I'm not a hardline ML, nor am I a trot. I find myself attracted to theory from both. There's a lot of very valid criticism of Trotsky, Stalin, ML states, and Trot organizations. There's reasonable critique for all. But there's also good praise for all too. I've long tried to figure out what kind of marxist I am. I find myself drawn to Trotsky's transitional program, but also to the more (in my opinion) realistic idea of socialism in one country. When it comes down to actually organizing does it really matter? If there's a full ML movement going strong I'll join that. Or if it was a trotskyist movement going strong, I'd join that. I just want to see marxism advance. Much of the infighting feels like the narcissism of small differences. I guess I'm asking is it ok to be a heterodox marxist?
Are they MLs or are they party-less people that claim to be MLs but aren't actually?
They're sympathisers. They like ML but they're not doing anything and they're not in party. If they were in a party they would have a proper political education and wouldn't be so obsessed with mimicking the past but instead testing in the present and using what works while tossing out what doesn't through proper investigation.