Why do some start discussion?

Personally, I think that you can learn something even from the ridiculous topics. Many times I have seen a silly question spark discussion that led to a more serious topic. This is absolutely a professional forum, but who says we can't let our hair down a little bit too? I agree with MSG Wade Huffman in that more lighthearted "water cooler" dicussions serve to help new members assimilate and gain enough confidence to participate in other discussions. Sure, some of these topics may seem silly to you, and that's OK. What matters is that dialogue has been opened and connections have been made. I respectfully recommend that everybody needs to lighten up every once in a while.

For some us, its a place to hang and make new friends. You'd be surprised once you start talking it up on these posts how much you learn about and learn from the individuals you meet. RP is probably the only social network site, as a whole, where everybody has a military prospective on things. Sometimes that alone is enough to keep one tuned in here.

Like you pointed out yourself SFC Folger, quite ironic that you started a thread about people starting threads with no professional building base content.

What would you like to see? What topic do you need help on?

My goal here is to help provide professional guidance where I can, refer the person that asks a question that I don't have an answer to, to someone who I think might. Helping other Soldiers and leaders out is what I am here for.

CSM (Join to see) I think I am one of those that you may feel have "questionable" discussions. I know one in particular that I did out of frustration and well I just needed a laugh that day. It took off and helped others relax on a Friday. If it was not for that discussion I would have never gotten to really interact and engage some of those who I am bonding with today. MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca and I are pretty much family now.

I started that one out to make others laugh at some of the crazy posts. I am known for my humor and my humor is my signature characteristic according to the University of Penn and their character test I took for Master Resilience Trainer Course. I am not ashamed of it and I love to use it to ease tensions.

The other discussions I do is because I am either curious if anyone has been in that situation and how they would handle it. This is actually why I started my first 15 or so discussions trying to find out who had great ideas that helped them or that they had learned the hard way and wish they had done it differently or knew what they know now back then. I love those conversations and I do engage in those a lot. I have to say that MAJ Laurie H. got me hooked onto this site. I love the military and its community and as family we joke around and have fun, but we also have the serious side. I like to engage on both levels here as we are a community and a family.

SFC,
I believe the freedom to post on a variety of different topics is one of the best features of the site. There are so many members with different interest we want everyone to be able to discuss what they enjoy. We have also added categories (Military Discussions, General Interest, etc.) in order to allow members to narrow down topics to what interests them.

As long as a thread is appropriate I feel it can almost always add something to the site. Threads that are not of interest to the community naturally do not get bumped and thus do not take up board space.

If you have any other questions please feel free to message me here or at [login to see]

Thank you

While it is true that some of the discussions here are more of the 'water cooler' type (as previously described in other discussions), it is still possible to gain knowledge from some of these. More importantly, they also serve to 'draw in' some types who may not be comfortable (at first anyway) in participating due to perceived lack of expertise in an area. The hope is that once they begin to participate in a discussion, they will be more comfortable participating in more serious discussions. Just my two cents.

I guess the simple answer is "The value is in the eye of the beholder" so to speak. I venture to say individuals join this site for a number of reasons and all may be different. Others have stated better than I am able to that one can find value in a discussion others cast off if you receive something from it.

One can find an abundance of discussion topics that cover the entire military spectrum by searching. I tend to think that while I may not want to enter a certain discussion that I find has no value for me personally, there are many other members who do participate and that discussion has value for them. I have no business validating the importance or worth of a particular discussion for anyone other than myself. This may not make RallyPoint unique, but it does give each member control over what they choose to discuss and learn from.

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca , 1SG (Join to see) , & MSG Wade Huffman have pointed out that you can find value in places where you didn't believe it existed if your willing to look and learn.

I can only speak for myself, but there is something to be learned from everyone. Let's not dismiss the healing power of laughter either. Some jobs are so demanding and demoralizing that it wears you down and we just need to cut loose. One of the best features on the discussion threads is the functionality of the key word search. Personally, I spent a career busting my hump and looking out for the benefit of my troops, often at the peril of my own piece of mind. I wish RallyPoint was around back then. That way I could exercise my funny bone as necessary after a hard day at work. RallyPoint is my outlet. I don't know any veterans in my community. I live in BFE Proper. If I get annoying, (as if that could EVER be a possibility), it's because I'm retired and I deserve to crack wise. The longer us retired troops stay retired, the less we are in touch with our active family. We may not have the most professional contributions to make, but we can always inject that military sense of humor that keeps the green machine operating.

Of the discussions that I start, some are for fun, but many more are to expand my general knowledge and to keep up with current events. While I tend to aggravate others with some of the questions this by no means devalues my opinions or thoughts on a topic. Whether started by me or by others I feel that all discussions are relevant. Many of you who are still serving on active duty need an outlet for the frustrations you deal with on a daily basis, and asking or responding to semi-serious questions or starting your own gives you just that. Just food for thought.

Some of us have been out a while and want to know what your thoughts are (current members). Other may just want to field a question (dumb or not) to a group of military-experienced (you know: professional, educated, organized-thinking common-sensical, goal-oriented) individuals that will likely spout out the truth of their mind and heart. Then, a few, likely just enjoy stirring crap up. I enjoy the banter and brotherhood as much as the well-thought-out answers to these threads. We're not ALL long-term hard-charging professional military, but we care about the relationship we have and feel it more solidly in conversation. Hell, even a soup-sandwich needs attention from time-to-time. Every contact you make has a lesson, even if it is "run"!