Should we condone verbal abuse on a site which bills itself as a professional networking site?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 01:06:56 -0400

So, I was reading posts on this site and I found them rather disgusting. How in the world do you excuse calling a sister-in-arms, a Cun*? Or threatening to pound a person in the face, of subordinate rank regardless of branch? Where has our professionalism gone? I am quite certain, harassment of another person because you don't agree with their opinion is about as low life as one can get. If this is how a "PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING SITES" are ran, count me out. Nothing from what I just saw within the last couple of weeks is at all appropriate, let alone "professional".

Response by SFC Joseph James made May 13 at 2015 1:10 AM

SFC Joseph James — Wed, 13 May 2015 01:10:31 -0400

Take it with a grain of salt. In the history of the whole internet will you find a site that is 100 percent free of idiots. Just know what you are getting into when it comes to a Military only social site. Take care brother!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 1:19 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 01:19:09 -0400

I think we have covered this. Let it be, it has been addressed.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 1:29 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 01:29:38 -0400

You are correct to expect "professionals" to be professionals. We condem bullying and name calling in our daily interactions but then I see that some are basically saying its OK, look the other way, dont bother. That is a double standard.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 13 at 2015 4:10 AM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Wed, 13 May 2015 04:10:04 -0400

Absolutely not! I have seen some things on this site that have truly left me wondering about the state of professionalism and common-courtesy in our military. More times than I can count, the conduct of some RP members has caused me to consider closing my account altogether.

Response by PO1 John Miller made May 13 at 2015 5:05 AM

PO1 John Miller — Wed, 13 May 2015 05:05:28 -0400

Unfortunately too many people think this is their personal blog or Facebook. I myself called someone out when I first came on RP, and I got thoroughly thrashed for it.

With that said, everyone has pretty much already said it. If you see it, report it. This isn't Facebook!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 13 at 2015 6:53 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 13 May 2015 06:53:35 -0400

We have 600,000 members. We have a handful of Admins. They cannot "police" things until they see them. They are literally a reactive force.

The members themselves are what keep things professional. Unfortunately, "from time to time" people will lose their bearing, or a bad apple will slip into the bunch and before they can be "adjusted" we will have a few hours of drama.

The VAST majority of the site is professional. The vast majority of the membership is professional. The problem is that we can't "unsee" those instances that are dealt with. They're like car wrecks in our rearview mirror. We know they happened, and we're going to talk about them, even though they have already been cleaned up.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 7:07 AM

PO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 07:07:16 -0400

Small people will always be small people and act as such.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 8:32 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 08:32:44 -0400

Really, SPC Leon? Put it into perspective. We have over half a million awesome users on this site, and one or two unverified "members" who repeatedly create fake usernames like "Eatadik" and post divisive, offensive comments until members report them and they're banned from the sIte. Don't let a handful of jealous, wannabe, Basic Training dropouts ruin RP for you. You're smarter and stronger than those trolls.

Response by SGT Richard H. made May 13 at 2015 8:36 AM

SGT Richard H. — Wed, 13 May 2015 08:36:14 -0400

Woah. I have seen a few smart-ass comments on here, some have been straight-up out of line, but never anything as blatant as mentioned here. I definitely strongly encourage anyone who sees that to use the reporting feature and alert an admin. This isn't that kind of site.

"The Standard You Walk Past Is The Standard You Accept" ~Lt. Gen. David Morrison, Australia

Response by TSgt David Holman made May 13 at 2015 9:21 AM

TSgt David Holman — Wed, 13 May 2015 09:21:19 -0400

We shouldn't condone verbal abuse anywhere. It isn't professional, it isn't moral, it's abuse. Plain and simple. Honestly, if the people doing it on a Military networking site are active duty, and do it after being warned, their chain of command should probably be involved.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 10:02 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 10:02:28 -0400

Bring forth the nay-sayers & I shall bring down the wrath like the hammer of Thor upon the heads of frost giants from Jotenheim!!!

Or, rather, I shall see to it that they are dealt with so that we do not have to put up with it for long.

Response by SPC Charles Brown made May 13 at 2015 12:01 PM

SPC Charles Brown — Wed, 13 May 2015 12:01:46 -0400

My suggestion is this:

Make it necessary when you begin a thread to tag an admin. Get them involved in the thread from the start.

Turn the Reactive force that is the admins, as Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS has called them into a proactive force. This would mean "drafting" more people to serve as admins.

Until then, we as active duty, retirees or veterans should begin (for some) to hold ourselves to the same standards that would be expected of us if we as retirees and veterans were still active duty.

My past on here is far from perfect, however, I have made the effort to conduct myself in a manner that is a positive reflection of the United States Military in general and the Army in specific. Do I always succeed? No, but I am only human and do the best I can with what I have to work with.

No matter what happens there will always be some that have the tact of a wrecking ball, and the subtlety of a nuclear bomb who will continue to slip through the nets. We as members of this site should be mature enough to conduct and police ourselves as adults.

One final suggestion: Ladies and gentlemen please play nice, remember that what you say on here, whether positive or negative is a direct reflection on you and your service. Not to mention that it is quite possible that the good people at Linkedin may be looking to fill vacancies in their companies with someone like you until they see your behavior on here.

If you must run your brain in high gear disengage your mouth, or in this case fingers, and if you cannot disengage the mouth/fingers turn off the sound. Stop typing, step back and rethink what it is you are trying to convey to others in a more personable manner. So much for my .02.

One more thought, if you feel you must disagree with someone, take it to the message format and air thing out in the back channels, just make sure to keep it civil, and you can send a courtesy copy of the back channel to an admin, if you have a connection with one of them. DON'T air your dirty laundry in public, it can come back to embarrass you at best and get you banished to facebook land.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 12:21 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 12:21:16 -0400

The entire reason I joined this website was to network with other people regardless of rank or branch. And mainly to lend a helping hand to guide soldiers through the beginning of their career. The comments you are speaking of are ridiculous. This is supposed to be a common place for people to help others and gain information in a non-threatening manner. I totally agree some people are not being professional.

Response by SGT William Howell made May 13 at 2015 1:58 PM

SGT William Howell — Wed, 13 May 2015 13:58:26 -0400

I don't believe anybody is more opinionated than me and I will drop an Em Effer in a heartbeat, but being disrespectful to a fellow brother or sister is way out of line on here. I look forward to hearing what other think. I may not agree, but it is always welcome.

I get on here because their are others that are like me yet they have different outlooks than me. I have actually changed my opinion on several things due to others. Having officers give outlooks is great, because I never got that when I was in.

I believe that every person should police stuff on here. This is not a right it is a privilege and we should treat it as such.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made May 13 at 2015 2:29 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:29:15 -0400

Such comments are unsatisfactory. They are not in keeping with the RallyPoint Terms of Service. RP 3-1. They are not keeping in the traditions of the United States Armed forces. All members are charged to police one another in accordance with both traditions. Don't let your fellow members get away with it, tell them they're wrong, vote them down, tag member-admins to call our attention to them and if it's substantial enough an offense view their profile and click the flag button, describe the offense, and provide the link to where it occurred.

This is on us as a community. Ductus Exemplo. Set the Example.

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made May 13 at 2015 2:29 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:29:40 -0400

RP is probably the most well behaved site I know for military discussion, its the only one I use. Pretty much any other military site I have read or posted on does not police at all, people say what they want when they want and no one cares.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 2:54 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 14:54:46 -0400

All I can respond with is:
PREACH! You are absolutely correct.
AND I love MEME's

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made May 13 at 2015 8:00 PM

SFC Christopher Perry — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:00:03 -0400

Being as I have never been one to hold back from saying what j feel is right, I have had a couple of folks cross the line a bit. Honestly, I am too old to stress such things. I have found over the years that folks that feel the need to use language such as this do it as a defense mechanism. They have already lost the educated argument and have nothing of value to say.

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made May 13 at 2015 8:03 PM

SFC Christopher Perry — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:03:20 -0400

Oops, I messed that one up! That is what happens when an old guy with failing vision responds from the phone.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made May 13 at 2015 8:08 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 13 May 2015 20:08:38 -0400

I think it's unacceptable. We are identified on this site by rank and name--we should all maintain our proper bearing. Disagreement in these discussions is all well and good, but if you resort to name-calling or other unprofessional behavior, it ceases to be a discussion and the whole point of this is to exchange ideas, isn't it?

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made May 13 at 2015 9:34 PM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Wed, 13 May 2015 21:34:40 -0400

No we should not! I must be living in a bunker because I have not seen any of this at all. I suppose it all depends on what discussions one decides to get involved in? Anyway, Verbal abuse or any other type of abusive activity should not be allowed on a professional site like RallyPoint. SF!

Response by SSgt John Carter made May 18 at 2017 1:20 PM

SSgt John Carter — Thu, 18 May 2017 13:20:17 -0400

No,but it happens.

Response by LTC(P) Christina Moore made Jul 19 at 2022 6:58 PM

LTC(P) Christina Moore — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 18:58:52 -0400

Exactly!

Response by SSG Jack Scott made Jul 19 at 2022 7:33 PM

SSG Jack Scott — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 19:33:21 -0400

Easy fix when feelings our hurt stay of the net for awhile we don’t need hurt feelings laws!