1/ So ... your new to Twitter & just had someone new follow you and don't have a clue as to whether you should follow back!

This thread is a simple guide on how to go about vetting a twitter account so as not to end up following a troll or clutter your timeline with ads.

2/ It is not going to eliminate the possibility of you inadvertently following a lib troll or a bot, but it should minimize the number of cretans you do end up following.

3/ Like any other system of this type, you will also get false positives … that is, you’ll think a twit is a bot/troll when in fact they’re a legitimate user with just a little bit of a twisted sense of humor.

4/ I'll use common Twitter terms so if you’re new you may have to do a little bit of research to understand… like any endeavor a basic understanding of what things are called in twatter makes tweeting more enjoyable. You’ll also pick some of these terms up tweeting with others

5/ When you either get a new follower or decide you want to follow a new twitter account, open the person’s page.

Adjacent to their avatar you’ll see how many tweets they’ve made, how many ppl they're following, how many people follow them, & how many Likes they’ve made.

6/ All of this info, plus their bio, actual tweets/retweets, which tweets they Liked & the date they joined Twatter helps understand the person.

After a bit of practice, making a quick scan of these areas allows you to decide whether to follow/follow back the current user.

7/ Bio: this is a very subjective area because the user can write whatever they want, but a couple of things to look for; if in “plain English,” does the context make sense? Computers have a hard time writing a couple of sentences that sound like a person wrote them.

8/ Non-native English speakers will also fall into having their writing sound “odd” and you’ll have to use your judgement as to the validity of the account.

9/ Heavy use of hashtags and symbols; If you don’t recognize one single hashtag, proceed cautiously. Not saying this is bad, but trolls do sometimes use “secret” hashtags (like there’s ANYTHNG secret on twatter )

10/ Details: Relationships… If the account has 100s of 1,000s of tweets and 100-200 followers (“followers” are generally more telling than how many they're “following”), its probably a bot or troll.

11/ If the account was created fairly recently (say a week ago) and there are 1,000 tweets, be cautious. I’ve encountered accounts 2 days old with 1,400 tweets. Chances are it’s a bot.

12/ Tweets: look at the first several tweets/RTs. Are they consistent with something you’d tweet. If unsure, scroll down and look at more.

Do you recognize anyone they’ve RT’ed? If still unsure, look at their Likes tab.

13/ Avoid accounts with an avatar of someone in a sexy pose and zero tweets or likes. Also look deeper at accts where MOST tweets have provocative subjects ... "What do top movie stars do to improve their sex lives?" & links to an article on an external web site.

14/ Something I watch for not often discussed is Single Issue accounts. I rarely follow someone who tweets on one subject. I've found they often go off on tangents, regardless what you were discussing. DM me if you're not sure what I'm referring to. Examples only attract them.

15/ Your Gut: Sometimes it’s nothing more than a gut feeling you get that says “something doesn’t smell right” and that’s okay. After all, this isn’t a marriage being contemplated here

16/ These tips aren't the be-all and end-all on vetting a twitter user & you’ll encounter exceptions to most everything I’ve said here. I can find examples of ppl I follow who've broken every "rule" I cite here.

Worst thing that can happen is you end up having to Block a troll.

17/ Added Thoughts: To make it easier on those following you, post a Profile Photo! Even if it’s your dog/cat. Many ppl are suspicious of an account using the default “photo” cuz THAT looks like a bot!

However, my experience is those are the least likely to BE an actual bot!

18/ If you want to make it easier 4 ppl to follow you, don’t get too cute with your bio. ppl can’t see your face while reading your bio & you may have intended to write a hilarious phrase, but it may come across opposite of what you meant.

It’s tough to write clearly/concisely.

19/ The Left is doing everything they can to stop President Trump's reelection as we move closer to the 2020 Presidential elections.

Linking yourself to other like-minded Patriots by following will help defend against the lies and fake news.

20/ Lastly ... Enjoy yourself!

Learn new things ... meet new people ...

... and MAGA!!!