How hard would it be to turn answerbag into a cult? Is it already a cult?
by 
Luc Thiet Thuan
ANSWERS: 4
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With all the arguments and flaming going on around here at times it would be pretty damn hard to turn this into a cult. :p
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First, we would have to be a religion-based website. We're not. Second, we don't live outside of conventional society. Third, we are not extremists. Fourth, we aren't required to turn over our hearts, souls and worldly belongings to AB. We are way to diverse to have enough in common to be called a cult. That covers the basics, but there is more, of course. I think it is wonderful that people simply have a positive place to be and socialize. AB serves a greater purpose than being primarily an advertizing website!
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Like any society, it would be possible for a certain segment of the population of AB to become a cult. A cult simply requires a prophet and people foolish enough to believe him. Most likely what would happen is that someone would need to harness the opinions of people and answer their questions so thoroughly that they would begin to believe that person was untouchable or omniscient. From that point on they would begin to recruit people to come and join the person's friend-circle. Then, they would begin to gang up on anyone who questioned their prophet's authority - down rating nay-sayers arbitrarily and generally alienating themselves from others. At which point they would decide that AB was too corrupt to exist much longer and that God would be smiting the unbelievers (with viruses to destroy their computers) and so they should leave AB and start their own website called "Our Answerbag". The server would be housed in a remote desert location inaccessible except to the chosen and it would operate on an invite-only basis.
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AB would never be a cuilt for it is not interesting or addictive enough.
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