Is "Did you see/hear/know/read...." some kind of recommended starter sentence for questions around here? It's starting to seem "spammy."

MAJ Bryan Zeski — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 22:04:03 -0400

I just keep seeing those questions come up more and more, and often in quick succession... "Did you see this....?" "Did you know that...." "Did you hear etc....?"

Let's have some thought-provoking questions, not grist-mill.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Oct 17 at 2015 10:09 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 22:09:14 -0400

Sir, I'm not sure if I'm on the right track with this, but is it more of what you're talking about?

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Oct 17 at 2015 10:10 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 22:10:10 -0400

I have seen a lot of news reel reposting here and try to steer clear of those posts MAJ Bryan Zeski.

We can never be so smart as to not learn from others. I take every opportunity to share experiences and knowledge and to learn and understand that I will learn from everyone, and expect to learn from everyone. I try to focus on sharing thoughts on those as well as some topics that are particularly personal directly related to us as Veterans.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Oct 18 at 2015 7:35 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 07:35:01 -0400

There's unfortunately too much "lifting & shifting" from other outlets and as 1LT Scott Doyle points out, discussions need to be started as a question so the common question starters as you point out become the norm. There are in many cases so many duplicate posts on the same topic that admins find themselves merging discussions as fast as they are started. I merged 5 discussions in one day when the 2 female officers were awarded the Ranger tab. All the merges were discussions with links to the same two articles from various social media outlets. Each discussion was worded differently but asked the same question - "How do you feel...", What do you think...", "What happens now..."

I'm wondering if RP should revoke the 15 influence points you get for opening a discussion if it gets merged as a duplicate? That being said, I will admit that the initial search to see if a topic already exists when you post a discussion may not reveal that a similar post is already out there. The search is a text search so if you enter "How do you feel" vs. "What do you think" you may get no similar responses and think your topic is unique.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2015 8:31 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 08:31:23 -0400

It is how people make something into a question that wasn't to start with. It's definitely not the preferred method, but if it still sparks a good discussion it can be ok.

It's certainly not the intent though.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Oct 18 at 2015 8:34 AM

LTC Bink Romanick — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 08:34:35 -0400

MAJ Bryan Zeski I heard.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 18 at 2015 12:04 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 12:04:04 -0400

MAJ Bryan Zeski How about, "Can you believe this S@#T?"

Response by SN Greg Wright made Oct 18 at 2015 1:25 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 13:25:30 -0400

MAJ Bryan Zeski That fault lies squarely with RP's requirement that posts be questions, rather than allowing statements. It's something I don't understand, but meh.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Oct 18 at 2015 4:20 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 16:20:48 -0400

Thank you for bringing this up. It isn't just you who is tired of it, believe me. The same few people FLOOD the site with regurgitated facebook trending stories and post them here. Does the same person need to post 20 worthless topics a day to get some feeling of self worth or rack up points that mean absolutely nothing? It is very annoying, it has been brought up countless times, and it continues to be allowed. It drives away the serious members who are joining thinking that this site will be professional, and be full of constructive and meaningful military insights and discussions. We are now having to sift through countless, worthless, mind-numbing topics that belong right back on facebook where they came from. Anyway, you are not alone in your frustrations. They will tell you to block categories to tailor it to your personal interests, but that keeps us from missing out on the quality threads in that category.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Oct 19 at 2015 2:14 AM

SrA Matthew Knight — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 02:14:05 -0400

A little bit of variety in titles would be nice. I thought that when posting topics it defaulted to that style of title though. I have only posted once and don't remember formatting the title that way but when I viewed it later it was. Could have also been edited by an RP staff member but still. I don't blame people for titles like that, I've just grown accustomed to it.