When you set up your profile, you can also choose your privacy settings.

There are several things you can list in your profile:

• • Your username
• • Your website (or blog site or Etsy shop site)
• • What state you live in (if you’re in the US)
• • General “About Me” information
• • A comma separated list of your hobbies and interests (this will create search terms that people can click on to find other people who have also listed those hobbies and interests)
• • Your birthday (you don’t need to include your birth year!)

The only thing required on your profile is your username. You can leave everything else blank.

For each bullet above (except your username), you can choose who can see it. You can choose Everyone (meaning even casual visitors to the site who are not members can see your profile information); My Friends (only the people you “friend” on the site); Only Me (only you can see it, no one else).

You can choose an avatar or the site will choose one for you. If you want to choose your own, you can upload an image from your computer. Square images work best and they must be in jpg, gif or png format. Avatars are used throughout the site — on comments, in our member lists and on your forum posts. You can change your avatar — and any of your other profile information — at any time.

You can also add a signature. The signature will appear on any of your posts to group forums. It will not show up when you comment on regular site content.

If you have questions about setting up your profile, let us know.