Is RallyPoint as good as it once was?

2016-01-19T09:12:34-05:00

I have not been on RP like I used to. For me it was like Facebook for military people. There were those hard liners that were, Blah! Blah! Blah!, "more professional-less social". Then there were my friends. We were able to share and talk in a relaxed atmosphere. It was enjoyable. Now it seems to be 5 or so people that repost Task and Purpose articles and then ask, "What do you think?"

Was this last update intentional to guide the user away from being social? Had we took RP to a place that the founders did not want to go? Is this the professional page that the shirts and ties were looking for. As an E-5 Vet there is not much I can tell a O-5 about and there is not much I need from a O-5 in my professional life.

For me I am ready to call it quits, which sucks because I used to enjoy getting on every day. Now I feel that it is just a huge disappointment. Is anybody else with me?

Response by LTC Jason Strickland made Jan 19 at 2016 9:24 AM

2016-01-19T09:24:38-05:00

SGT William Howell, I understand your frustration. Let's consider some of the posts as "growing pains" and I'll bet RP gets back on track. Like you, I find posts of cats uninspiring; however, I do appreciate the periodic updates that are very relevant to my life as a veteran. I always recommend making suggestions to the RP team in order to improve upon an already good product they have provided.

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Jan 19 at 2016 9:25 AM

2016-01-19T09:25:55-05:00

I like it okay. The only thing I don't care for is someone downing your post or comment without an explanation, if we were face to face would you do that? I think not.

Response by CMSgt James Nolan made Jan 19 at 2016 9:44 AM

2016-01-19T09:44:34-05:00

SGT William Howell I agree to some extent, I like the quasi-networking aspect of it. Essentially, it was a "club", sort of a facebook, but with similar mindsets.
For me it is about staying in touch with, and seeing/hearing/discussing viewpoints related to contemporary military issues, because they potentially are applicable to myself and my unit.

I do not care for the new format. It may be better, but I like the old better.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made Jan 19 at 2016 9:47 AM

2016-01-19T09:47:52-05:00

I really enjoyed RP way back when there was unlimited thumbs up. Missed those days. Those were the days when we had fun hijacking topics, I know many of my topics were hijacked by those close to me, were talking about one topic then in the middle of it all the topic changed to something else that was more fun, because we were able to interact laugh at each other willingly. What I see now is a new look to RP, still have everyone I requested for and those whom requested for me, I can still email them when ever I want, but I guess one of the reasons why I don't post much, its not because I lost interest, but because every question I really wanted to know about todays (Army) compare to my time were all asked and answered. Posting some questions in my time was fun, like "Who is your favorite RP Member?", it got personal but in a good way. Its really all up to you as a member on how creative you can get to have others interact with you and if they feel very comfortable then get ready to have the topic get high jacked for the fun of it :), I guess once you have that, its a good feeling to know that years ago when RP didn't exists, here you sit with a group of people you never meet but have many things in common with, enjoying each other in a respectful way. Life for me wouldn't be the same if it existed without both SM and Veterans together in this kind of environment. Sometimes leaving RP may not be a good thing, but taking some time off to regroup ones mind and thoughts is. Some how many who one day decide to leave actually come back not knowing why and choose to stay. We all one thing in common here, we all served in the military so we all know what it was like.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2016 9:48 AM

2016-01-19T09:48:06-05:00

For me, it feels a lot like any other discussion group grounded in professional subject matter. We get to break away from the "usual" responses, which I feel helps RP members of all ages/experiences learn something useful. I sometimes see "angles" I'd never have seen otherwise, and continue to learn from those with more experience than myself. I take most "up" votes as validation my thought patterns and skill sets are on par..."down" votes as areas I may know less than I thought :)

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2016 9:50 AM

2016-01-19T09:50:55-05:00

SGT William Howell These are great questions. I understand how you're feeling. I've asked if the number of contributors is down and was told no the number is up. It may be in how we were used to viewing posts compared to the options that are now available to view them. What I mean is are you looking at the posts that are made under the "Home" option or looking under the drop down from the "Answers" option. Under the "Answers" option you will find "My Discussions" which are more personalized for you. RP is trying to get the relevant content in front of the right people. They've been tweeking the systems asking for and accepting suggestions for making RP a better place.
When people post, the more people that engage in the post the higher it will be in the feed and the more people that will see it. If you want specific people to engage in a post with you, you may try tagging them in because they may not be seeing that specific post due to the personalization.
When people engage in what you post then more people see it.
Don't forget about the Post an Update link allows the user to post to just his or her contacts and the messaging option allows for private messages to be sent and received.
SSG Howell I hope that you stay on RP, I've always enjoyed your contributions and occasionally having discussions with you.
Others may be able to give you a better answer LTC Yinon Weiss SSG Carlos Madden SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4"

Response by SSgt Terry P. made Jan 19 at 2016 9:51 AM

2016-01-19T09:51:58-05:00

SGT William Howell I do not like the new format,the format that was in place when i joined seemed more suited to the purpose .

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Jan 19 at 2016 9:59 AM

2016-01-19T09:59:16-05:00

"As an E-5 Vet there is not much I can tell a O-5 about and there is not much I need from a O-5 in my professional life." -- neither statement is true, you have a lot to contribute to others' lives, and they have a lot to contribute (and want to) to your life. You should use more of the "Hide this Post" capability and also adjust what you see in your settings.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 19 at 2016 10:32 AM

2016-01-19T10:32:52-05:00

There are discussions that interest me and those that don't. There are people who share my point of view and those who don't. There are discussions where I can merely lurk and learn. Others are boring. Why should I complain that some people annoy me when it is so easy to ignore them? Why should I complain that some people don't share my point of view or interests when there are others who do? Why should I whine that the world isn't perfectly suited to my every whim when so much of it intrigues me? No, RP isn't perfect, but then what is? Who is? Certainly not me. Certainly not you.

Response by CSM Michael Poll made Jan 19 at 2016 10:39 AM

2016-01-19T10:39:42-05:00

It has become a haven of Memes and some worthless information. It was designed to help Soldiers, Sailor, Marines and Airmen with networking and issues. This part is till there, but a majority of my feeds are nothing but facebook/twitter garbage,

Response by SGT Rick Ash made Jan 19 at 2016 12:04 PM

2016-01-19T12:04:52-05:00

I have been a member for one year now but in that time RP has gone downhill quickly. There are less new topics and old posts/threads seem to last forever. (Should the military create a Warrior Class?) I thought we all are / were. There appears to be a preponderance of liberal admins and mods that delete conservative posts with no reason provided. Maybe it's just perception on my part, what was shiny and new is now a little used. I only post when I have something of value but I try and make new contacts every day, I am not trying to rack up Influence Points. But I notice that many with 500,000 or 1,000,000 points responds in threads with only a "Thanks!" or "Great!" as their contribution. All that being said, I will stick around. One question though, how does a Civilian verify their membership when we are supposed to submit our DD214 or Honorable Discharge within 2 weeks to be "verified"?
Thanks,
Rick

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jan 19 at 2016 1:10 PM

2016-01-19T13:10:28-05:00

I don't feel that it has significantly changed over the last year or so that I have been a member. MY status has changed...from Active Duty to Retired....because of this transition, I don't have as much time to come on as I once did... Does this mean I have any less to contribute? no. Does it mean that I have more to contribute? no. Does this mean that I have DIFFERENT perspective to contribute from? YES. While I will always be willing to mentor Active Duty/Guard/Reserve folk, I am not going to even pretend to keep up with any changes in regulations. HOWEVER, as I have gone through the process of retirement, I may be able to contribute more on questions that have come up by others on what works and what doesn't work when preparing to leave service. you will ALWAYS get some Cat posts....game invites, whatever from social media..... focus on the areas that you want to focus on and let the rest go.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jan 19 at 2016 1:29 PM

2016-01-19T13:29:29-05:00

Are the united states as good as they used to be?

Nostalgia is a tough beast.

I'd say RP became more customized. I've been taught to use the customizing functionality, contact management and hide post features to improve my experience, I like it.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2016 4:23 PM

2016-01-19T16:23:05-05:00

SGT William Howell before I post a discussion, I verify that is tagged correctly. I post on groups where I can talk about things that appeal to my interest. I also tag people that I know share my interests, like, if I want to talk about cars I would tag SGT Private RallyPoint Member LTC Private RallyPoint Member and MSgt Jack DeYoung. Obviously, there are always the trailblazers that just comment a "Yes" to get the bonus points but, beside that, I enjoy the platform RP has become.

Response by Cpl Mario DiPasquale made Jan 19 at 2016 4:57 PM

2016-01-19T16:57:59-05:00

I understand what you are saying. I'm a 1%'r and I don't really use the site. I believe RallyPoint needs to make some huge changes to attract members. We don't need another social media site. We all have enough of those. Build a business that elevates veterans.
RallyPoint could be an amazing tool and growing pains are a part of any startup. They just received Series B funding to expand. Hopefully the right individuals are added to the company to help build RallyPoint into what it could be.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Jan 20 at 2016 1:58 AM

2016-01-20T01:58:22-05:00

I chose I don't like it but still use it. I wouldn't officially say I don't like RP because I love this community and many of the people here. However, since the format change to this new one home page for all topics style I just can't navigate it well anymore. There was a lot of topics I used to love to see but since I don't follow whatever groups they are tagged in I don't see them anymore and I haven't found it easy to try and figure out what they're tagged as. I liked the old set up with the four sections: Military, General Interest, Veterans, Education or something like that. That way I could go into anyone of the areas I felt like surfing through and pick out topics related to them.

Overall, I still like it here, I am just no where near as active now that I can't find the types of topics I used to frequent.

Response by SPC(P) Jay Heenan made Jan 20 at 2016 12:33 PM

2016-01-20T12:33:27-05:00

I think it shows us how the world is today. Things can't make everyone happy, so they whine and bitch about it until someone makes them happy. We focus on the importance of how things should or shouldn't make us happy and forget that we are responsible for making ourselves happy. Example, I think Twitter is dumb, so I don't participate in it. I don't care if other people love it or other people don't. It is my decision to either like it enough to participate or leave it alone. Think about all the issues are discussed on here, is it plausible that we are all going to agree? No way, but we are adults here and should be able to have a discussion without having to run to Momma (the admins) when someone hurts our precious sensitive feelers.
People keep comparing it to FB or some other social media site and the fact is that it is not comparable at all. It is its own site, and we (along with RP staff) define it as we use it and move forward. Sure, I didn't care to see pictures of cats and flowers, so I made changes to ensure that happens. Some might love that stuff and that is okay too. At the end of the day, I am just glad that there is a place I can go where I know people understand me. This is just my opinion. *Steps off soapbox*
To actually (and finally) answer the question, yes, I think RP is better than it was. And yes SGT William Howell you and an 0-5 could learn a lot from each other, after all, you are both human, both Veterans (or will be) and both have a unique perspective on things you have experienced in life.

Response by LCpl Josh Powers made Nov 15 at 2022 8:10 PM

2022-11-15T20:10:45-05:00

The amount of Government loyalist BS I see on here compared to constitutional loyalists that once made up the military genuinely makes me sick. I can truly see how the military has been purged of what used to be the majority that had a moral compass and a duty to defend the people but it has since been replaced with heaps of "jackboot yes sir just following orders" SCUM.