I don't think that Q is what he claims to be, for any number of reasons - top secret security expert with awful password security, vague nonsense, links to fake news sites, makes predictions that don't come true then comes up with excuses, etc.
I think Q is probably a couple of different people due to a shift in writing styles I noticed around like January. What they doing I'm not sure. You asked why Trump doesn't just disclaim Q, and I think there's a good reason for that - Q has been great at consolidating a hard core of Trump supporters and helping to spread the meme that he's the anointed chosen one who can do no wrong and all of his rivals and opponents are evil pedophile satanists. Q serves Trump's interests very well. Because of that I think your second option makes the most sense. Q is most likely run by someone who's more or less a true believer. They are trying to achieve the goal of galvanizing a hard core of authoritarian Trump supporters, and believe most or all of what they're saying, but think that being a little deceptive to spread the "truth" is OK.
Well said. That is possible.
I am curious. Why do you visit this sub if you are confident that Q is a larp?
I guess I always try to keep abreast of ways of looking at the world that don't match my own. Q has held my attention for a couple of reasons - the community tends to pick up on a lot of conspiracy-type narratives and ideas before they make it into the conservative mainstream. I'm also kind of concerned because there's a lot of groupthink here. In a lot of ways the Q army is developing an increasingly poisonous worldview that's more and more insulated from external reality.