Cults hate when members leave
Cults hate when members leave
People who leave cults know the below the surface workings of the cult. -They are a threat to the cult and its mission.
Shunning is a technique used by cults. Cults lure people in initially with the love and acceptance they didn't feel from outside the cult. Shunning strikes to the core of these people as they return to their previous state, actually often worse.
Actions can go beyond shunning though.
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Guilt and Fear: Cults may attempt to instill a sense of guilt and fear in members about leaving suggesting dire consequences.
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Character Assassination: Spreading false information or rumors to discredit the party leaving.
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Stalking: Stalking former members to intimidate them into returning or to prevent them from speaking out.
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Threats: Verbal or written threats are often used to scare former members into silence. (wait til Lemmy admins see this shit! -for example)
The intimidation can go way beyond these, but these are pertinent to our community. A community for people recovering from a cult and trying to caution others.
The Linux cult is similar to the sectarian behavior of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Amish. Both sects apply the above tactics to silent dissent of leaving members. The worst of them are the FOSS evangelists, they're everywhere like a plague that manifests on Internet. Look at the down votes in this community from them, they joined only so they can down vote the truth haha because they can't admit it that they're wrong.
These people are sick in the brain. How can someone follow some sub because it hates its content? This is sickness and this sub is the cure, they need truth-bomb-pills everyday. They'll either recover, or get worse, in that case, there are always asylums looking for patients.
Any time I've banned people, it never was reflected in the users stat. -They weren't members. We're more apt to lose people from edgy posts (like King Richard).
We can't control vote brigading and manipulation. -That's a Lemmy issue that even Reddit has. I have noticed though that Reddit has rules about it, and bans for life for it if it's proven (or they catch it).
Nearly everyone if not everyone has cognitive biases and areas where they're not so bright. Conspiracy theorists aren't themselves because they're stupid; they're mostly a product of experiencing distrust in an authority at an impressionable age. (Rob Braxman is text book)
Aside from one user here, I don't get personal. I don't remember names of people I've banned. They're a victim as much as the next person.