What can Rallypoint do to help itself as a true veteran social media network?

2021-12-28T01:36:51-05:00

Rallypoint is a great idea in theory. A place for servicemembers and veterans from all eras and walks of life to connect. But it doesn't seem like that is the case. In the current state it's a very toxic site that dissuades users from maintaining an account. All the post I see are from the same users and when there is the occasional new user the current community drives them out. What are some ways you think rallypoint could attract and keep new users to get a more diverse base? Some of my ideas are:

1. Better moderation. There's a lot of thinly veiled racism and politically charged low quality post on here. There's only so many time I can look at a post about how xyz politician is evil or something. It's exhausting to have to look at it everywhere. There's specific tags for it but people intentionally select numerous irrelevant tags so even if you're not subscribed to it you're forced to see it.

2. Better UI. The current looks nice but actually sucks when it comes to finding anything. It's more of a hassle than it's worth to find topics based on what you want to see, or distinguish between which post are which. It's also annoying to get suggested post that are 2,3 and 5 years old.

3. Less restriction on who can join. Needing to verify an account is the main deterrent for many people. Young people aren't trying to go through all this verification and old people don't know how to. Instead of just denying them access, there should be a limit on what they can do. For example if you're not verified you can only post/comment a limited amount of times per week, you can't direct message people and can't see certain information on other people's accounts.

4. That brings me to the final point. More Privacy. Most people like their privacy especially online. This is why I have very limited things filled out on my profile. While I understand some people want to know they're talking to a verified member even service members (especially servicemembers) can use this site for malicious reasons. You shouldn't have to worry about posting something on here only for it to end up on amn/nco/scno or worse, getting sent to your commanding officer. Also I highly doubt rallypoint is more secure than facebook, so your information is susceptible to being hacked

To be completely honest, this site doesn't offer anything military subreddits (on Reddit) don't but makes it 10x harder to join the conversation. What are some ways you think this site can improve

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 29 at 2021 1:27 PM

2021-12-29T13:27:29-05:00

You make sure good points but there are some reasons why we have to vet those that join. I hope you haven't seen some of the accounts that get by and post some vile and hateful material. To prevent that we have to vet those that join. There may be some reason to prevent you from exposing your identify but often what is being said can be stated tastefully vs trying to burn down your chain of command by making statements that may not be validated. In the post I have have an Senior NCO use RallyPoint as a means to say that I was creating conflict in my unit. I would say that he issue came from a Counterproductive Leader that felt he was being called out. I do think it did impact my standing in that organization. I moved on and left to another unit. That was the only instance of it impacting my professional life. A lot of this experience is driven by the members. We all of our vision of what this should look like but there are thousands here that think they should know how it should be done. Some like posting Memes and joke about the old days while some provide current content about the status of your challenges. Either way, I still find use.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Dec 29 at 2021 1:52 PM

2021-12-29T13:52:16-05:00

I think you hit it with #1.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Dec 29 at 2021 6:46 PM

2021-12-29T18:46:32-05:00

I guess I would have to answer your question with a question.

What do you think a "true veteran social media network" should look like? How is RP failing to meet that?

Social media is social media. People are going to talk about what interests them - and veterans are no different in that.

Regarding verification, it is really not that hard. At all. Successfully navigating MEPS requires more effort and intelligence. And everyone here managed to do that, at least once.

As for privacy, you are not required to fill out anything on your profile much beyond name and rank. Anything else is up to you. I have seen profiles that offer very little info, and ones that offer a ton of info.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 29 at 2021 6:53 PM

2021-12-29T18:53:08-05:00

A1C Chris Pointer Good points/suggestions in your post. At the end of the day a key success/fail metric = four words. And —> some Deming-speak + Fonzie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHaq7roKRy4

Google+

Friendster

MySpace

iTunes Ping

Hi5

Yahoo! Buzz

JERRY MAGUIRE - Show Me the Money - MATHEMATICS in the MOVIES