Cliques and cults in SL

[Venus Petrov]

I am not referring to informal gatherings of individuals who share like interests.  I am not referring to RP groups like Bloodlines.  I am referring to individuals who create a Group for the sole purpose of pulling the group together for formal and informal gatherings.  These groups are not open enrollment because the leader(s) like to maintain ‘quality control’ over membership.  Group gatherings occur on a regular basis, sometimes with a ‘theme’ – like dancing with sheep or wearing funny hats.  Most group members, once inculcated, will acknowledge publicly the leader or leaders.  This social construct is a clique.

To become a cult, one individual in particular must be at least informally acknowledged as the  leader.  This leader influences what cult members do and think (particularly about others) and will work to influence the views of non-cult members who they may feel have an influential voice for some members or future members.  In many instances, the power of this leader is not obvious to those outside the cult.  The leader will quietly gather information and may use surrogates to keep members in line.

When threats surface, the leader may intervene personally and try to influence the threat and, ultimately, draw the threat into the fold (to better control it).  Dissent is a threat.  Any public views must be supportive of individual members.  Views contrary to members from the outside must be suppressed (by ignoring, flaming, or removing).

Are you or have you been a member of a clique or cult in SL?   Have you experienced the influence of a clique or cult?  Please do not use names as it is against Community Standards.



[WilhiamMeshTest]

I always have been an individual and reluctant of group bonding.

I've been singled out. You were there.

Your point being exactly ?

PS Godwin's law assigns this thread to LWL. Try to avoid it and you might just get a decent discussion.

[Ceera Murakami]

I was invited to join a group like that once. The idea was to gather fairly "influential" or "Creative" people together, and it was going to have regular monthly or more often meetings so people with similar interests could discuss topics that might influence the direction SL was going, or at least share ideas with each other on what worked well in their creative efforts, and what did not. I guess I was asked to join because I was very visible as a knowledgeable content creator in the forums at the time, and as someone willing to answer questions and offer solid advice.

I attended maybe half a dozen of their gatherings before it pretty much stumbled to a stop. While the people in the group certainly were knowledgeable about SL, and often were outspoken in the forums and generous with sharing what they knew, no one had any real influence with Linden Lab. Most of us were selected because we were good at what we did already, so there wasn't a whole lot that the other members could tell us that would benefit our own efforts. And really, aside from being creative and knowledgeable about SL, we had very little in common with each other. I stopped attending about the time that the founder of the group also pretty much gave up on it.

[Venus Petrov]

Consider the OP as fodder for discussion.  You are an individual (as are most felines).  I am interested in what all have to say about the existence of cliques and/or cults in SL.

[WilhiamMeshTest]

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Venus Petrov wrote:

I am interested in what all have to say about the existence of cliques and/or cults in SL.

---

They're there. Always have been. Always will be.

All I have to say.

 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Cliques and cults are a terrible thing.  And they're usually pretty noisy too, with drums and tambourines and things. They should be silenced.

 

Now, sssssssshhhhhhh!

[WilhiamMeshTest]

/me yells to a painfull level to those restoring from binge drinking : OK. SCYLLA !!!!!! I WILL SHUT UP NOW, OK ? HOPE YOU GET WELL SOON AND I SEND YOU A BBBBBBIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGG HUG FROM HERE !!! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT SERENE DAY !!!!11!1!!!! 11!

 

 

WOOHOOO !!!!!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

You don't LOOK like a noisy cat.

How can you be so noisy?????

[WilhiamMeshTest]

/me muahs Scylla and smirks.

[Mickey Vandeverre]

Appears that you can roleplay just about anything inworld, so would imagine that it's acceptable to roleplay a clique or a cult.  (even though some of that might not be technically roleplay)

Never had a problem with that inworld...there is so much to do...you simply don't go there, or ignore it.

I do have a problem with it when it surfaces in a public forum that represents the virtual world. 

Because that isn't what the virtual world is all about. 

 

 

eta: page 2 of this thread will not load for me.  wazzup with that

[Chris Norse]

Thus spoke Frank.................(insert dramatic music here)

[Ceka Cianci]

hehehehe

cliquies i know them a mile away..

 

cults..that will be a fun one to look into

i found a good check list for cults lol

 

Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups - Revised

Janja Lalich, Ph.D. & Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.

Concerted efforts at influence and control lie at the core of cultic groups, programs, and relationships. Many members, former members, and supporters of cults are not fully aware of the extent to which members may have been manipulated, exploited, even abused. The following list of social-structural, social-psychological, and interpersonal behavioral patterns commonly found in cultic environments may be helpful in assessing a particular group or relationship.

Compare these patterns to the situation you were in (or in which you, a family member, or friend is currently involved). This list may help you determine if there is cause for concern. Bear in mind that this list is not meant to be a “cult scale” or a definitive checklist to determine if a specific group is a cult. This is not so much a diagnostic instrument as it is an analytical tool.



 

1.The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.

‪2.Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

‪3.Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

‪The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).

‪4.The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—(Oo holy crap \o/  hehehehe) -or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

‪5.The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.

‪6.The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).

‪7.The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).

‪8.The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt iin order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

‪9.Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.

‪10.The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

‪11.The group is preoccupied with making money.

‪12Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

‪13.Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members.

‪14.The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

 

ETS: Oo this sounds a lot like my boss and my job!! omg i'm in a cult in RL's!!!

[Ishtara Rothschild]

I think that cults and cliques are an inescapable part of the human condition. It's in our nature, simply because it has aided our survival in the past. People will always form interest groups and other pseudo-tribal structures.

In every group, there will be a leader, even if the group members don't regard him or her as such. There is always somebody who everyone else looks to for decision making, advice, mediation, and entertainment. There is also a pariah in every group, who is only dragged along because even the bottom feeders need somebody to look down at and make fun of. And all groups have enemies, either by circumstance or, more often than not, by choice.

 

PS: I find it very interesting that all teenagers rebel against their elders at some point and prefer to socialize with like-minded peers. These juvenile clans and tribes even invent their own language, which is one of the main reasons that language continues to evolve. This reminds of other social animals where, if a pack becomes too large, young wannabe-alpha animals split off and form their own packs. Juvenile humans even exhibit territorial behavior and enmity with other groups. It's quite fascinating.

[Venus Petrov]

Welcome back Chris.

[Venus Petrov]

That is a comprehensive list, Ceka.  Tis true that, as in cliques, there is peer pressure to conform even to the extent of warning members not to speak to someone or telling them someone is 'bad'.  Ignoring those warnings can result in ostracism to the extent of being driven from the group (which, in the long-run, is doing that member a big favor).

Potential or future members may be considered 'idiots' or 'tards' because they are nothing to the cult until they have been indoctrinated and accepted into the fold.

I laughed at your last line. Yes, even companies do their bit to draw you into the fold.  That is why many companies have key phrases repeated at company gatherings, make t-shirts and caps for staff to wear.

[Venus Petrov]

I recall as a 12-year old listening to a clique who had created their own language.  I was able to figure out the pattern (kind of a mutated pig latin) and, at the right time, broke in on their conversation with a comment.  I wish I had photographed their reactions. 

[Ceka Cianci]

i had to come back in and put that red part by the avatar part..it made me laugh so hard lol

[kattatonia Wickentower]

I've always been a bit of a loner. However I find that I belong to many groups in SL.

eta to try to get rid of the big bold font and to reduce the excess verbosity

eta again to put the Groucho bit back in, he said this about the Friars Club: I sent the club a wire stating, "PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER". 

[Canoro Philipp]

to be more balanced im gonna add some positive things about those groups:

they find support in each other, sharing what is important to them, they share resources, and have their inside jokes, they find a kind of love that couldnt find anywhere else, and strong sense of belonging, a shelter when everybody else has turned their backs on them, they become strong in unity to stand against what its hurtful to them, and they may have a bond of support from each other for life, even if they spread.

people get into those groups sometimes because they are lonely, feel that they are not understood by almost everyone, and when they find people that share those interests and even stand by them, is easy to grow a strong attachment to the group, a strong friendship that grows deeper as time goes on, that lift up their self esteem, and make them more brave to stand for their values altought the majority disagrees, their loneliness ends.

a thread about people who attack a group of friends who does no harm to them, and start making spooky theories about them because they want to appear knowledgeable altought they are ignorant or jealous that they have a great time, would be interesting.

[Venus Petrov]

I agree, friends can support each other.  They can be sounding boards and encouragers.  They can also provide criticism and different opinions.  More formal groupings become cliques and there can exist a 'hive mind' mentality.

Cults can be dangerous to the individuals that comprise it to the point that individual thought ceases to exist and is supplanted by the ideas and beliefs espoused by the leader.

I was not certain if you were referring to informal groups of individuals or cliques.  Surely not cults.

[Keli Kyrie]

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Canoro Philipp wrote:

<snip>

people get into those groups sometimes because they are lonely, feel that they are not understood by almost everyone, and when they find people that share those interests and even stand by them, is easy to grow a strong attachment to the group, a strong friendship that grows deeper as time goes on, that lift up their self esteem, and make them more brave to stand for their values altought the majority disagrees, their loneliness ends.

<snip>

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Those are beautiful points Canoro but what if a person just got into a group because they had cool hats?

 

[Gypsy Quixote]

Personally, I think cool hats is an entirely valid reason for joining a group.

But then, I've been known to join groups where everybody is like ...

[Deltango Vale]

As a member of LWL, I will admit openly that we are hell bent on global domination. Our leader, mad Mad, has cunningly devised the first steps, which include 1) dancing on top of cows, 2) wearing red hats and 3) singing songs about corn. Needless to say, this strategy is paying off. Not a day goes by without new recruits showing up at barn dances to commit themselves to our care and education. The only problem is that there is not enough corn to feed the cows.

[Dillon Levenque]

But Del, we NEED the corn, to feed the cows. If there's not enough, well...well...oh dear what will we do?

[Persephone Emerald]

The The Advanced Bonewits’ Cult Danger Evaluation Frame is a good guide for distiguishing a cult. Since people in SL can't really have this much control over others, I don't think we need to worry about cults in here.

http://www.neopagan.net/ABCDEF.html