We all know jumping straight into research without context is difficult, especially since some people here have been researching for years.
Hopefully this thread can be used to get people up to speed and get those questions answered by our more knowledgeable users.
How are individual Q posts determined to be genuine? Couldn’t anyone impersonate Q?
Each Q post on 4chan or 8kun has its own trip code on it. The unique trip code is how people are able to track Q's post. When you add the pound (#) symbol to the end of your name followed by a word, like a password that only you know, it scrambles the word into a code. That way it's undetectable and can be used over and over again.
and the trip codes have changed numerous times along the way......and Q advised in advance of the change that it was coming.