Pat Drummond :: life & technology

www.patdrummond.org

January 06, 2017

Removing links from Comments in Blogger

I finally got fed up with getting comments to my blog posts that contained links to websites.  I don't notice them when the "moderation" notice arrives in my mail but there they are once the comment is published.  These people manage to create a link in their comment on a normal word like "Thanks", Links in comments are never useful in my opinion.

The comment is made just to increase their website's ranking in Google Search. Blogger (and most other blog services) add rel="nofollow" to all links in comments, so search services won't index the link anyway. 

Blogger gives only the option of deleting a comment, not editing it. I found this page explaining how to remove links from blogger comments: http://www.mybloggerlab.com/... I do not promise these techniques will work in the future.

1. If you are comfortable editing the template, just add this code to the style tag: .comment-content a {display:none;} 
 
2. If you use an old template that formats comments using an id named comments, use this code instead: #comments dl dd p a {display: none;}

3. To remove the link but display the text, add this code to the template right below the body tag:
<!--Remove Comment Links -->
<script>$(".comment-content
a[rel$=nofollow]").replaceWith(function(){return
($(this).text());});
</script>

Blogger.com - please add a setting to prevent links in comments!


April 3, 2017: 
Today I had a request to remove a "link" to their business in a comment.  Apparently the solutions above no longer worked.  It took some searching but when I went to "edit" the post, on the right side I noticed was "Options". Under "Reader comments" I selected "Don't allow, hide existing". This removed the entire comment. I didn't touch "Backlinks" as I didn't want to break my own links in the post.

January 04, 2017

GPS Navigation Offline & Free

Most Android devices have Google Maps built in. I was amazed to discover you can download and store maps for a city or even larger region, and use them for turn-by-turn voice navigation when you are offline. (You should store your maps on an external SD card, as the files can quickly eat up your storage.)

Offline navigation is useful if you have poor reception on your mobile - or don't have a data plan at all!  Before you head out on the road, toggle to “Wi-fi only” to prevent connecting to online maps and use the maps stored on your phone instead. Your phone will function as it normally does.

* The first time I tested Google Maps offline, it wouldn't let me enter an address that was a house number on a highway number. Maybe there's some secret trick to make it work. So I just found the highway on the map, tapped about where I thought the address was, and proceeded with turn-by-turn voice navigation. Close enough - and what do you want for free?! About 8 years ago, an offline GPS navigation app cost me $80.

Google Maps Blog: https://blog.google/products/maps/get-around-town-little-easier-with-new