Yeah, this was my read too. There are plenty of bored and lonely people who also fancy themselves armchair intellectuals, who'd love to talk to you for hours. I

Yeah, this was my read too. There are plenty of bored and lonely people who also fancy themselves armchair intellectuals, who'd love to talk to you for hours. It may make them annoying and irritating, but it doesn't make them a cult. I don't see anything in the article that this was "attempted cult recruitment", more just "lonely people discussion group".