How can you tell a true dragon?

        Draconity tends to be self-correcting; those who can't accept the
truth of draconity often wilt when they realize how seriously the rest of
us take it.  In the meantime, though, they can get very frustrating,
trying to stencil dragons neatly into their version of reality, which
isn't designed to hold such powerful and mythic creatures as anything more
than symbols.
        Having dealt with this situation for three years myself, I have
found a number of guidelines (not hard and fast rules -- guidelines!) that
have helped me in quickly determining whether someone's being serious or
not:

        # People who describe their dragons as exceptionally large
(measured in miles or, worse, astronomical units) tend to be pretenders
(or joking ;-)).  Anything that large is, in human terms, abstract because
it's not really envisionable.  True dragons generally have perspective on
how it feels to be the size they describe.

        # People who seem more interested in stories or "adventure" than
companionship tend to be pretenders.  In the dragon community, especially
alt.fan.dragons, there are often threads of shared storytelling adventures
in which everyone writes their "character" into an ongoing story
contributed to by a large group. Many true dragons are inveterate
storytellers, but join the stories to share experiences with friends, not
to fulfill their fantasies of draconity.

        # People whose dragon names are unoriginal (taken from fantasy
novels, role-playing games, movies, etc.) tend to be pretenders.  You have
to be careful with this one, though, because you simply cannot judge a
book by its cover; for example, alt.fan.dragons' Dragonheart was around
long before the movie of the same name, and his identity has nothing to do
with the movie.  And people have asked me if my name is derived from
Christopher Rowley's character Bazil Broketail, which it isn't.  (Baxil
means "beloved" in my homeland's tongue.)

        # People who insistently seek validation of their draconity tend
to be pretenders.  Allowances must be made for different levels of
self-esteem, of course, but it's nigh impossible to reach a conclusion as
world-shattering as draconity without believing in yourself enough to
reject the naysayers.  (And if they don't consider draconity
world-shattering, they're either a pretender or a Zen master. :-))

        # True dragons have staying power.  Ultimately, pretenders are out
of their element, and will drift off to find people they can feel closer
to.  Dragons find a home in the dragon community and contribute to it over
the long term.  (Witness this FAQ.)

        # But, above all, there just seems to be something undefinable
about true dragons that other dragons can instantly pick up on.  As early
as the first or second post or e-mail a newbie makes, true dragons can
tell you whether he or she is serious about draconity.  When I joined
alt.fan.dragons in December 1995, I wasn't there for more than a week
before people had pegged me as an "olde fruite" (AFD terminology for one
that had been there for a long time and that people recognized as a
dedicated dragon).  I've seen it happen too many times since, and always
turn out true.