Toxic posters and RP members

2014-02-19T09:43:24-05:00

<p>We recently had a post from a member that was claiming many things against military leadership doing their jobs and trying to convince Soldiers to stay in, he became quite disrespectful to many on the thread especially to those senior to him and was called on it. I have noticed not only the forum discussion is gone, but his profile no longer exists as well, this harkens back to another individual that was on here awhile back that did something similar, but she cut an ran herself after hitting most of her detractors with revenge downvotes numbering close to a hundred before departure.</p><p><br></p><p>Is this something that needs further addressing by the RP leadership or the RP community about policing our own when it comes to a discussion getting out of hand, should the person who is getting out of control be reported or just the thread, should their membership be questioned or revoked, should their retaliatory DVs be fixed, should the issue again be addressed that voting can only be done if a comment is attached to justify the vote, these are questions and concerns that have an effect on our community here at RP that I feel should be considered and looked at, do you agree or disagree with me, please comment and give valid reason on each if able, thanks to all that do their best to make this a viable and respectful tool for the AD SMs and an enjoyable outlet for us retiree/veterans who still enjoy helping and mentoring other when possible.</p>

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Feb 19 at 2014 9:59 AM

2014-02-19T09:59:12-05:00

<p>If we surrounded ourselves solely with those we agreed with, not only would things be stagnant, but we'd never learn. It would just become an environment where our opinions are perpetuated and reaffirmed in a constant cycle, with no actual learning taking place.</p><p> </p><p>As obnoxious as some of those people are (I'm pretty sure I know exactly who you're talking about), we need dissenting opinions on here. It's only in critical analysis that any innovation and learning take place.</p>

Response by SFC James Baber made Feb 19 at 2014 9:59 AM

2014-02-19T09:59:42-05:00

Also on a quick note, my apologies to all the seniors and others that had to be on the receiving end of that individuals disrespectful comments and rants as well, he was definitely not a representation of what a true NCO and leader is or has been.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2014 10:01 AM

2014-02-19T10:01:09-05:00

SFC,<div><br></div><div>I'm not making excuses for anyone, but it did seem as though someone was merely expressing their opinion, which didn't seem so popular. They seemed to be bashed coming out the gate due to nuances.</div><div><br></div><div>With this being said, I do not agree with how they handled the criticism. Let's admit it, for some that do everything right and want to achieve, the military isn't that great. Obviously that person had a bad experience, and it happens, sometimes through no fault of their own. While I understood the initial post, the subsequent responses to others disagreeing did go to levels it never should have. </div><div><br></div><div>While the poster said some rather incendiary things, some of the responses were inappropriate, as well.</div><div><br></div><div>As it no longer exists, I did comment on your comment. I do like the way you were able to discuss a differing viewpoint in a non-demeaning manner and look at a greater picture. I still do not see the initial topic as being malicious, but think a defensive stance was taken when others did. Regardless, it still does not condone what was later posted.</div>

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2014 10:12 AM

2014-02-19T10:12:13-05:00

<P>There should be a way to report stuff like that to the Admin. I am not going to lie I was almost one of those guys to lose my cool on that post. I am fine with post like that but when someone has a many credintals or so called degrees and various things it makes it even harder to believe. Then he claimed to be a wounded Service Member when he never stepped foot in Iraq or Afghanistan. Being a Purple Heart reciepient myself that just got me going. I have never once heard anyone tell a Soldier it was harder on the outside just have a plan before you get out.</P>

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2014 10:26 AM

2014-02-19T10:26:33-05:00

I don't mind seeing other people's opinion. I actually have seen a better side to things I didn't agree with here in RP. I do with that individual presented himself in any type of professional manner so he could be taken seriously.

Response by SSG Robert Burns made Feb 19 at 2014 10:33 AM

2014-02-19T10:33:06-05:00

I say we need a form RP4856.  Let's start building packets on these guys, then chapter them out.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 19 at 2014 5:22 PM

2014-02-19T17:22:41-05:00

I am fairly new to RP, and so far I enjoy it. That being said, I think what people tend to forget is that when you gather a mass of people, you will get all different kinds of personalities. Everyone has a little different situation they come from so we should be tolerant, but respectful. Let us not forget how easy it is to puff out our chests and type things that we may not normally say, especially to a superior. I am not saying that this behavior is right, but as leaders we should recognize that this may be happening and not get sucked into the anger danger trap. I think another issue is that a lot of young people today don't realize the far reaching effects of what they post on the internet. Take for example the soldier from the Wisconsin National Guard that was posting inappropriate photos on social media. She didn't have a thought that ran through her mind that what she did was wrong, but it most certainly was upsetting to a lot of people, me included. It was a mistake that was brought up to a national level because it was posted to social media and therefore infinitely available to anyone on the internet. Now I don't know of the exact circumstances of the post that is referenced in the original question by SFC Baber, but it sounds like the guy was angry about something and just continued to escalate, at that point I would recommend he be reported and ignored. After he was disrespectful to member senior to him, and got everyone fired up, he was just getting what he wanted. Lets not give that satisfaction again. <div><br></div><div>I do agree that there should be some kind of system to remove negative feedback to users that don't actually deserve it. If someone is giving thumbs down just because someone made them mad, seems like a bad call to me, but I'm just a random soldier with off the wall opinions sometimes. There should be some kind of appeal system to keep someones reputation from being tarnished because someone wanted to throw a temper tantrum.<br><div><br></div><div>In summary this is a military only social media site, and some people are going to air out their business and act a fool, just because they think someone is listening and they want a reaction. I think the best case scenario for an erroneous poster is to flag them and ignore them. I was told long ago by a now retired MSG; once we put our uniform on we automatically become better than any civilian because we have a code of conduct to follow, and that we had better act as though we are better than the rest of civilian population. This isn't saying that we need to stick our noses up and act snotty, but to say that we have a set of rules that govern our behavior and we should be proud to live by them....on or off the internet (I added that part myself, hehehe)</div><div><br></div><div>Rally Point will only be as good as we make it, if we can keep this to being a drama free zone then it will serve us all better. Thanks for reading my piece and thanks for your service!</div></div>

Response by CPT Richard Riley made Feb 19 at 2014 6:20 PM

2014-02-19T18:20:57-05:00

As several others have stated above, when you have a place where many different people gather to comment on opinions, conversations can veer quickly out of control and become derisive. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion, each is entitled to have one or more. The issue becomes that opinions are most often not facts but personal beliefs which are more difficult to argue for or against and often times regardless of the facts presented do not change the belief. I rarely take anything personally because I actually only know a few of you who could make a personal barb stick. Just like the previous incidences this will blow over and become a non-issue, but it should make the RallyPoint universe stronger for enduring it.

Response by SGT Chris Birkinbine made Feb 20 at 2014 12:22 AM

2014-02-20T00:22:59-05:00

Some constants to the internet (and society) there will always be those that hate, and go out of their way to disrespect and put down others. Once you add in the pseudo anonimity of the internet, those numbers sky rocket.

Rally Point is unfortunately no different despite its supposed professional demographic. As the population of Users rise, so too will the number of these cases. In my opinion the only option RP has is to do what ever where else has done, and increase the amount of moderators, and include a lower level of volunteer moderators from with the core group of it's more senior/active/respected member base.

these volunteer moderators will have the ability to temporarily lock threads, or temporarily block users under very specific circumstances until an RP employee mod can review the case and take appropriate action. You can't get rid of these people are prevent it from happening, but this method significantly reduces the amount face time these people get before being removed, and thus mitigates the damage they can do.

I have performed this role on numerous other sites both forums and online games, and can attest to it's success. I strongly believe that this is the next step RP should make.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2014 1:57 PM

2014-02-20T13:57:03-05:00

I think the comment being mandatory for a down vote would be fantastic. The fact that you get 30 points off for being down voted is rather serious for this forum, and there really should be a reason why your comment was down voted. I would never down vote anyone because I simply disagreed with something someone said, only if it was derogatory or in bad taste.

Response by Cpl Benjamin Long made Feb 20 at 2014 2:55 PM

2014-02-20T14:55:29-05:00

People will abuse the service for whatever nefarious reasons, a proactive strategy would be to document their activities and pass it on to Command they report to.... Many times these so called SMs are not who they claim to be and are just trolls or agents carrying out operations... In fact the SEA and many rogue agencies use fake profiles on a variety of sites to pass disinformation or openly provoke service members or attempt to collect intel through social engineering

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2014 4:03 PM

2014-03-21T16:03:40-04:00

I don't think a response post is needed every time a down vote is given out. Sometimes people strongly disagree with the entire message of a post. Sometimes people see a post as not just having an opinion they disagree with, but a harmful opinion they disagree with. The down vote is a tool to express how you feel, just like an up vote is. It's a tool in our tool box that would be put to waste if never used.

People vote up all the time without an explanation as to what specifically they liked or agreed with in a particular post. If that's fine then why should down votes be treated any different.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2014 4:46 PM

2014-03-21T16:46:59-04:00

As far as regulations are concerned. UCMJ applies now to social sites and social media as of '12, including this one. Comments made that malign, detract, or lower the unit climate with derogatory comments targeted at direct members of the unit or upper echelons is punishable. Would I report these Soldiers? I suppose it would depend entirely on what the context was. I have a thick skin. I can "read" and "interpret" posts my way initially, but was that the perspective the writer was aiming for? Comments can be taken out of context and become a form of malapropism. That being said. I don't have the energy to police call troops on RP, nor care (i haven't came across any far fetched ideology or disgraceful comments thus far yet) Should there be a process on RP to flag Soldiers consistently. I believe there already is a "flag" button already on members profiles. Again, I have a thick skin to listen to Soldiers complain or moan to a degree, again the actual context and what comments are fueling the fire should be taken into consideration as forums can have hundreds of posts.

Response by SSG Laureano Pabon made Mar 21 at 2014 10:50 PM

2014-03-21T22:50:22-04:00

Well SFC. Baber I personally am truly lost in this one person whom was posting these things, fact is that I been working vary hard in my job and haven't been around but for a few minutes.

Any ways I don't doubt that any member in RP really is of that model, and I know that since I been here, I personally may have seen many things that belong to SM and many things that belong to Veterans, and allot that has to do with sharing knowledge between all. But disrespectful that I really haven't seen. So I guess I missed the show.

However next time please some one get a name so we can all know :)