As for characterizing something as a "cult"; my thinking is that if someone agrees with the beliefs of a group, and are welcomed in as a part of it, they refer to it as a group - if not, they call it a cult.
Marc Riddell
No, that is a cult: if you agree with the benefits and are welcomed in--but it doesn't have to be a cult, it could be Toastmasters or Alcoholics Anonymous, or Forest Ridge. Or you could be welcomed into the cult in order to force you to agree with the benefits. What's not a cult is if you disagree with how the thing is run and are still welcomed in as a part of it and allowed to continue to disagree. In spite of my anti-admin comments, I'm absolutely in no danger of being kicked off of Wikipedia for them, even by the Wikipedia-admins-are-British-19th-c.-aristocrats-who-can-do-no-wrong-hang-the-butler-instead-so-the-aristocrat's-bloody-hands-aren't-hurt-with-the-chains types. Personality cults allow for no dissent or negative comments on the leadership. No matter what Jimbo says, there are negative comments.
There are other don't-stuff-beans-up-your-nose obvious differences.
KP