Making a secret society?

[Froogleyboy]

All right, I got distracted on wikipedia and (I don't know how) ended up on a page about secret societies. This interested me so I googled "How to make a secret society" I don't want too, but it seemed like something to do. And WikiHow said you need to have a cause or central idea, when I thought "You know, I hear all about the Masons and the Templar, etc. but I don't know what there causes are." So, playgrounders, what kind of causes would people want to make a secret society about? Other then world domination, of course

[Kallisti]

Make a conspiracy with no purpose whatsoever, so that people will be baffled when they try to figure out your purpose.

[Temotei]

Some people just want lemonade. Right now, I'm one of those people.

Seriously, I would make a secret society based on something silly like that. :smalltongue:

[Starscream]

I call dibs on "The Ellucidated Brethren of Making Sure People Stop Calling the Monster 'Frankenstein', Damn It"

[Froogleyboy]

Okay, playgrounders, let us be serious now. Because this is baffling me

[chiasaur11]

The masons started as, well, masons. Stoneworkers.

Secret handshakes and suchlike began, presumably, as little work customs.

Templars?

Order of warrior monks who gradually found they had a knack for banking.

Basically, the "real" secret societies didn't start as secret societies, generally. They started as clubs with common interests, generally business, that got a bit odd when no-one else was looking.

But what do I know?

I'm only a yellow belt in Six Sigma, got kicked out of the Illuminati AND MJ-12 within the first week, and the Templars turned me down after the first interview because I made too many "Tombs of the Blind Dead" jokes.

[Froogleyboy]

Templars turned me down after the first interview because I made too many "Tombs of the Blind Dead" jokes.

Wait, wait, wait. Their still around????

[Drend]

I call dibs on "The Ellucidated Brethren of Making Sure People Stop Calling the Monster 'Frankenstein', Damn It"

Can I be your first member? :mitd:

The Templar were not a secret society, rather a religious order of Knights during the crusades period. The Illuminati were a society of people who wished to discuss ideas deemed 'heretical' by the ruling states, by order of the Catholic Church. (Catholic specifically, as the Gnostic movement was around long before the Catholic Church was founded, and was based on the free trading of ideas). They were secret for one specific reason. They would have been killed had they been found out. Galileo Galilee was sequestered in a small monastery in Rome, and, from some accounts, not allowed to see family or even the sun for months at a time because of his suspected involvement in a 'secret society' and his heretical (read scientific) writings. The Free Masons still exist, more or less. They were originally literally Mason's guild, as in people who worked with stone and shaped it for buildings. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories regarding them, many of which are explored in the popular fictional novels of Dan Brown. There is also a plethora of publications relating to the Masons and Illuminati written with at least a modicum of verifiable fact released in the wake of the popular Brown books to help dissuade people of the fanciful theories put forth in Mr. Brown's works of fiction. A local Librarian would be able to help you out quite a bit. They are actually quite popular check outs at my own library.

Edit: Grammar

[Thajocoth]

Easy. Get a group of people together... And don't tell anyone. The rules, hierarchy and other people guessing at what you're doing will happen on it's own.

[Quincunx]

Yes, Freemasons are still around. They conveniently stick their logo on their meeting places, as do other, more normalized service societies of the U.S.A. Your main problem here is that the average age of a service society member is probably above the retirement age. They're dying out.

Someone didn't read my link about creating conspiracies a few days ago. :smallwink: I think you may need to re-calibrate your seriousness detector, Froogleyboy. There is no difference between the humorous suggestions in this thread and 'real' secret societies; the posters just squeezed out the seriousness.

If all you're after is discovering 'things man was not meant to know' and THEN building a secret society around them. . .well, it's the Internet. Type three disconnected words into Google, dive down to about page 20 of the results, and start reading. You will eventually find crazy.

[thubby]

the easiest way to make a secret society is to latch onto someone else's cause, and use your secrecy to do what the main body can't.

so someone might start the "the monster is NOT called frankenstien" movement, and there would be a secret society that would run businesses that called it frankenstien out of business, or assassinate them..
>,>
<,<

[Tirian]

I was part of a secret society in college that was probably Discordian-inspired. Evidently it started from someone ripping a dollar bill into several pieces and giving a strip to each founding member. And a member could induct someone else into the society by tearing off a portion of their part of the bill and sharing it with a new member. So it was so secret that you wouldn't even recognize another member unless you happened to notice that they also had a miniscule fragment of a bill. I seem to recall that somehow the fate of the universe was to be such that we'd all find ourselves by chance at the same place at the millennium and would reform the bill. Alas, I can't say, because the group was infiltrated by whoever who stole my wallet before the cosmic event happened.

[Comet]

First alchemy, now this? Just combine the two and become the grandmaster of the Order of Goldmaking Magicians.

Or, you know, play D&D. That'll get you your esoteric fame faster than you can say "I worship the Devil".

[Amiel]

The first rule of making a secret society is:
you do not talk about making a secret society.

The second rule of making a secret society is:
you do not talk about making a secret society.


Otherwise, it's not a secret anymore, now is it? :smallamused:

[Johel]

So, playgrounders, what kind of causes would people want to make a secret society about? Other then world domination, of course


Promote values that would be outrightly rejected if promoted more openly. It can be religion, culture, politics,... anything that needs either a slow change of mentality or a discreet control over laws. That's basically how any lobby group works.
Increase the personal wealth or influence of its members. Basically, that's shared world domination. If you cannot beat them, join them...and enjoy the spoil. That's your classical conspiracy theory.
Create a network of helpful, trustworthy connections. You scratch my back, I scratch yours, no double-crossing. A few decades ago, that's how several professions worked, as it was impossible to be certified without knowing somebody inside. Think guilds, black market, ect...
Enjoy a socially unacceptable practice with peers. It can range from harmless activities like DnD to very illegal and harmful things like pedophilia. It can take the form of a college club or a criminal ring.


Really, just pick up any social practice or ideological opinion. You can find at least one reason for setting an underground group dedicated to promote it. Selfish ambitions also counts but for these, you have to set a criteria to distinguish the "Us" (members) from the "Them" (outsiders), as only the "Us" should get the real rewards.

[The Dark Fiddler]

The first rule of making a secret society is:
you do not talk about making a secret society.

The second rule of making a secret society is:
you do not talk about making a secret society.

Secret societies are /b/?

[Amiel]

The inspiration for the quote is Fight Club; which in itself is a secret society.

[snoopy13a]

Many secret societies are just social clubs where membership itself is the drawing card due to its exclusivity. For example, the college secret societies such as Skull and Bones at Yale.

It is arguable that social fraternities and sororities are secret societies as they are restrictive about who can join and they tend to have secret initiation rituals. On the other hand, they are also public about their membership.

[denthor]

Froogleboy You are already a member of a secret society you play DND.:smalleek:

Just in case you missed the invitation welcome to the club:smalltongue:

Now go forth and tell no one of are real mission to be geeks that spend the traditional date night in a small cramped basement, garage with a pile of books with others of the same sex rolling dice to find out if our math is up to the challenge.

Speak not except on this forum of our work. Always seek to level up and remember avoid the one seek the 20 and live your life on paper!!

[bosssmiley]

Join Me (http://www.join-me.co.uk/) - link related

[Raiki]

[QUOTE=Temotei221;8121745]Some people just want lemonade. Right now, I'm one of those people.QUOTE]

I read that as: Some people just want lemonade, right now. I am one of those people.

Needless to say, I am still laughing. :smallbiggrin:

Also, the secret to a secret society...is secrecy. Really, Froog! You know that people outside the playground can't know about our mission! Get with it, boy!

~R~

[Flickerdart]

The thing about all the societies you listed is that they aren't secret. Because we know about them, see. Real secret societies, nobody knows about. Maybe not even their members. :smallbiggrin:

[Ecks Dee]

Threads started by Froogleyboy -


Tarot readers
calling all gun-nuts!
pigeon racing itp
I was attacked by a wild hog!
cthulhu
Alchemy?
Making a secret society?
Happy Ostara!


What kind of terrifying conspiracy have you got yourself involved in, son ...

[PersonMan]

Threads started by Froogleyboy -


Tarot readers
calling all gun-nuts!
pigeon racing itp
I was attacked by a wild hog!
cthulhu
Alchemy?
Making a secret society?
Happy Ostara!


What kind of terrifying conspiracy have you got yourself involved in, son ...

Not a conspiracy theory. He's part of a secret group who start random threads on forums known as...

Those Guys Who Start Random Threads On Forums During Their Free Time!!!

[Froogleyboy]

Those Guys Who Start Random Threads On Forums During Their Free Time!!!

is that really a bad thing?

[Ecks Dee]

Not a conspiracy theory. He's part of a secret group who start random threads on forums known as...

Those Guys Who Start Random Threads On Forums During Their Free Time!!!

Nah, it's definitely a conspiracy theory. You've practically got the Majestic 12 agenda right there!

[Moff Chumley]

is that really a bad thing?

Your taking up space! ON THE INTERNET! :smallfurious:

:smallwink:

I once started a thread called The Funkeh Thread. I loved that thread.

[Occasional Sage]

Lawrence Block (http://www.lawrenceblock.com/index_framesetfl.htm)'s book A Long Line of Dead Men (http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780380720248-0) features a secret society, the Club of 31. The last living member of the Club recruits 30 new 20-ish olds to bring the roll back up to 31, years pass, repeat. The members meet to recognize the Club's deaths at an annual dinner.

They existed to give a sense of meaning to life by acknowledging death.

[chiasaur11]

Secret societies are one of John Hodgman's many areas of expertise.

You'd be surprised what the Skull and Bones society really spends its time doing.

[Worira]

I thought it mostly mud-wrestled.

[chiasaur11]

I thought it mostly mud-wrestled.

No.
If only it were that simple.

[KuReshtin]

The Third Wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Wave) - School project back in the 60s that could be called a secret society.

[RandomNPC]

I created "The Organization" one day at work. Basically you replace appropriate words with "The Organization" and let people think what they want.

"Hey, how are you?"
becomes
"Hey, how are things with the organization?"

"Can you do me a favor?"
becomes
"The organization requests a favor"

take this idea and run with it.