Defending oneself from the cult accusation just makes it worse. Did you write a long excuse why you are not a cult? Well, that's exactly what a cult would do, isn't it?
To be accused is to be convicted, because the allegation is unfalsifiable.
Trying to explain something is drawing more attention to the topic, from which people will notice only the keywords. The more complex explanation you make, especially if it requires reading some of your articles, the worse it gets.
The best way to win is to avoid the topic.
Unfortunately, someone else can bring this topic and be persistent enough to make it visible. (Did it really happen on a sufficient scale, or are we just creating it by our own imagination?) Then, the best way is to make some short (not necessarily rational, but cached-thought convincing) answer and then avoid the topic. For example: "So, what exactly is that evil thing people on LW did? Downvote someone's forum post? Seriously, guys, you need to get some life."
And now, everybody stop worrying and get some life. ;-)
It could also help to make the site seem a bit less serious. For example put more emphasis on the instrumental rationality on the front page. People discussing best diet habits don't seem like a doomsday cult, right?
The Sequences could be recommended somewhat differently, for example: "In this forum we sometimes discuss some complicated topics. To make the discussion more efficient and avoid endlessly repeating the same arguments about statistics, evolution, quantum mechanics, et cetera, it is recommended to read the Sequences." Not like 'you have to do this', but rather like 'read the FAQ, please'. Also in discussion, instead of "read the Sequences" it is better to recommend one specific sequence, or one article.
Relax, be friendly. But don't hesitate to downvote a stupid post, even if the downvotee threatens to accuse you of whatever.
The Sequences could be recommended somewhat differently, for example: "In this forum we sometimes discuss some complicated topics. To make the discussion more efficient and avoid endlessly repeating the same arguments about statistics, evolution, quantum mechanics, et cetera, it is recommended to read the Sequences." Not like 'you have to do this', but rather like 'read the FAQ, please'. Also in discussion, instead of "read the Sequences" it is better to recommend one specific sequence, or one article.
This.
Seriously, we need to start doing all the stuff recommended here, but this is perhaps the simplest and most immediate. Someone go do it.
I have several questions related to this:
If you visit any Less Wrong page for the first time in a cookies-free browsing mode, you'll see this message for new users:
Here are the worst violators I see on that about page:
And on the sequences page:
This seems obviously false to me.
These may not seem like cultish statements to you, but keep in mind that you are one of the ones who decided to stick around. The typical mind fallacy may be at work. Clearly there is some population that thinks Less Wrong seems cultish, as evidenced by Google's autocomplete, and these look like good candidates for things that makes them think this.
We can fix this stuff easily, since they're both wiki pages, but I thought they were examples worth discussing.
In general, I think we could stand more community effort being put into improving our about page, which you can do now here. It's not that visible to veteran users, but it is very visible to newcomers. Note that it looks as though you'll have to click the little "Force reload from wiki" button on the about page itself for your changes to be published.