[HN Gopher] A Suicide Cult's Surviving Members Still Maintain It...
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       A Suicide Cult's Surviving Members Still Maintain Its 90s Website
        
       Author : jameslk
       Score  : 15 points
       Date   : 2025-08-12 21:37 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.vice.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.vice.com)
        
       | superkuh wrote:
       | This is possible because the website is made of .html and other
       | multi-media files in directories. There are no moving parts. As
       | long as there's a webserver it's immortal and probably the
       | closest any of those in Heavens Gate will get to the concept.
       | 
       | We really need more websites that are .html and files in
       | directories. Making everything an executable (either server or
       | client side) leads to very short lifetimes.
        
         | deadbabe wrote:
         | If they had built it in PHP they might wish they had died and
         | gone wherever.
        
       | netsharc wrote:
       | > I asked the the admins if they resented this task at all: being
       | left behind to play caretaker to a forgotten corner of the
       | internet, missing their chance to "evolve" to this Next Level.
       | They told me they weren't resentful at all.
       | 
       | > "We didn't have any of those feelings. That would be a very
       | human response," they wrote. "Don't worry, we will be taken care
       | of."
       | 
       | At the end of the article the realization hit me that it's just
       | standard cultist behavior: if they suddenly gave up the faith
       | they'd be unmoored, not having anything to hope for, so it's more
       | comforting to believe in the "lie".
       | 
       | Behavior that too many people in the world exhibit of course,
       | suuure America will be great again, it's not racism, it's
       | fighting against thugs! What grift? Oh all politicians do it, so
       | it's fine if the ones I support do it!
       | 
       | [This paragraph redacted, sigh, triggering people's emotions
       | won't get my message across]
        
       | reitzensteinm wrote:
       | One of my favourite YouTubers, Matt Orchard, did a video on cults
       | that included Heaven's Gate. He interviews a surviving member. If
       | this article interested you, it's worth a watch (the beginning is
       | a bit silly):
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9F-vb7s3DE
        
       | delichon wrote:
       | > The members of Heaven's Gate, which had existed since the 70s,
       | believed they were exiting their Earthly bodies to board a UFO
       | that was hiding behind the Hale-Bopp comet as it made its closest
       | approach to Earth.
       | 
       | So for all we know they succeeded in transcending their earthly
       | bodies, and are now enjoying a more enlightened existence. I hope
       | so.
        
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       (page generated 2025-08-12 23:01 UTC)