From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Mon Feb  4 09:22:02 2008
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2008 11:22:02 -0600
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 3, Issue 5
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20802040922y46ff58f5n6f5a3bcffcf84bb7@mail.gmail.com>

  [image: NetAdventist News And Notes]


   Volume III, Issue 5?Monday, February 4, 2008
  [image: WEEKLY POLL]

      Each week a poll is posted on the *net*Adventist website. Respond by
clicking on the poll graphic below?which doesn't necessarily represent the
current poll ?then looking for "Local Poll" in the left-hand menu
bar.Yourfeedback is important to us. We appreciate you taking the time
to
participate in our weekly polls. *This week's poll question is "Do you put
book reviews of Christian resources on your Web site?"*

In the results from last week's poll, 46% of respondents said they have a
hard time finding graphics for their Web sites, while 54% said they don't.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A reader shared with us about another photo site called Stock
Xchng <http://www.sxc.hu/> that offers royalty-free graphics and photos,
many of them free. Their URL is www.sxc.hu.
      [image: VIEW POLL AT
http://www.netadventist.org]<http://www.netadventist.org/>


   [image: netTip of the Week]

*Three Ways to Improve Your Page Rank on Google*

*1. Obtain inbound links*?Part of the way Google ranks your pages is based
on the number of links pointing to your pages, so try to get other Web sites
to point to your site. Start by asking affiliated groups such as area
schools, ministries, churches, and your conference to link to your site,
then offer to do the same in return.

*2. Increase your keyword density*?It has been shown that Google considers
keyword density a large factor in ranking pages in search engines results,
more so than any other search engine. Review your site content and make sure
it includes those keywords that visitors are using to search for your
organization.

*3. Use ALT tags on images*?If you have been loading images on your site
without bothering to include alternative text in the image's properties, now
is a good time to change your ways. Make it a habit to always include
alternative text about your images as Google indexes the alternative text
found in ALT tags. For example, if you load a picture of your pastor on your
site, be sure to include "Pastor of Caldwell Church" in the alternative text
field.

In next week's newsletter, we will take a closer work at why keyword density
is so important in improving your search engine rankings.

*Feel free to email us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> your netTip ideas. Your
information may be featured in an upcoming newsletter.*

   [image: netReach]

*Free book reviews to use on your Web site*

Church members are always looking for new reading material. You can help
them find new books and encourage their spiritual walk with book reviews on
your Web site. Non-Adventist visitors will also benefit from book reviews on
your site as they often are looking for resources in their search for God.
Your church can help them.

If you don't have the time or the staff to generate book reviews on your
site, then add the BookLook
<http://www.pacificpress.com/rss/booklook.xml>RSS Feed. Two new book
reviews will appear on your site every other week.
BookLook reviews new books available at your Adventist Book Center.

To place the BookLook RSS Feed on your site, click on the Plugin drop-down
menu in your Layout Manager, select News, select Custom, and then select Add
New Public RSS Feed. Copy and paste this URL (
www.pacificpress.com/rss/booklook.xml) into the screen, give it a title, and
select how you want it displayed. Note: The BookLook feed displays best in
the center column.

There is also a book review feed for teachers that schools can put on their
site, called BookLook for
Educators<http://www.pacificpress.com/rss/booklook2.xml>.
The URL for this RSS feed is www.pacificpress.com/rss/booklook2.xml.

*Feel free to send us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> other resources or articles
you'd like to see.*

   [image: FAQs]

     *What is the Auto-Responses tab in the Messaging section of the
Dashboard for?*

 *net*Adventist has included several default auto-response messages so you
don't have to repeatedly create them. These are auto-responses you will use
frequently. The description field displays what each auto-response is for.
To edit one, simply click Edit next to your desired message, enter your
changes, and click Save.

*To submit a question for the FAQs column, email us<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
Your FAQ may also be added to the FAQ list in our online help
manual<http://help.netadventist.org/>.
*

 ------------------------------

*Publisher:* TAGnet
*Editor:* Daniel A. Houghton, Executive Vice President
*Managing Editor:* Nicole M. Batten, Communications Manager/Content Liaison

*Contact info*
To suggest story ideas or questions, send information about resources to
include in this newsletter, or to submit articles, click
here<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.

For letters to the editor, click here <nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
To submit a change of email address for your own subscription to the
newsletter, click here <newsletter-owner at netadventist.org>.
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From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Mon Feb 11 17:15:31 2008
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:15:31 -0600
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 3, Issue 6
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20802111715o59eee4f8v2cde2f08d092189e@mail.gmail.com>

  [image: NetAdventist News And Notes]

    Volume III, Issue 6?Monday, February 11, 2008



*SPECIAL ISSUE?Important Communication Regarding Recent Hacker Attack*

Many of you have been experiencing problems with your *net*Adventist site
over the past few days. This is due to an attack by hackers that occurred on
Thursday, February 7. We have been working around the clock to resolve this
issue and insure the security of your data.

As soon as we became aware of the problem on February 7 we removed all of
the sites immediately to prevent further damage. Most the sites were offline
for 24 hours, some as much as 36 hours. Some of you also had unfortunate
words displayed on your site, courtesy of the hackers, for this we
apologize. We understand the past few days have been an inconvenience to
many of you. Please rest assured we take the trust you have placed in us
very seriously, and we are doing everything possible to keep your data
secure and insure this doesn't happen again.

*In this special issue, we have detailed what we are doing to protect you,
as well as outlined the actions that Web masters and users should take to
restore full function of their site.*

Although less than 10% of the total number of *net*Adventist Web sites were
hacked, we removed internet access to all the sites to assure that the
problem was corrected and the proper security measures implemented. The
specific areas that were breached by the hackers have been fixed. Upon
further study, we decided to take additional precaution to minimize the
potential for this type of intrusion in the future. This took additional
time, but made our system more secure. As a result of this incident, we have
designed a placeholder site that will display should your site ever be
unavailable to minimize confusion in an outage.

You may have noticed that some of the recent changes you made to your site
were lost. This is because when we began restoring the netAdventist sites,
we used the site backup that was made on Wednesday, February 6, but in some
cases we had to use a previous backup if someone was on your site during the
normal backup process. As part of restoring the *net*Adventist sites, we
also had to remove all passwords.

*This means that all Web masters and site users will need to create new
passwords.* A temporary password has been assigned to you and the
instructions for recovering it are detailed below. Once you obtain your
temporary password, you can create a new password. DO NOT USE YOUR OLD
PASSWORD! This is very important! To help you in choosing a new password, we
have included a link to Microsoft's site that shows you how to create a
stronger password. A strong password protects you and your site.

How to create a stronger password:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/create.mspx.

Please carefully review and follow the instructions listed below.

*Steps for recovering your temporary password:*

1. Click the Login button on your site.

2. Click the "Forgotten Your Password?" link near the bottom of that form.

3. Type in your email address and hit [Send Password].

The system will then email your password to your email address. If it
doesn't have your email address as one of the registered users, you will get
"Sorry, no corresponding user was found." This means that, either you used a
different email address, or you don't have an account on the system.

If you are a Web master for your site, you may want to be sure that the
"User Menu" is on your website so that users can change their passwords on
their own?without having to contact you to change it in the Dashboard.

*Steps to add the User Menu to your site:*

1. Log in to your dashboard (see above if you don't know your password).

2. Click on Layout Control.

3. Under "Add Plugin" choose "Menus" and then "User Menu."

4. You can position it where you want on your site (probably below the
login) and then choose [Save] at the bottom.

Once you exit the Dashboard you should see the User Menu (since you're still
logged in). Then you can select the "Edit/Update User Details" to update
your information, including your password. Guests can't view this menu, only
users who have logged in.

*Can't find the Login box to retrieve your password?*

On a few sites, you may have removed the Login plugin for your site because
you don't want users to apply (you post everything for guests). If you've
removed the Login plugin from your site you may have difficulty recovering
your password. Here is how to get straight to the login menu:

In the address line of your browser add at the end of your church's website
URL the following: /index.php?option=com_login (ex:
church.netadventist.org/index.php?option=com_login). This will take you
straight to the Login plugin and you can recover your password using the
three-step process above.

*Adding an announcement to your Web site:*

Since your users will need to reset their passwords as well, you will want
to post an announcement on your site giving them the three-step process for
recovering their password. Here are the steps for adding this announcement
to your site:

1. Log in to your Dashboard (see above if you don't know your password).

2. Click on the My Content tab and then "Static Content."

3. At the bottom click "Add Static Content."

4. Add a title to this content "Recovering Your Password."

5. In the body area add the following:


   To Recover Your Password:

   1. Click the Login button on your site.

   2. Click the "Forgotten Your Password?" link near the bottom of that
   form.

   3. Type in your email address and hit [Send Password].

 6. Hit [Save Static Content] at the bottom.

7. Go to the Layout Control tab.

8. Under[Add Plugin] Select "Static Content" and then your new page
"Recovering Your Password."

9. You can place it on your site in a prominent location on your site (at
the top) and hit [Save] at the bottom.

10. You can exit the Dashboard and see the new article on your site.

 *We deeply appreciate your patience and understanding during this
unfortunate event.* We will continue to make every effort to prevent it from
happening again in the future. Please accept our humble apology for any
inconvenience it has caused.

We also want to take this opportunity to let you know that our new
3.0version of netAdventist is nearing completion. This powerful
upgrade is a
complete rewrite that will significantly advance the communication,
education, and evangelism abilities of your Web site?further empowering you
in your ministry.

Thank you for your prayers. Our team is praying for you and your ministry as
you work to advance the Kingdom.

*The netAdventist Team*


 ------------------------------

*Publisher:* TAGnet
*Editor:* Daniel A. Houghton, Executive Vice President
*Managing Editor:* Nicole M. Batten, Communications Manager/Content Liaison

*Contact info*
To suggest story ideas or questions, send information about resources to
include in this newsletter, or to submit articles, click
here<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.

For letters to the editor, click here <nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
To submit a change of email address for your own subscription to the
newsletter, click here <newsletter-owner at netadventist.org>.
<file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Craig/Desktop/Special%20Issue.htm>
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From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Mon Feb 18 15:04:05 2008
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:04:05 -0600
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 3, Issue 7
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20802181504s273a5894wcfb4439a775bf060@mail.gmail.com>

  [image: NetAdventist News And Notes]

     Volume III, Issue 7?Monday, February 18, 2008

  [image: WEEKLY POLL]

      Each week a poll is posted on the *net*Adventist website. Respond by
clicking on the poll graphic below?which doesn't necessarily represent the
current poll ?then looking for "Local Poll" in the left-hand menu
bar.Yourfeedback is important to us. We appreciate you taking the time
to
participate in our weekly polls. *This week's poll question is "How careful
are you about copyright infringement on your Web site?"*      [image: VIEW
POLL AT http://www.netadventist.org] <http://www.netadventist.org/>

   [image: netTip of the Week]

*How Keyword Density Helps Your Web Site*

A simple way to improve your Web site's placement in search engine results
is to increase the keyword density of your Web page.

A keyword is a word that the user searches for when using a search engine.
Keyword density is the ratio of the word that is being searched for (i.e.
keyword) against the total number of words that appear on your Web page. For
example, if your keyword, "Oakdell Church," appears only once on a page of a
thousand words, it has a lower keyword density than if it occurs four times
on a page of comparable length.

When a keyword has a higher density on your Web page, the likelihood of your
Web page obtaining a better search engine ranking increases. So for example,
if you want people to find your church when they do a keyword search of
Oakdell churches, make sure the words "Oakdell Church" occurs frequently on
your Web pages.

In next week's newsletter, we'll show you how to effectively increase
keyword density on your Web site.

*Feel free to email us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> your netTip ideas. Your
information may be featured in an upcoming newsletter.*

   [image: netReach]

*Basics of Copyright Law*

Just about everything on the Web is protected by copyright law, including
images, music, page content, and multimedia. It's important to understand
how copyrighting affects the content you place and use on your site.

In the U.S., as in many other countries, you can assume that the content and
images you find on the Web are protected by copyright unless a site
specifically says visitors are free to copy the content. This is because an
original work is protected by copyright even if the creator doesn't file any
formal paperwork or include a copyright notice on their Web page.

So if you see an image or article on someone's Web page, it doesn't mean you
are free to use it on your own page. To protect yourself, you should get
permission from the author before using it.

For more on copyrights, visit www.copyright.gov. <http://www.copyright.gov/>

*Feel free to send us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> other resources or articles
you'd like to see.*

   [image: FAQs]

     *I can't find the Login box on our site. How do I access it?*

 You may have removed the Login plugin for your site by accident, or on
purpose if you didn't want users applying for accounts. Don't worry, there
is a way to access it. This is especially important if you, or your Web site
staff, need to recover your passwords.

Here is how to get straight to the Login menu:

In the address line of your browser add to the end of your church's Web site
URL the following: */index.php?option=com_login* (ex:
church.netadventist.org/index.php?option=com_login). This will take you
straight to the Login menu.

*To submit a question for the FAQs column, email us<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
Your FAQ may also be added to the FAQ list in our online help
manual<http://help.netadventist.org/>.
*
* *

* *
* *
------------------------------
*
Publisher: TAGnet
Editor: Daniel A. Houghton, Executive Vice President
Managing Editor: Nicole M. Batten, Communications Manager/Content Liaison *

* Contact info
To suggest story ideas or questions, send information about resources to
include in this newsletter, or to submit articles, click
here<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.

For letters to the editor, click here <nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
To submit a change of email address for your own subscription to the
newsletter, click here <newsletter-owner at netadventist.org>. *
* *
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From newsletter_admin at netadventist.org  Mon Feb 25 23:32:28 2008
From: newsletter_admin at netadventist.org (NetAdventist Newsletter)
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:32:28 -0600
Subject: NetAdventist News & Notes - Volume 3, Issue 8
Message-ID: <dc28d5c20802252332l140022f5ib92a3b1c648f4744@mail.gmail.com>

  [image: NetAdventist News And Notes]


   Volume III, Issue 8?Monday, February 25, 2008

  [image: WEEKLY POLL]

      Each week a poll is posted on the *net*Adventist website. Respond by
clicking on the poll graphic below?which doesn't necessarily represent the
current poll ?then looking for "Local Poll" in the left-hand menu
bar.Yourfeedback is important to us. We appreciate you taking the time
to
participate in our weekly polls. *This week's poll question is "How often
would you prefer to receive this newsletter?"*

In the results from last week's poll, 76% of respondents said they were very
careful about copyright infringement on their Web site.
      [image: VIEW POLL AT
http://www.netadventist.org]<http://www.netadventist.org/>


   [image: netTip of the Week]

*How to Increase Your Web Site's Keyword Density*

The first step to increasing your keyword density is to brainstorm which
search terms a user is likely to use when searching for the information your
site provides. For example, a visitor who is looking for information on
Christian schools in Oakdell may search for things like "Oakdell private
schools," "Oakdell religious education," "Christian academy in Oakdell,"
"elementary education in Oakdell," "Oakdell Adventist schools," etc?

Once you have made a list of keywords, don't just dump them indiscriminately
into your Web pages. Not only does it look odd and make your content jilted,
it doesn't work with all search engines. Some search engines are smart when
processing keywords and check to make sure the keywords occurring together
make sense. It they don't, they penalize your site.

Instead, work your list of keywords into sentences in a way that supports
your existing content on your Web page. For example, if you want your page
to have a high ranking when someone searches for Christian schools in
Oakdell, then use your keywords instead of substituting with pronouns like
"it" or "us." Of course you have to use your discretion with this or your
page will be unpleasant to read.

*Feel free to email us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> your netTip ideas. Your
information may be featured in an upcoming newsletter.*

   [image: netType]

*Five Tips for Writing for the Web*

People read differently on the Web than they do print?most noticeably they
never read word-for-word, they scan. Consider these tips for when writing
for the Web.

1. Use active verbs and a conversational tone.

2. Be concise: say a lot in a few words.

3. Summarize first. Put your main points in the first paragraph.

4. Keep your paragraphs short. (Maximum five lines.)

5. Use Headlines and sub-headings, as well as lists. It makes your content
easier to scan.

*Feel free to send us <nicoleb at netadventist.org> other resources or articles
you'd like to see.*

   [image: FAQs]

     *Should I save my graphics for my Web site as GIFs or JPEGs? What
format is best?*

 That depends on your graphic. The JPEG (or JPG) format is used mostly for
photos and complex images, though it can be used for other graphics as well.
The GIF format is used mostly for page elements, such as lines or shapes,
and diagrams. Diagram-type images look better as GIFs than JPEGs.

You shouldn't use GIF for photos. The JPEG format is better for photos
because it supports full-color images and its huge compression ratios mean
faster download speeds. However, be aware that JPEG images degrade each time
they are edited and saved.

*To submit a question for the FAQs column, email us<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
Your FAQ may also be added to the FAQ list in our online help
manual<http://help.netadventist.org/>.
*

 ------------------------------

*Publisher:* TAGnet
*Editor:* Daniel A. Houghton, Executive Vice President
*Managing Editor:* Nicole M. Batten, Communications Manager/Content Liaison

*Contact info*
To suggest story ideas or questions, send information about resources to
include in this newsletter, or to submit articles, click
here<nicoleb at netadventist.org>.

For letters to the editor, click here <nicoleb at netadventist.org>.
To submit a change of email address for your own subscription to the
newsletter, click here <newsletter-owner at netadventist.org>.
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