Nowadays, to do anything
without a simple "web search"
is... Not Intelligent
If the internet and web had been around so hugely when I found "my" cult, I might have been spared a lot of trouble.
Sahara71, I can only assume you went into your "bad" group under similar circumstances.
Today, in 2020, to do anything from buy a car, look for a new bed, or, goodness knows, choose a spiritual teacher, meditation group, yoga class, or whatever, it is "SOP," Standard Operating Procedure, to "google" the potential choice.
You put in the name, and results show up. I just put in "James Swartz," and the fifth item listed on the page, under some Swartz YouTube clips and links to the Sliming World site and similar bunk, is this site on the Cult Education Forum. To me, if someone reads this thread, and takes a look at "Guru? The Story of Heather," and still becomes a member of Swartz's Sliming World, then that's on them. Similarly, if they're so lazy and careless they don't bother to take this (now) normal and simple step, it's on them, too.
Going back to normal 2020 SOP, if you only get 'good results' in a search, it is another quite usual practice to type in the name of the item, person, class, or whatever and add a word like 'problems,' 'reviews,' critiques,' or something similar. I typed in "James Swartz problems," "James Swartz good or bad," and James Swartz reviews," and this site showed up on the first page, usually at the top.
My point is that, today, in 2020, every person has a way to research and to validate (or not) important decisions that was not available a generation ago.
Now, in 2020, this thread in the Cult Education Forum, along with Heather's book on www.reallyguru.com, are out there, easy to find, and totally available. With this being the case, nobody from (at the latest) mid-2019 and after should reasonably be able to claim "ignorance" regarding the dangers of getting ensnared into the Sliming World of James Swartz.