--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the web the thinking of cults can…" description: "\"On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues suddenly find a form..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png" --- # On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly… ![“On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues suddenly find a formula which is very believable.” quote by Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png) > “On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues suddenly find a formula which is very believable.” [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Online communities can quickly form cult‑like groups, especially when members share deep personal issues and a compelling narrative. **In simple terms:** Rapidly forming groups can become cults when people share vulnerabilities. Key Takeaway Beware of echo chambers online. Themes internet cult dynamics psychology community vulnerability Mood cautious analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - online forums - support groups - viral movements - digital marketing Key Concepts social media influence groupthink Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a healthy vs. harmful community? - How can individuals protect themselves? A Different Perspective Not all online groups are harmful; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cult/) [Cults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cults/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personal issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-issues/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I usually display all of my personal issues in little memoir films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilson/i-usually-display-all-of-my-personal-issues-in-little-memoir-films/) [John Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilson/) > [Sometimes dramas or happenings from 10 or 20 years ago are kept alive by people on a daily basis, whether it's personal issues or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thekla-reuten/sometimes-dramas-or-happenings-from-10-or-20-years-ago-are-kept-alive/) Thekla Reuten > [Within-group conflict is always personal and emotional - even if it begins with impersonal issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-kaye/within-group-conflict-is-always-personal-and-emotional-even-if-it/) [Kenneth Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-kaye/) > [“Until we walk with despair, and still have hope, we will not know that our hope was not just hope in ourselves, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/until-we-walk-with-despair-and-still-have-hope-we-will-not-know-that/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I believe a relationship with a country is simply bound to the interests of two countries and not by personal issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saad-hariri/i-believe-a-relationship-with-a-country-is-simply-bound-to-the/) [Saad Hariri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saad-hariri/) > [When I was young, I wasn't a misfit or anything. I had friends in all the different social groups. But I had issues -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vai/when-i-was-young-i-wasn-t-a-misfit-or-anything-i-had-friends-in-all/) [Steve Vai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vai/) > [“People who are unwilling to talk about deep personal issues do not trust their own emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/people-who-are-unwilling-to-talk-about-deep-personal-issues-do-not/) [David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/) > [“My aunt and uncle went to Toronto in a last ditch effort to save their marriage. Uncle Bob had a tumultuous, abusive upbringing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-wilson/my-aunt-and-uncle-went-to-toronto-in-a-last-ditch-effort-to-save/) [Darren Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-wilson/) > [I don't want to bring my personal issues to the field during game time. I don't want to take focus from anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquise-goodwin/i-don-t-want-to-bring-my-personal-issues-to-the-field-during-game/) [Marquise Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquise-goodwin/) > [Certain personal issues forced me stay away from movies for a while but that does not mean I was idle and cut away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balachandra-menon/certain-personal-issues-forced-me-stay-away-from-movies-for-a-while/) [Balachandra Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balachandra-menon/) > [There's no more personal issue than gun violence; every one of these stories is a life lost, i'm hoping that over the long term,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/there-s-no-more-personal-issue-than-gun-violence-every-one-of-these/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) > [I had some personal issues to sort out so I couldn't work for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshaye-khanna/i-had-some-personal-issues-to-sort-out-so-i-couldn-t-work-for-a-while/) [Akshaye Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshaye-khanna/) > [“I make paper dolls with deep personal issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-m-law/i-make-paper-dolls-with-deep-personal-issues/) Polly M. Law > [Never give peoples no Ammunition over you to shoot back, especially on the facebook keep all your personal issues to yourself because if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/never-give-peoples-no-ammunition-over-you-to-shoot-back-especially-on/) Frenchqueen > [If the pitch starts with a sob story, I'm out. If the pitch talks about personal issues, I'm out. If the pitch starts off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/if-the-pitch-starts-with-a-sob-story-i-m-out-if-the-pitch-talks-about/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) ## More by Tim Berners-Lee > [When something is such a creative medium as the web, the limits to it are our imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/when-something-is-such-a-creative-medium-as-the-web-the-limits-to-it/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You can’t propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/you-can-t-propose-that-something-be-a-universal-space-and-at-the-same/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Physicists analyse systems. Web scientists, however, can create the systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/physicists-analyse-systems-web-scientists-however-can-create-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [AI is not just heading for our industry, it will radically change the machinery we use in marketing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/ai-is-not-just-heading-for-our-industry-it-will-radically-change-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Web pages are designed for people. For the Semantic Web, we need to look at existing databases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-pages-are-designed-for-people-for-the-semantic-web-we-need-to/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [One of the issues of social networking silos is that they have the data and I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/one-of-the-issues-of-social-networking-silos-is-that-they-have-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [The more you enter, the more you become locked in. Your social-networking site becomes a central platform - a closed silo of content, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/the-more-you-enter-the-more-you-become-locked-in-your-social/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Celebrity damages private life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/celebrity-damages-private-life/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [I think, in general, it's clear that most bad things come from misunderstanding, and communication is generally the way to resolve misunderstandings - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-think-in-general-it-s-clear-that-most-bad-things-come-from/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [When somebody has learned how to program a computer ... You're joining a group of people who can do incredible things. They can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/when-somebody-has-learned-how-to-program-a-computer-you-re-joining-a/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [I'm an optimist about humanity in general, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/i-m-an-optimist-about-humanity-in-general-i-suppose/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/anyone-who-has-lost-track-of-time-when-using-a-computer-knows-the/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [Universality has been the key enabler of innovation on the Web and will continue to be so in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/universality-has-been-the-key-enabler-of-innovation-on-the-web-and/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [What is a Web year now, about three months? And when people can browse around, discover new things, and download them fast, when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/what-is-a-web-year-now-about-three-months-and-when-people-can-browse/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) [Explore all 134 Tim Berners-Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) ## More Believable quotes > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Making the unbelievable believable is different on a set with 'Fantastic Four,' where it's like, 'Wind machines! Because the airship is coming in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/making-the-unbelievable-believable-is-different-on-a-set-with/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > ['The Avengers' made it more believable that I could have been a major in the U.S. Army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/the-avengers-made-it-more-believable-that-i-could-have-been-a-major/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [In creating the strange milieu in which your story takes place, you must first understand as well as you possibly can the familiar milieu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-creating-the-strange-milieu-in-which-your-story-takes-place-you/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Good fiction makes the truth believable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarrant-smith/good-fiction-makes-the-truth-believable/) Tarrant Smith > [As an actor, I like my films to be believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/as-an-actor-i-like-my-films-to-be-believable/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/mostly-it-s-lies-writing-novels-you-set-out-to-tell-an-untrue-story/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/american-traditions-and-the-american-ethic-require-us-to-be-truthful/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [Why am I an atheist? The short answer is that I cannot accept any of the alternatives. I simply don't find them believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-smoker/why-am-i-an-atheist-the-short-answer-is-that-i-cannot-accept-any-of/) [Barbara Smoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-smoker/) > [I don't understand that, because I think that what people like most about the show is that they recognize themselves in the characters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/i-don-t-understand-that-because-i-think-that-what-people-like-most/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/what-is-most-important-to-me-is-that-my-narrator-s-voice-is/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [I'm straight, but the character was too important to me to muddle his world with my private life. As a nobody, I got away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/i-m-straight-but-the-character-was-too-important-to-me-to-muddle-his/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [When I originally came from 'Cheetah Girls,' I was making music that was real to me but not believable. I think there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-bailon/when-i-originally-came-from-cheetah-girls-i-was-making-music-that-was/) [Adrienne Bailon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-bailon/) > [You have to create characters - certainly in series TV - who people engage with. They don't have to be nice; you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hirst/you-have-to-create-characters-certainly-in-series-tv-who-people/) [Michael Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hirst/) Browse all 230 Believable quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had some deep personal issues suddenly find a formula which is very believable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Berners-Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spread-very-rapidly-and-suddenly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spread-very-rapidly-and-suddenly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/tim-berners-lee-3302_believable_on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spr_1035907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the web the thinking of cults can spread very rapidly and suddenly a cult which was 12 people who had…” — Tim Berners-Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tim Berners-Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the web the thinking of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spread-very-rapidly-and-suddenly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/on-the-web-the-thinking-of-cults-can-spread-very-rapidly-and-suddenly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```