The "Dark side of the Force" can be both intelligent and convincing (see HCOB Antisocial Personality and the last Star Wars film....).

Most of my old friends who got caught up in the web has not joined any side, but is only sitting on the fence, stuck in the middle, not disconnecting from a declared person, but also not backing him up gung ho.

I don't "hate" any person involved, including the two declared persons. My memory of the good times and the good and basic side of these persons are intact, and I miss those parts. But some of them let the Dark side of the Force be a parasite at the party, and for me it's handle or disconnect. If they would do their proper ethics actions, though, I would gladly have them back as friends.

These are some things I learned about the methods used by splinter recruiters.

1. They have different excuses for spreading bad news and out-points about the Church:  "I have reported it.", "I am not afraid to speak out.", "I have a high Integrity.", etc.  It is also hard to logically understand in what way the spreading of that data would result in a betterment of any situation. 
    
2. They provoke and enterbulate on Church lines "fighting for justice and Standard Tech", and they get a win when they receive a motivator, because they can use it to point finger and "See what happens if you try to change things......".  Have you ever seen such a person become truly HAPPY when a situation has been handled or if an org terminal admits to a mistake and corrects it?
    
3. If they detect that you have a failure on the Bridge, or charge on a situation, they immediately use it to put dirt on the Church in order to make you more favourable to the splinter side.  And sure, it is nice to "be understood", but what are their purpose?
    
4. If you just LOOK at them, you would probably find that they are in condition of ENEMY, at the most, while often pretending to "Be in doubt" (if at all admitting low condition) so as to make it easier for them to have access to on-line scientologists and to appear more trustworthy than an Enemy would.  A common splinter practice is to publish a complete "Doubt formula" to on-line scientologists, or on the net.  That is contrary to the formula itself (doesn't say you publish your formula, just your decision).  This is just one first sign of the squirreling they are set upon on their Know Best road to nowhere.
    
5. They might try to involve you in discussions and argumentations, and can accuse you of being weak, naïve or lacking in KSW or some kind of moral fiber if you refuse to listen, or if you don't become sufficiently critical of the Church as a result.  Don't dance with these guys.  They have written the music for a specific purpose and their arguments are sharpened and strewn with out-points too many to keep track of in a normal discussion.  Look at the consequences of their actions and if they really want to handle things.
    
6. They act as if there are data that would surely make you question the intention of the Church and "Management" if you would know them.  Thus, they create a Mystery Sandwich for you, and not wanting to be accused of "being afraid to find out", you might involve yourself with a lot of data, which is presented with just one purpose:  to make you HOSTILE to the Church and to management.
    
   (I myself didn't follow that advice.  But at the end of that time consuming trail, I found out that from scraps of data and accusations, they drew farfetched conclusions to back up their agenda.  That was all.  No proof of anything.  Anti-climax.  I have read books that can convince you that Elvis is alive and that the first Apollo trip to the moon was a hoax.  I recommend such books, to see what is possible to assert, and as interesting reading.  I hope Elvis is alive, and perhaps NASA did need a head start from Russia, but there is no evidence in these books.  That's the difference.  Slanted info.)
    
7. One plan is to make you doubt the official Church, make you doubt that you will ever get to OT.  They just need to make you doubt, they don't have to convince you.  Then they say, "How do you know that it is true LRH data?" in an effort to make you doubt LRH data as presented by the Church.  Again, they just need to make you "unsure".  Look at how nicely this opens up the door to the squirrel data that are sold in the "Freezone". 
    
8. There is a common trait amongst the people I have met that were associated with the splinter zone.  And now, prepare for some sarcasm:  They considered that they had once been reasonable and naïve, but that NOW they can confront the out-points in the Church and now their "Integrity" is reinstated, and contrary to the still naïve and reasonable people "inside the Church", THEY have now reached a higher platform of observation, and now they see it fit to show us other "sheeps" as to the badness that we are not able to discover ourselves.  Thus, seeing themselves as being more intelligent, more enlightened, and more insistent upon Standard Tech than the rest of us, they can show us what we should not put up with but are to blind to see ourselves. 

And we can see their pointing fingers, coming up from the dark abyss, telling us what is wrong, while we take our next step forward and do something constructive.

McArthur
August 4, 2005
Europe