We're glad to have you as a member!
You are being shown this page because this is the first time you've logged-in since your account was confirmed. You will see this page every time you log in until you click the appropriate link at the bottom of the page. This ensures that you've both read this short overview and also presents a small roadblock to spam robots.
Model Insider was founded in February, 2009 as a site to serve the needs of the Internet modeling and photography community. For the past few years there have been only a handful of sites seriously serving this market and none of them seemed to try to address all of the issues and concerns of the community. Model Insider does things differently. We listen to our users, as we are members of the community, ourselves. We are not owned by a large company with other sites and responsibilities to other markets, nor are we in this simply to be the biggest player. It is our stated mission to provide the very best tools to serve our community while providing a place for social networking and fun at the same time. Model Insider is a site where the enthusiastic hobbyist can learn from the seasoned professional, and everyone in between is welcome. Our goal is to provide a valuable resource to everyone.
Our site is powerful. We have more features and functionality than any other site. As such, it can get confusing at times. Over the next few months we'll be working hard to make the site easier and easier to use and also provide video tutorials on some of the more powerful features. We're constantly evolving and growing and welcome you to grow with us!
Of course, one problem with social sites is the number of spamming bots that register and fill the site with garbage. To discourage this, we require that you simply click on the link, below, which will automatically enable all of the site's features. Enabling the features allows your account full access to Model Insider and prevents this page from coming up every time you log in. Spamming robots don't click on links :-)
If you read nothing else, please take a moment to read this!
We would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some links to very important information. Model Insider is doing all that we can to educate the community about scams and other aspects of our industry that, once understood, can be rendered harmless. Unfortunately, models and photographers make easy targets for scammers who promise lavish payment for dubious job offers. NewModels.com has great information on these scams and how to avoid them.
Most importantly, you should know that if you ever receive a message on this or any other site, or a direct email informing you that someone would like to hire you and send you payment in advance it is almost surely a scam! The industry does not work like that. The scammer will ask for your mailing address and send you one or more checks. These checks are fake! The scam works by asking you to cash the check(s), keep a portion for yourself, and forward the money on to someone else. Once the fake check bounces, your bank will want that money back. Even if your bank accepts the check, it will still be found to be fake and bounce and you will be responsible for paying that money back. This scam occurs many times every day to unsuspecting new members of our community. If you are aware of it, you can avoid it. At Model Insider, we truly care about our community and don't want to see a single person taken by this scam. Be Aware!
Is It A Scam? is an article here at Model Insider written by the author of NewModels.com and outlines how to identify a scam right out of the gate. Beyond that, and for more detailed information, also see www.newmodels.com/Nigeria.html, http://www.newmodels.com/bogus.html and http://www.newmodels.com/myths.html.
After you read those pages, you may want to read the entire site. Scams are aimed at people who have little idea how the business really works. If you take time to understand the business, you can spot the scams and also be able to spot the valuable, genuine jobs. Please do not post the entire content of any scam you receive in the forum. Instead if people ask if something is a scam share this information. Education is far more productive than posting something they'll only re-word in a week.
People often receive these because they put their e-mails in their profiles. This is not advised, as scammers use programs to search for them & share/sell lists of e-mails with one another. Keeping your email address off of your profile will reduce the amount of spam you get, though it won't stop it entirely. Treat all email that you get carefully. That said, even scammers can sign up for accounts at modeling sites, so be aware! Many will also claim to have acquired your contact information directly through the modeling site, and even as a part of a "screening exercise" performed by the site. This is simply not true - no sites do this. The scammer is lying.
Would you like to know more? Once you've activated your account, click on the Features menu item at the top of the page and select Articles. We have some very good resources and we're adding more all the time. And if you have any questions, please ask in the forum! We have lots of helpful members, including members of Team Insider who are here to lend a hand however they can.
Model Insider really is run by the community for the community!
