforms will feel unwilling to comment, perhaps even to visit Blogger blogs. I can understand concerns over comment spam and such, but for me, the cons far outweigh the pros of this new system. Please bring it back Blogger!!
I hope this tutorial has been useful in helping you to understand how the new commenting systems work, and also how it is still possible to create links back to your blogs, while allowing others to do the same. Comments are always welcome here, and backlinks should still be followed, so please feel free to leave your opinions below.
This is a test comment while signed in using MyOpenId :)
ReplyDeletewelll, let me try it!
ReplyDeletebut I notice that this way we will stop receiving coment track backs :(
ohh well
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda. You can also "delegate" your ClaimID to show the link of your blog by inserting a code in the head part of the html...
ReplyDeletelink rel="openid.server" href="http://openid.claimid.com/server"
link rel="openid.delegate" href="http://openid.claimid.com/YOURUSERNAME"
*I removed the less than/greater than characters.
I just choose not to do it just yet because I want my visitors to see I'm using ClaimID, and not the ordinary Blogger profile thing. :)
Hello I came from this url
ReplyDeletehttp://singpolyma.net/2007/05/new-comment-photo-hack-blogger/
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ReplyDeleteHmm, random test..
ReplyDeleteBlogger will become a closed system, in which users of other blogging platforms will feel unwilling to comment, perhaps even to visit Blogger blogs
ReplyDeleteseems easy enough I hope I did it right.
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Okay, here's a test comment using the OpenID hack. This should link back to bozark.net if all goes well.
ReplyDeleteAnother test.
ReplyDeleteWorks awesome! Great Post
ReplyDeletechecking
ReplyDeletekeep getting this message when I sign in with open ID using my blogURL
ReplyDeleteit works fine if I just use the OpenID
i dont know but which one open id supported?
ReplyDeleteIts Really good.
ReplyDeleteI will get benefit from it.
Let Me Test It
ReplyDeleteI'm testing your proposition to use OpenID...
ReplyDeleteI always feel that OpenID is hard work, i prefer good old fashioned Name + URL's =)
ReplyDeleteNice stuff... thanks...
ReplyDeleteComments are free but facts are sacred.
ReplyDeleteIn this spirit….
Testing
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ReplyDeleteThat is a great improvement, thank you.
ReplyDeleteNice comments
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this post - You've answered a lot of questions that I would normally ask myself when trying a new tool. I have to say I didn't really understand the reasons for the use of Open ID when I was told about it, but I felt a little better after I saw Nick's demonstration. Now the next step for me to get my head around it is to start trying it out!
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ReplyDeleteThanks for providing help over commenting with back links to blog. At last I did it with help of steps mentioned here
ReplyDeleteI can't get it to work. Let me have it another try.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about information and love learning more on this. If possible, as you gain expertise, It is extremely helpful for me. would you mind updating your blog with more information
ReplyDeleteIs this still works because I want to implement it in my blog?
ReplyDeleteSweet
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the code. I too am very frustrated with the new system.
ReplyDeleteI am wonder how to people leave comments using open ID but I now I would do the same to increase my links. Thanks a lot.
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ReplyDeleteI use this open id thing whenever name and url option to comment is not available.
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I don't care even if the blog has no follow or whatever it is. I will still comment on a blog whenever I digest the author's point of view. Thanks for sharing this knowledge!
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