Not me... in fact if anything its the opposite. I answer the questions the way that I see them even if I think that the questioner is expecting a different answer.

The thing is, that although I suppose that I could write what I thought the questioner wanted to hear that would only be a guess on my part. And as other people will answer the question as well there's no guarantee that my lies will even pay off. So the duplicity on my part would mean I'd lose interest very quickly.

There are loads of good questions here, so the ones I answer are the ones that interest me. There's no point in my making up fake answers to questions I don't care about when I can write (hopefully) interesting and helpful answers about questions that do interest me.

And when I'm asking questions, a good answer that wasn't exactly what I was expecting is a good thing. If I just wanted to hear what I already knew I wouldn't be asking questions here at conundrumland... I'd be talking to myself in a mirror.

I can honestly say that I answer truthfully. I'm not sure everyone does that, but I trust the majority. If you answer just to 'flatter' the questioner, you will contradict yourself in your answers, and fall through in the end.
So, there might indeed be a short term gain by answering what you think the questioner is looking for, but that doesn't sustain in the long run. Even if that means I don't get chosen 'best' on all my answers. (which is not my goal anyway)

Can you provide examples of questions that were answered dishonestly?

I think that there is little temptation to "align" my answer with the opinion of the asker, after all if it is obvious that an asker is looking for a specific opinion I can skip to another that is more interesting after all there are a ton of questions that you can use.

Like the others above I may answer a question I find interesting even if I know I am unlikely to get best answer.

I recently answered a question about if the "Noah's ark" finding in Iran was likely to be accurate. In short I said no because Noah's Ark did not exist, then posted links debunking the Iran find and another debunking the Arc in general.

http://www.mahalo.com/answers/science-and-mathematics/is-noahs-ark-located-on-mount-sabalon-in-iran I am not bitter about not getting best answer though, the other answer is really a good one, that glossed over debate about the existance of the ark

Like the others, I answer conundrums truthfully and with my full heart. I've not seen anyone answer weird or spin an answer really. I have seen people answer regular questions with "I don't know." or answers that are just not helpful, but I don't think I've seen much deception yet. But then again, I'm pretty new to Mahalo. The way I see it, here on Mahalo, people are not looking for good storytelling. They really want to know what makes one another tick, right? Anyway, I think on the net you will run into people who think they want to impress and chalk up as many online fans as possible. Thing is, folks can be fake so why bother trying to impress anybody?

I think for the most part people answer conundrums truthfully. I know that I do. If you try to align your answer with what you think the asker expects even though it is not the truth, your answer will ultimately trip you up. Your answer will not ring true. Something in your answer will tell the asker that you are not being truthful especially if your answer is long.

Actually, I was thinking the other day that our answers here really reveal a lot about us. We are always told not to reveal too much on the internet but in answering these conundrums we sometimes reveal a lot without even thinking about it and it is because we tell the truth that we reveal a lot! Hmm...something to think about.

I think it is better to answer truthfully even if it does not earn you best answer. Sometimes the way the question is phrased you can tell that the asker has a bias and is looking for a specific answer. However, sometimes we are wrong in our assumption of what the asker is looking for and just telling the truth may actually earn you best answer. Something those who answer conundrums less than truthfully should think about.

There is also the fact that someone may actually be helped by your answer. Some conundrums may be just made up questions but some are from people who really need a truthful answer. It is a real situation that they are in that they need an answer for. Even hypothetical questions may help someone down the line.

I answer truthfully. One never knows what the asker is using to determine the best answer. I've sen best answers given to those that agree with the implied bias of the asker as well as to those that provide a completely opposing answer.

Trying to structure an answer to the "specifics" of the asker I think would be needlessly time consuming, inaccurate, dishonest and in all likelihood result in a lesser number of your answers being selected as best answer.

If a question doesn't spark a genuine interest in you to reply honestly, then simply don't answer it, there are plenty of other people that will find it interesting enough to answer.

I always do.

There's no reason not to, because it's not a right-or-wrong situation... it a situation that's calling for a valid value judgment, and the only way to do that is be frank.

Also, if a person's only goal was to always be marked "best", he'd have to be a mind reader to know how his answer would resonate with the asker, which is impossible, therefore one might as well be straightforward, because that's the fastest, easiest and simplest way to hammer out an opinion.

Call me lazy.

If we are to be honest, we would have to start by admitting that there is very little way for us to "find " if people here are being honest or not. We may suspect, and if we are really paying close attention (which I am not), we might discover that somebody tells two contradictory stories about their life or their past, but even then, to answer your question in the affirmative, we must assume that the reason they are telling a different story is in order to win a best answer (perhaps they are just having fun). Other than torturing them to extract a confession (I joke), I'm not sure we would ever know for sure what lies might be told, or why they are told.

My assumption is that whatever is posted here, is done so because the poster is doing their best to answer the question posed by the questioner.

I have had many good answers to questions I have posed, answers that have provided me with a point of view I had not considered, information that I had not known, or eventualities I should keep in mind. When I read the answers to my question, I do not constantly wonder "is that true, is that true, is that true?" What I ask myself is how much this might help me answer my question. I don't depend on the truth of the individual circumstances behind the answers, I depend on the wisdom. If every aspect of someone's personal life is accurately portrayed or not makes little difference to me. If the answer is sharing valuable knowledge or insight that will help me with my situation, I am happy.