Talk:Atrocity story

message: This article is highly unclear, particularly the lead. Here's the first sentence: 'The term atrocity story (also referred to as atrocity tale) as defined by the American sociologists David G. Bromley and Anson D. Shupe refers to the symbolic presentation of action or events (real or imaginary) in such a context that they are made flagrantly to violate the (presumably) shared premises upon which a given set of social relationships should be conducted.' That doesn't tell you anything about what an 'atrocity story' is, what the term refers to, or why it's significant. 
The article goes on to say 'The term "atrocity story" is controversial as it relates to the differing views amongst scholars about the credibility of the accounts of former members.' Former members of what? Scholars of what? It also links to a section of the article Apostate, which was presumably there once, but has now been removed. There then follows a quote that doesn't use the term 'atrocity story'. And so on.
After reading this article carefully several times, I was eventually able to figure out what it's about: controversial reports about cults/new religious movements by those who have left them. Why can't this article state that so simply? This article needs to be rewritten, and the rewritten version should make it absolutely clear:
*What an 'atrocity story' is;
*Who uses the term;
*Why it is controversial/significant.
Sorry if this sounds a bit angry - I'm not, I'm just frustrated that this article makes things so difficult for its readers. Robofish (talk) 17:58, 25 November 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: For what this article should look like, compare it to the one on cult apologist. That begins 'The term cult apologist is used by some opponents of cults and new religious movements to describe social scientists, religious scholars, and other persons who write about cults and new religious movements whose writings they consider as uncritical or not sufficiently critical.[1][verification needed] Scholars have referred to the term as "derisive"[2] and a "handy ideological tool".[3]' The following sections are 'Usage of term', 'Responses' and 'Positive usage'. This article could use a similar structure. Robofish (talk) 18:04, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

text: I started this article many years ago and the definition was immediately clear to me without any examples. I have to admit that many people have complained that this article is incomprehensible. An atrocity story tries to evoke moral rejection or outrage of the listeners. It may be done by telling stories that are factually correct but without context. Or the event is very rare. Clearly in NRMs the context of the behavior can be totally different from what the public knows, assumes or expects. Andries (talk) 18:30, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

text: I was not able to give an example because I did not have reliable sources for it. Andries (talk) 18:37, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

text: I will remove the unclear/confusing tag from the article based on this replyAndries (talk) 21:11, 4 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Unclear/confusing 

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