Im starting to believe we are all going through some brainwashing similar to religious cults.Dont get me wrong now, i beat the hpc drum as much as anyone.But sometimes i sit back and ty to look from a diffrent angle.Doing so has led me to believe we are showing some cult tendancies on here, this site for many and lower house prices as a whole has become a mantra.

some cult tendancies being showing include

If anyone dares to go against the percieved lowering of prices in here we tend to heckle, pity their judgemnt as unbelievers ultimatly banishing them to the trolls.

we are right and no matter what anyone says WE ARE RIGHT

If anyone dares challenge us we clique together to defend our position using group tactics to diminish their opinion.

We pat each other on the back when athirmatives to our beliefs are solidified

We like nothing better than a new believer, celebrating their finding of the real opinion with a warm welcome, if the newcomer comes here and challenges our beliefs we attack them.

we debate and debate with the unbelievers till we wear them down and then they become one of us.

non believers in a hpc, economic crash think we are all a bit mad and odd, as shown by the continious posts of dinner party chats ect


This forum is looking more and more like a secular cult, sometimes it scares the shit outta me, we need to encourage more bulls on here to stop getting locked into our one sided opinions.


im getting scared now i better stop

But we are, house prices are overpriced and they need to crash.

All groups have cult like characteristics - including the 'property-porn' crowd. What's the problem? When houses are bottoming and about to rocket we'll crack up, and the die-hards will have their Jonestown moment, shivering on a hill under canvas, while those that escape will launch massive BTL portfolios at the bottom. I hope to be in neither camp, but walking barefoot through England, a secret Arthur.

I'm not writing any more posts until you acknowledge HPC as a valid religion.

Now go and report to Eric for immediate auditing.

no we're not a cult now drink the poisend coolaid

Well it's better than the Government. They don't debate, they just chant a mantra.

I stopped posting on internet forums for a couple of years because I found them too addictive. I only started on here again because of the profile of posters and the need to find out if other businesses were suffering as mine was.

On here, you can say what you want, engage in good debate and keep your anonymity. A perfect cocktail.

I can feel the symptoms of addiction returning again because of this place. I love the whole "am-dram" of it all - the gloom-laden subject titles and subtitles, the misery predicted in each post, the honest and sometimes forthright banter/insults between members (guilting of making and receiving in these cases) and this overwhelming feeling that we are the blessed ones.

"We promise to be tough on reality and the causes of reality."

To achieve true cult status I think we need the following:

1) A costume
2) One or more videos on YouTube promulgating our virtues. I think, for instance, its a 100% true fact that as HPCers, we know we're the only ones who could do something if we saw an accident...
3) A few law suits denying our cult status
4) A documentary or two on BBC3/C4 uncovering our dark secrets

I prefer this cult to the HPI one; they have to "donate" all their money to their religion.

However, I'm quitting if the leader of HPC tries to sleep with Mrs. Paddles.

We need a secret hand signal, a salute, a docudrama showing the life of HPC'ers.
(Have you seen the catherine tate - woman who marries serial killers?)

How about this one?

Salivating like pablovs dogs at the mere mention of a HPC the posters here are far to lightweight and junior for the honour of cult status most will never taste the sweet honey that they so desire

Apparently, He Who Must Not Be Named (Renting Be Upon Him) is more likely to try to sleep with you than Mrs Paddles.

We even have a fallen angel in the shape of Bruno, who lurks in the shadows trying to do us mischief.

Stone him!

With bricks left over from halfbuilt luxury executive apartment developments!

LTIPMS.......

Seriously though, guys and gals...... Perhaps we should lighten up a little (swiftly ducks head)?

Well certainly if my company knew how much time I spend on here (they probably do ), they would arrange my kidnapping, removal of internet access, deprogramming, and thus return to a semblance of my former productivity. There, I've admitted it, I am hooked, maybe the admission is the start of my rehabilitation.

Must get back to work, must get back to work, signing off now till later...

Interesting post. The forum does exhibit cult signs at times. I think it is important to the quality of the debate that these tendencies are resisted. Sometimes when an opposing view is offered, the poster is vilified and branded a troll on here, even if the opinion slightly deviates only slightly from the stock HPC party line. Many good posters who used to be on here who would add to the quality of the debate have gone as a result.

Anyway it doesn't really matter, as we'll all be leaving for the planet Zog next month, where the prices only ever go down and Estate agents and BTL landlords have all been crucified.

Yeah but he's going to have no chance tempting us to eat his forbidden fruit!

We know like TEOTWIN cults this one will survive by simply postponing the day when it will happen.

But what will we do when TEOTW actually happens?

I really hope we are.
Never been a member of a cult before.
Another things off the things to do before you are 30 list.

Most VI's would say we are most definitely a cu*t

Blessed are those who lack a 42" plasma tv for they have have little credit card debt

Blessed are the savers for they shall have a whacking great deposit.

Blessed are the priced-out for they shall inherit a 3.5 x salary mortgage.


The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is FP who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness.

For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost bears. And he will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy his brothers.

And you will know he is RB when he lays his vengeance upon you.


Here endeth the lesson.

are we the bad guys?

Well I've not been given the location and time of the alien spaceship pick-up, does that mean I haven't reached Chosen One status yet?

The Cult were a great band by the way, can't beat a bit of She Sells Sanctuary.

its a hot topic and the site name keeps the topic focused on the fine details - like any forum focused on one specific (car forums are another classic) the majority of members will be pro forum - in this case pro-hpc. I think there are a lot of simalarities between a cult and some forums.

imho, there are some very knowledgeable people on this forum and I learn alot from their posts - just need to seive the crap

FP and RB are the mainstream New Testament prophets.

Cgnao is definitely Old Testament and probably lives in a cave with Goldfinger as a pet.

Eric is in charge of shouting at heretics.

You worry too much.

you mean, Grape Flav-or-aid laced with cyanide and valium.

for the first time, my avatar is relevant!

Not quite relevant, but perhaps we could take advice fro propertypin "non-glee" policy?

http://www.thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?t=1047

Yes we're a cult, and when house prices crash, we're all going to commit suicide on the steps of the RICS and CML offices.

As long as many sheeple become converted and the cult gets power, then it's ok

After all our goals are noble

Boll0cks to that. A large part of my HPC enjoyment is getting a "revenge update" on those who've created the house price fiasco in this country i.e. the banks, the sheeple and the EAs.

I need my glee.

I think there is a danger of HPC assuming the appearance of a cult - especially when alternative opinions are met with abuse instead of reasoned debate. It behoves us all to prevent the possibility of being labelled cultic by entertaining opinions contrary to our own and arguing them with reason and logic rather than resorting to ad homs.

I, too, expect glee.

I spend less time here than i used to - i have to acutally get on with my life whilst waiting for the world as we know it to end.

Cultlike it may be but it doesn't mean that a lot of what people here have said has come true and is coming true.

F

thats what all cults say

We're a Religion, not a cult.

What is your crime?

Look in joy dear members at this glorious sight -

FTSE 100 5773.10-1.37%

our leader was right!!!!!


by the way who is our leader

You’re quitting, and I’m watching.




That was a joke by the way.











I’d be joining in.

It is in no way like a cult, vagueness is avoided, research encouraged, intellectual valued over emotional and no structure of power.

The only cult like thing is the Us vs Them aspect, but even that isn't taken too seriously.Occasionaly people blaspheme against the only sacred tenenment, the one true commodity, to the moon, the saviour and proclaimer, the metal of the Gods, blast off in 10, higher and higher, reclaimer and maintainer, inflation and creation, always ready [..continued pg 74]

May you all Rent In Peace until the day of Freedom.

Perhaps we could all put HPC as our religion on our next census return, rather like the Jedi did last time.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=297

It's a shame that the next census isn't until 2011. the crash will (probably) be over by then.

I haven't read the rest of this thread but I assume someone has mentioned HPC coolaid?

If are are a cult does that mean we will all now get to date gorgeous Hollywood starlets? Maybe one or two of us be able to come partly out of the closet (Come on, we know who you are - those of you who are really estate agents!) or talk about the lizard people who control the World?

This is an excellent post, and in all seriousness, I have noticed the same myself!!

You also have:

a) a derogatory term for non-believers (sheeple). The only time I have encountered this word outside of hpc was when it came out of David Ike's mouth.
There is the enemy/the dark side/shapeshifting lizards/satan whatever you want to call it, in the form of 'VI's' and the BBC.
c) There are also the peak oilers/gold rampers (the proper doom mongers!) with their apocalyptic prophecies.

All starting to look a bit strange.

I feel we'd get an awful lot more media exposure if we didn't come across as being a bunch of loonies by indulging in the above. We should stick to the bare facts:

- housing overpriced
- credit tightening
- over-supply of property (especially 'luxury' apartments)
- economic decline

For a start, I would ban use of the term 'VI', at least when used as a blanket term for anybody who disagrees with us.

+1!

Nice post Ed!

I don't think that HPC per se is a cult (given that its hardly an unusual view that houses in the UK are currently overvalued - by how much is another matter of course).

However some members do demonstrate a high degree of hysteria leading them to believe that every single negative economic event means that the end of the world is that bit closer. This is probably an excuse to avoid facing up to the real world and getting on with things, akin to school childern in the 60's not bothering to study for their exams as it didn't matter as there was going to be nuclear war shortly.

While some of you might be right that we will shortly be living in caves again, you'd probably be better advised to get on with life in the meantime in case that doesn't happen any time soon.