Perhaps...

I agree with Bethyskids. I wouldn't want to take the chance of calling someone a troll and NOT helping them if I could, when their story very well could be legit. You just never know.

Like... the dandylion person. She's long been labeled a troll. But why does she keep coming back? That's not usual troll behavior, is it? Maybe her life just really does read like a Jerry Springer episode!

First question, no answers is a huge red flag for me. First question, few answers all concentrated in a small period of time, yellow flag.

There is one this morning that posts identical to our "Anna" otherwise known as the GPS/cell phone/spyware troll. Thing is her answers predate "Anna". So now I am not sure if this is a troll or someone that doesn't want to be connected to their opinions or what...but damn she really wants us to spy on our kids. :(

Oh dang, my bad, "Anna" is the kid that doesn't want to have house guests over. I still think the other one was Anna or they are all the same person and all I can say is thank god school starts this week!

S.:

I'm thinking trolls...i would like to think otherwise....or maybe it's just a "regular" posing as a troll to stir things up? I don't know!! One "troll" sure seems to know her way around the site though!! I'll say that!!!

Unless it's a known troll, I give them the benefit of a doubt. Life is full of crazy circumstances so you never know if it's made up or not. Now, the "my mom and the ketchup story, obviously not serious, but others warrant real advice.

I am cynical and I will often look to see what types of questions have been posted in the past.

If it is a first time question and they have not responded to any other questions, my radar goes into troll mode.

Sometimes I answer and sometimes not, depends on my mood and how busy I am. I just go on today and am going through the questions for the day. We'll see if I find something I feel is fishy.

ETA: Oh boy the trolls are active today!

I usually deem them a troll if (and some if not all of this criteria are met):
It is there first question.
That first question is 'out there' (left to interpretation)
Asking specific medical questions using specific medical terms
Asking about a service in a specific city/street/town, specific hotels, providers etc.
And it just plain sounds ridiculous.
I have also come to the conclusion that there are trolls and there are those that write blogs who come here for info.
If you look at past questions for blog writers you can tell by the wording of the questions.
And to your first question... let the fingers fly, and cynical can be quite effective at times..... ;)

So, the CPS and parental controls question this morning-- heck, I don't know if it was a troll or not, but I know what I think of people who post asinine questions like that.

(and yes, that's when I do not extend my usual 'giving the poster the benefit of the doubt'..)

Otherwise, I often just don't know. And I often give up on the posts which feature 'mystery spelling'. I'm not talking about small mistakes, I'm talking about people who feel that their garbled train-wreck of a post should be answered nicely when they type like they're texting their 13 year old friend.

@ Jim: I do have a blog which is sometimes informed by this forum and the posts on it, however, I'm pretty transparent in my posts if I'm looking for opinions/information for my blog or other endeavors. I think it's not fair to others if I don't post my intent and I'd rather keep myself credible.

Hmm - where to begin -

First - what is the definition of a troll? I always thought of them as nordic creatures living under a bridge - obviously I'm not as current with the blogosphere/internet colloquialisms as I thought.
Second - do you ladies really track the goings on of different post-ers here? I recognise some of the names of mamas (or papas) who are on here about the same time as I am - how do you track that Anna could be the same person at Geraldine?
Third - I just assume the Q's are genuine. I won't waste my time on the the assinine ones like: "JFF how often do you clean your fridge?" Not often enough to keep it as clean as I'd like it - too often since it's time I can't spend doing other things.
Forth - I figure since I got two kids through elementary school / middle school with some issues (ADHD, depression, death & serious illness of loved ones) I figure I might have gained some wisdom to share. If my experiences can help someone else that's a good thing.
Fifth - I also figure that some of you have already been on the road I'm now on and maybe you canhelp me through some of the bends and bumps. Isn't
that what this site is supposed to be about? If Geraldine is a fake - oh well - many people waste my time - this is just another one then. ;o)

I do think many of the odd/leading questions are troll-ish, however there are times I'll answer them as if they're real "just in case." Very often times, trolls will use controversial topics to try to rile people up but there are far more lurkers than posters in communities like this. If I can post a response that helps even one lurker in a possibly-fake-possibly-real situation that I'm not 100% certain is a faker troll, then I'll post it. Usually I precede it with, "In the event this is a real question" but not always.

And then there are times I just call it like I see it because it's so very obvious.

I'm getting better about not responding! It's hard sometimes, but I really feel like that's the only way to make it stop!!!

I don't know who's posting and whether it's real so I just give an answer.