Do You "No"?

Are you a "No Reply" blogger?

Do you know what I mean by that?

If I were a betting woman, I'd have to guess that a bunch of bloggers don't know if they are one or not! They may not even know what it means to be a "no reply" blogger.

I have set up Blogger so that I get an email anytime one of my friends leaves a comment on any of my blog posts. (I've included instructions for the settings below.) I don't have to go back to Blogger to see the comments. It's very handy. Also, if I want to reply to a comment, I can simply send an email to my blog friend. My blog friend doesn't have to go back to my blog post to see if I responded. I can do all of this through the miracle of technology.... unless.... you are a "no reply" blogger!

If you are a "no reply" blogger this is what it looks like when I try to reply by email:

Do you see who the email is addressed to? 

Oh, how sad for me. This means that if I write a response, it goes off into never-never cyberland and you will never see it. Whoever @blogger.com> is, sure must get a lot of emails!

Some people have purposely set up their system so they won't get email replies for privacy reasons. But, since I believe that the 'no reply' setting is the default setting, many folks may not even be aware of it. (You can leave a comment to this post and I can let you know if you are a "no reply" blogger, if you aren't sure.)

So... if you'd like to change your settings so that bloggers can respond to your comments by email do the following:

1. Click on "Dashboard" on the upper right side of your screen when you are logged in to Blogger. (If you don't see "Dashboard" try clicking on "New Post" then look up in the corner.)
2. Click on "Edit Profile" on the left
3. Check the box that says, "Show my email address"
4. Scroll down and save your profile settings

Now, if you leave comments on my blog I will get an email with YOUR email address on it, and I'll be able to reply to your comment! Easy Peasy!

If you want to set up your Blog so that comments to your posts go to you by email:
1. Click on "Design" or "New Post" to access the back end of Blogger.
2. Select the "Settings" tab.
3. Click on the "Comments" option.
4. Scroll all the way down and enter your email address in the box for "Comment Notification Email"
5. Save your settings.

Now, you should begin to receive comments left on your blog posts via email. Oh, if you do this Blogger is the only one who knows what your email address is. So, this still maintains privacy if you don't want folks to know your email address.

And, to address a recent issue that makes my eyes cross and my face twitch... if you want to remove Word Verification, this is also where you would do it. When you are in the Settings tab and have selected "Comments" you will see "Yes" or "No" buttons for "Show word verification for comments?" This is located a few options above the "Comment Notification Email." Ever since Blogger changed their Word Verification to a two-word format, responding to blogs that require Word Verification has become a bit more difficult. Some bloggers may not be aware that they require the verification, and they can check their settings here.