The word “cult” never makes discussions like these easier. When people call LW cultish, they are mostly just expressing that they’re creeped out by various aspects of the community—some perceived groupthink, say. Rather than trying to decide whether LW satisfies some normative definition of the word “cult,” it may be more productive to simply inquire as to why these people are getting creeped out. (As other commenters have already been doing.)
This exactly. It’s safe to assume that when most people say some organization strikes them as being cultish, they’re not necessarily keeping a checklist.
The word “cult” never makes discussions like these easier. When people call LW cultish, they are mostly just expressing that they’re creeped out by various aspects of the community—some perceived groupthink, say. Rather than trying to decide whether LW satisfies some normative definition of the word “cult,” it may be more productive to simply inquire as to why these people are getting creeped out. (As other commenters have already been doing.)
This exactly. It’s safe to assume that when most people say some organization strikes them as being cultish, they’re not necessarily keeping a checklist.