# What if The Straight Dope is really a cult? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499 "2012-12-19T07:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cats\_pajamas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Cats\_pajamas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cats_pajamas)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/21 "2012-12-19T16:28:52Z")
Not taking this thread seriously is a sure sign that the Matrix has you. They want you to be dismissive. And, some of you seem to be following instructions perfectly, unbeknownst to you, of course. I say fight for your individuality! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/22 "2012-12-19T16:33:33Z")
Good question. If we were members of a cult, how would we know we were members of a cult? And, welcome, **Cats pajamas!** One of us! One of us! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/23 "2012-12-19T16:37:23Z")
> [@Cats\_pajamas](#): > > Not taking this thread seriously is a sure sign that the Matrix has you. They want you to be dismissive. And, some of you seem to be following instructions perfectly, unbeknownst to you, of course. > > I say fight for your individuality! So, making up our own pseudo-witty comments isn’t actually individualistic. I give up. Tell me what will prove our individuality, and I will do it! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/24 "2012-12-19T16:53:01Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Good question. If we were members of a cult, how would we know we were members of a cult? > > And, welcome, **Cats pajamas!** One of us! One of us! Obligatory link to [footage of the first Dopefest.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBXyB7niEc0) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/25 "2012-12-19T16:58:03Z")
The end of the world would be on 3/14/15 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/26 "2012-12-19T17:18:48Z")
> [@Cats\_pajamas](#): > > Not taking this thread seriously is a sure sign that the Matrix has you. They want you to be dismissive. And, some of you seem to be following instructions perfectly, unbeknownst to you, of course. > > I say fight for your individuality! “Yes, we’re all individuals!” ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/27 "2012-12-19T17:22:22Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > “Yes, we’re all individuals!” “I’m not!” ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/28 "2012-12-19T17:32:13Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Fine. But I’m not shaving my head. That’s OK. All your other hair has to go though. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/29 "2012-12-19T18:01:59Z")
I am, and have been a member of a few groups that some people worry are too “cultish”. There are many definitions of cult, so you could call most any group a cult. So I focus on what I think of as “problem cults”. These usually have several of the following characteristics. -Members are encouraged, even required in some cases, to distance themselves from people not part of the cult, including spouses, family, friends, etc. This is the primary thing I use when deciding if a religion is a cult. Legitimate religions encourage strengthening relationships even with non-members…cults the opposite. -Members are encouraged or required to wear clothes, hairstyles, tattoos, etc. that distinguish them from the general population. Note that this is but one factor, and alone it does not make a cult, but it is one thing a lot of cults do. -Members will be discouraged, even forbidden from consuming any non-approved media. SDMB fails this test pretty much with every “cite?”. -Members who leave the cult are made pariahs. They are distinctly NOT welcome back, and current members are forbidden contact with them. In extreme cases the cult leaders may take active measures to damage former members reputations or finances. I’m looking at you Scientology. -Members are required to devote substantial fractions, perhaps ALL of their financial and time resources to the cult. The cult will demand full knowledge of them members finances. -There will be a hierarchy, often formal, of membership…not just among the leadership, and increasing rank will often be associated with increased privileges. Again, just one factor. A church having deacons, ushers, and choir members doesn’t make it a cult without other factors. -Somebody is getting rich. If there is a leader moving about in multiple chauffeured Rolls Royces or living on a luxury ship…that’s almost certainly a cult. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/30 "2012-12-19T18:06:36Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > No, they’re down the hall on the left. This is arguments & contradiction 201. No it isn’t! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/31 "2012-12-19T18:26:57Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > “I’m not!” You were compelled to say that, weren’t you? There was absolutely no way you could have resisted the impulse. Free will is an illusion and we must make the expected responses. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/32 "2012-12-19T18:39:27Z")
If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/33 "2012-12-19T19:58:34Z")
> [@Cats\_pajamas](#): > > What if The Straight Dope forum is really a cult? Then signing up was definitely a good decision. Anyway if we’re going to be a cult, I demand a throne of skulls or a La-Z-Boy made out of spines or an Ottoman made out of femurs or something. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/34 "2012-12-19T20:15:20Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > \ > -Members are encouraged, even required in some cases, to distance themselves from people not part of the cult, including spouses, family, friends, etc.\ Spending too much time on the Dope while family members are around - check! > [@](#): > > -Members are encouraged or required to wear clothes, hairstyles, tattoos, etc. that distinguish them from the general population.\ Geek wear are us - Check! > [@](#): > > -Members will be discouraged, even forbidden from consuming any non-approved media.\ Look at any food thread in Cafe Society - Check! > [@](#): > > -Members who leave the cult are made pariahs. They are distinctly NOT welcome back, and current members are forbidden contact with them.\ Banned members. 'Nuff said. - Check! > [@](#): > > -Members are required to devote substantial fractions, perhaps ALL of their financial and time resources to the cult. \ Well, not all of our money - just all of our time. - Check! > [@](#): > > -There will be a hierarchy, often formal, of membership…not just among the leadership, and increasing rank will often be associated with increased privileges.\ Cecil, admins, mods, senior members, charter members, members, guests - Check! > [@](#): > > -Somebody is getting rich. If there is a leader moving about in multiple chauffeured Rolls Royces or living on a luxury ship…that’s almost certainly a cult. Well, if someone’s getting rich here, it ain’t me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/35 "2012-12-19T22:19:06Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > -Members who leave the cult are made pariahs. Yeah, that fits. Whenever someone announces they’re leaving and starts a Goodbye Cruel Dope thread in the Pit, they get piled on. > [@](#): > > -Somebody is getting rich. If there is a leader moving about in multiple chauffeured Rolls Royces or living on a luxury ship…that’s almost certainly a cult. Does [Ed Zotti’s mansion](http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/Gifs/mercola.gif) count? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/36 "2012-12-19T22:42:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Does [Ed Zotti’s mansion](http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/Gifs/mercola.gif) count? That’s just his guest house. [Here’s his main hangout.](http://priceypads.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Mansion-22.jpg) And Cecil’s is [next door.](http://architecture.swarovski.com/Content.Node/images/1_19_Mansion_large.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/37 "2012-12-20T00:08:51Z")
How many cults can you be in at once? The USA is a cult – Fuck Yeah! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/38 "2012-12-20T00:16:56Z")
There is no Og, but Og, and Cecil is His prophet. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/39 "2012-12-20T01:43:04Z")
If this is a cult, then it’s the sorriest cult I’ve ever seen. It’s not exclusive. While it’s true that many cults will take almost anyone, they usually require something more than a couple of clicks on the Internet. We don’t revere our master. Oh, we revere his\* writings\*, but when it comes to the leader himself, a large number of people are convinced that he doesn’t exist at all, and another large number are convinced that the #1 guy is in reality the #2 guy. Speaking of that, we don’t much care the cult’s trusted hierarchy, aka administrators and moderators. In fact, we spend a good deal of energy openly criticizing them. Rather than believing we’re a tight-knit group against the world, we regularly take the opportunity to criticize, quarrel with and often abuse each other. Lastly, the cult does a terrible job of separating us from all our money. In fact, there have been times where members of the cult have actually made suggestions on how the cult could get more money from us, only to have those suggestions ignored. Let’s face it, PBS does a better job of taking our money. ---
**Author:** ![Cats\_pajamas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Cats\_pajamas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cats_pajamas)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499/40 "2012-12-20T01:58:44Z")
Maybe a cult test would help settle the question: is The Straight Dope really a cult. \*\*Welcome to the CULT TEST What makes a “cult” ? In a sense, any organisation can be called a cult, or not called a cult. This is very convenient for fear-mongers. It is also convenient for cultists. Cultism is, in fact, a gradient. Any organisation which shares a common goal will exhibit a slight degree of cultism. This is perfectly normal. The problems come in when an organisation is heavily cultist : in that case, we call it a cult.\*\* [http://www.insolitology.com/rationally/culttest.htm](http://www.insolitology.com/rationally/culttest.htm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-straight-dope-is-really-a-cult/644499.md?page=3)