It is a bizarre phenomenon, but entertaining in a weird way. I spent several weeks voraciously perusing Flat Earth websites and forums and youtube videos, to prepare for a blog article: [www.skepticink.com]

They're holding an international (global - heh) conference in Edmonton this summer. I'll actually be close to Edmonton for family reasons, and half-considered attending the conference as a mole. But it's a lot of money to pay for a few days of being bathed in nonsense.

My feeling is that they are, first and foremost, conspiracy theorists; the discworld obsession is just the particular kernel their conspiracy theories have coalesced around. They have a lot in common with, say, the sovereignty movement, the Reptilians, the anti-vaxxers, the 9/11 "skeptics," and a host of others.