Here's how you do it:

1)  Click on My Profile (next to your avatar) at the upper right hand area of any page on Beliefnet. Doing so will get you to your profile.

2)  Once at your profile, click on Profile in the blue column on the left side of the page. Doing so will open up a drop-down box with a number of selections.

3)  From that drop-down box, click on Edit Profile. Doing so will bring you to a page entitled Edit Profile | Your Basics.

4)  On that page, scroll down to about the middle of the page where you'll find a section entitled "My Faith." In that section, click on the circle next to your choice.

5)  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the orange Save Changes button to complete the process. You will probably be taken to a page or receive a message at the top of the page you're on saying that you've updated your account successfully (or words to that effect).

And you're done!

If you encounter any problems along the way, please feel free to email [url=http://community.beliefnet.com/beliefnet_community]Beliefnet_community[/url] with any questions.

Ken is a longtime Beliefnet member and vibrant contributor to a number of forums, especially the Discuss Atheism forum.  Ken, you are sorely missed.

His family has created a FaceBook page with information about Scott and contact information for anyone who may have information as to Scott's whereabouts:  www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Scott-S...

Please visit the page to see whether you have any information to provide.

Scott and his family remain in the Community's thoughts and prayers. 

Hooray!  The Location field in the About Me section of our profiles has been fixed so that we can now update that field.  Here's how:

1.   In the blue area on the left side of your profile page, click on Profile.

2.   In the drop-down menu that opens up, click Edit Profile.

3.   In the screen that opens up, there should now be a Location field appearing to the right of the field containing your birthday.  If you don’t see a Location field, refresh the page and the field will appear.

4.  Type in whatever location you want.

5.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.

When you go back to your profile page, the new location should be displayed on the Location line in the About Me section of your profile.

Cheers,
Merope, Stardove & Rangerken

This is a version of the infamous "Nigerian 419" scam. Most of us have received an email offering a huge sum of money in exchange for helping transfer funds from a foreign bank. And most of us realize right away that it's a scam, and simply delete it. But as we grow more wary, the scammers behind the emails (who really are from Lagos, Nigeria) grow more creative. Most Americans now realize that wiring money out of the country is potentially dangerous. So the scammers now try to recruit unsuspecting Americans as go-betweens.

Lonely people, susceptible to such advances, may respond to these messages. The scammer appears to fall in love with them. As a "relationship" seems to develop, they believe they have found love online. The scammer then convinces this American mark to deposit a check sent to them, and transfer it to them in another country. They might be told that the money is for emergency funds for disaster relief, medical expenses, or some other dire need. However, the money comes from another scam victim, who thinks they are safely sending it to an American bank account. Little do they know that the recipient will simply transfer the funds directly to the scammer.

According to this article on Wikipedia, faith-related social networks like Beliefnet are prime targets because the scammers assume users are more complacent (harumph!), and users may be duped by a scammer's pretext of faith. Let's show them that Beliefnet members are smarter, and will not fall for their tricks!

 Here are some ways to protect yourself:

--Make financial donations for disasters and emergencies ONLY through registered 501-c-3 charities found at www.guidestar.org.

--Before you get too deeply involved with someone online, get their real name, street address and phone number, and check them out.

--If your online romantic interest asks for money for ANY reason, be suspicious.

--Do not cash checks or money orders sent to you by people you only know from the internet.

--Never transfer money to someone you only know from the internet, especially in another country.

More information:
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8171053/
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8704213/

You probably noticed something new on your Beliefnet profile. Activity points are here!

Earn Activity Points for doing the things you do every day in Beliefnet Community. Post in your Journal, post on the Forums, join Groups, upload Photos, and more.

As you earn Activity Points, you will notice that you rise in rank. If you want to rise higher, it's easy to earn more points; just keep posting!

The more you post, not only will you have more fun in the community, but you might even find yourself on the Leaderboard, or the Wall of Fame. And watch for special contests where you can earn bonus Activity Points.

Here is the list, showing how many points you can earn:

Points...Activity
  10......Rate Content
  10......Vote on a Poll
  10......Post Comment on a Profile
  10......Post on a Forum
  10......Update your Status
  25......Update Your Profile
  25......Join a Group
  25......Upload a Video
  25......Send Content to a Friend
  50......Start a Forum Thread
100......Upload a Photo
100......Send a Network Invite
100......Add a Journal Post
250......Refer a New Member

(if one of your posts is removed for violating the Rules of Conduct, that is -500 points... so let's not let that happen, okay? ;-)

Here's how many points you need to earn each rank:

0 points: Level 1
100 points: Level 2
1,000 points: Level 3
5,000 points: Level 4
15,000 points: Level 5
50,000 points: Level 6
100,000 points: Level 7
250,000 points: Level 8
500,000 points: Level 9
1,000,000 points: Level 10

That's all there is to it. If you have any questions you can post them here. Now, have fun racking up the points!

Martha

In a few days, we will be unveiling a new program that will let you measure even more of your accomplishments on Beliefnet Community. Our new points system will give you credit, not only for your Forums posts, but also for creating Journal posts, uploading Photos and Videos, and commenting. You can even earn points for updating your Profile, voting on a Poll, even just for joining a Group! And there are big point rewards for telling your friends about Beliefnet Community.

You will earn ranks as your points increase. We will spotlight the most active contributors on the new Wall of Fame page. Take on your friends in challenges and contests, and watch your point balance grow.

I will post again when we officially launch the program. :-)

In response to member requests, I have re-set the default display for Forums so that the posts appear in chronological order, beginning with the oldest post at the top.

You may change your own display at any time, if you would prefer to have it the other way around. At the top of each thread, you will see a small link that says "Show Oldest Posts First" or "Show Newest Posts First". Just click that link to change your preferred view.

Apologies if anyone is confused by the switch.

Martha Ainsworth
Director of Community
Beliefnet.com