Should civilians accounts only have READ ONLY access to RallyPoint?

SGT Ben Keen — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 13:57:05 -0400

There is no denying that we, as a Veteran community can benefit from the knowledge of civilians that may have some knowledge in key areas, however, as one of the first members to join RallyPoint when it went public and as one of the senior user admins of this site, I've see more and more civilian accounts coming to RallyPoint to ask for money, share links to their own business, and just simply not be of any benefit to the community.

So here is my question for the account. I know I'm going to catch some heat for this and I'm asking as me, not as an Admin for RallyPoint but what does the community think of having civilian accounts on our site? I'm for having them, however, I personally feel that civilian accounts should have READ ONLY access to the site. This will allow them to see things but no generate any new content. Business partners with RallyPoint would be exempt from this since they help keep the lights on.

Response by LTC Stephen Conway made Jun 3 at 2019 2:08 PM

LTC Stephen Conway — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:08:56 -0400

Just remember that you can have potential recruits who want to join the military who want to come into this forum to ask questions and not to mess with our heads or make stupid, racist remarks.

Response by PVT Kenneth Krause made Jun 3 at 2019 2:11 PM

PVT Kenneth Krause — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:11:11 -0400

I agree with this.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 made Jun 3 at 2019 2:16 PM

CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:16:07 -0400

SGT Ben Keen My ears go up every time I see a civilian post, after that my mind says what do they want?

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jun 3 at 2019 2:32 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:32:12 -0400

If these civilians are violating RP rules, RP admins should "correct" them or cancel their access if they resist correction. Of course, that puts quite a load on the admins. If that load is too great, then maybe limiting all civilians to Read Only access may be the only answer, however, that would be sad indeed. I expect that RP has benefited from participation by civilians, especially those who have family members in service. Thus, my vote is "Other"

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2019 2:52 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 14:52:04 -0400

Can we have 'categories' of civilians??
Kind-of like ranks, but for civilians-- I'm thinking potential recruit, family member of military person (which could be broken down further if we thought there was value to it), government employee (theoretically who works with the military) and random un-military-affiliated civilian and adjust their access based on their category?

Response by SGT Danny Strzyzewski made Jun 3 at 2019 3:06 PM

SGT Danny Strzyzewski — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 15:06:41 -0400

I think all posts that have a GoFundMe or some other promotional ad should be in a specific group category to keep the majority of posts on topic. If they (both Veteran and Civilian) the post should be deleted.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jun 3 at 2019 3:32 PM

SGT Dave Tracy — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 15:32:48 -0400

I guess for me, the only concern I have with that is that on occasion, civilians will post valid military-centric questions they are looking for answers to that can best be answered here than Google; particularly if they are considering military service and/or have just signed up, but not shipped off yet and want to know what to expect.

Outside of this SGT Ben Keen you have unidentified some growing problems that have to be addressed in some fashion. I'm just not sure eliminating the ability to post and to be relegated to READ ONLY access is the right approach; and in some cases such as I identified above, that seems to run counter to the spirit of having this military professional platform where one can go for advice and assistance.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Jun 3 at 2019 5:39 PM

MCPO Roger Collins — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:39:18 -0400

My issue is with verification and association with the military. If I see unverified, my ears hear troll. Very seldom do I see an unverified that leans right in the political spectrum.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jun 3 at 2019 5:39 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 17:39:40 -0400

I have questioned civilian accounts to this site from jump street, but I thought with the employment and Transition pieces, we need corporate recruiters and industry experts to have input....let me know when that happens. Haven't seen a corporate recruiter on here in a while. Here is what I see
- My child is at Basic and AIT and I can't helicopter without more info, please feed me info.
- random tangential "family members" and their morbid curiosity
- people promoting stuff, not always civilians. There are many on here pimping their books and businesses which is expressly against the RP rules.
- recruits on here trying to fill in the blanks from honest input and internet trolls. You pick which.
- people peddling surveys because this is like a veteran petting zoo if you don't know any.
- there are some civilians simply looking for someone to talk to...they're out there.
- urban legend resolution detail.

If you break the RP standards, then you should go, especially pimping your business or soliciting funds. To do that we need active policing and for people to report it. I have seen some really bogus profiles and fortunately the admins fired for effect. I'm ok if you wrote a book and letting this audience know, once. Publishing a book is a huge professional achievement and it should be shared.

I'd rather not have civilians in read only mode, screen shotting our conversations for God knows what reason.

If people are on here promoting a 501c VSO, I don't see the harm.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Jun 3 at 2019 11:48 PM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 23:48:28 -0400

One of the greatest concerns I hear from veterans - including on RP itself - is the ever widening civilian/military divide. Shutting ourselves off from civilian input, or honest inquiries, only helps grow that gap. I am all for ANYTHING that helps them understand us, and us understand them.

Of course, not being saddled with the burden of policing the forums, it is easy for me to say "let them speak."

I don't know what the solution is, but I don't think a gag order is the way to go. Just my $0.02.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2019 1:25 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 13:25:03 -0400

We have some great civilian contributors but we also have some civilians that should not be on this site. I agree with the post from CPT Jack Durish.

Response by SPC Andrew Murray made Nov 20 at 2020 7:16 AM

SPC Andrew Murray — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 07:16:26 -0500

Third option is to remove the viewing right as well.