I don't know if anyone has noticed this or how long it has been up,but I just noticed theirs a feature where you can put in what country you are from and it will show a flag on your profile next to your name.Look at my profile as an example.Again I have no clue how long this has been an option.I just now noticed it,and wanted to point it out.
oh yeah your right.There is a merit notify option is definatly new.I think they must be doing alot lately,since they are getting alot of new options on the site.