The Persistence of Sects | Hacker News Reader

The Persistence of Sects

workersect.org

22 pointsdavisclark12 comments

If you are looking for a definition of sect, as I was, to figure out what the paper is about, it's a few paragraphs down:

"...first, that each of them exists in a state of tension with the wider society; second, that each imposes tests of merit on would-be members; third, that each exercises stern discipline, regulating the declared beliefs and the life habits of members and prescribing and operating sanctions for those who deviate, including the possibility of expulsion; and fourth, that each demands sustained and total commitment from its members, and the subordination, and perhaps even the exclusion of all other interests."

This is sort of a counterpoint to #3, but an important litmus for a cult is that it is very difficult to leave voluntarily.

Certainly in the case of the JWs, an individual exiting the cult has to contend not only with the fear and uncertainty preceding their decision to quit, but with subsequently being completely ostracised by family members who are still members. All of this acts as powerful psychological coercion to remain even when one no longer believes in the cult's message, and makes escapees enormously vulnerable.

Interesting, I get:

    The requested URL was rejected. If you think this is an error, please contact the webmaster.

    Your support ID is: 13078553747997112974

Anyone know what could cause this? I have been getting this from one other web site (the web comic www.sinfest.net) when accessing it from home, but not from work.

Do you run a Tor relay? If your IP address is listed as being such, you'll see that message on lots of web sites. Apple's support site (although not their store, interestingly) and phdcomics.com are other places I've run into it. If you have a static IP address on your home router, don't ever start a Tor relay at home, or you'll poison it, evidently, forever. :-(

I have run a Tor relay in the past, yes. Although I have been getting this error only recently. And indeed phdcomics.com gives the same error. Interestingly, I get support.apple.com in Russian!?

It was a Tor relay, not an exit node, so I'm still curious why it would have to be blacklisted. And I guess I cannot rule out completely that either my home computer or - more likely - someone I granted access to my wifi has been part of a botnet.

I'm positive that no machine in my home network has ever been part of a botnet; the only explanation that stands up to scrutiny is the Tor relay that was running for a few days as a NAT forwarded service through my router's static IP address.

I wish the faceless entity behind this widespread blacklist service could be identified so I could ask them.

Is it a relay, exit node, or both that will get one blacklisted?

I've never run a Tor exit node, only relays. There's very little information available about what's happening. I've tried to get my router's IP address off the blacklist without success; entries don't seem to age off, at least not in the space of months. (For a few days I had the Tor relay running behind NAT forwarding on the router's IP address; later I got another static IP address for the relay machine's own use but the damage had already been done; now my router's IP address is blacklisted and I can't undo it---every machine on my home network behind that NAT is affected by the blacklist.

Did you check whether your work IP is blacklisted? See http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2359542

> In recent decades […]

When was this written?

Bryan R. Wilson, "The Persistence of Sects", Diskus, Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, Vol 1, No. 2, 1993

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