Hi Professionals!
Lately I re-connected with a couple of friends who recently picked up good jobs with multinational companies, and all through LINKEDIN.
This has led to me taking the Prodfessional Networking site a whole lot more seriously, considering that one never knows when or where his/her next big break might show up from...Updated profile, pimped personal summaries, the works.
My issue is this: How do I respond to a total stranger's request to be added to my professional network?
Is it courteous to ask the person why they are requesting? I mean, unlike a multitude of my 'friends' on facebook (no offense pls, fans), I'd like to be able to at least account for all the acquintances on my professional network!!!!

How can I determine if this is just a random weirdo/stalker/admirer or my next potential recruiter?

U r either sufferin 4rm paranoia or u have a parochial mindset or even both.did u jst join linkedin? Well der r many pple like u on linkedin who have dis kind of attitude.linkedin is a professional networkin platform,it is not facebook,myspace,instagram etc.from ur post u r der 4 job opportunity which is ok but it transcends beyond to.on linkedin u share ideas abt happenins in d industry/career path u have chosen,u network with oda professionals,therefore der is absolutely nofin wrong in connectin with sm1 u havnt met b4.must u knw d pple u wanna connet wif first b4 der r added to ur network?

cman77: U r either sufferin 4rm paranoia or u have a parochial mindset or even both.did u jst join linkedin? Well der r many pple like u on linkedin who have dis kind of attitude.linkedin is a professional networkin platform,it is not facebook,myspace,instagram etc.from ur post u r der 4 job opportunity which is ok but it transcends beyond to.on linkedin u share ideas abt happenins in d industry/career path u have chosen,u network with oda professionals,therefore der is absolutely nofin wrong in connectin with sm1 u havnt met b4.must u knw d pple u wanna connet wif first b4 der r added to ur network?

I don't appreciate the rude and abusive tone of your post.
If you were half as knowledgeable about LINKEDIN as you claim to be, then you would obviously know that section 10.2 of the User Agreement states 'Don't undertake the following: (item 5) Invite people you do not know to join your network'. Did you even bother to read the user agreement? Or are user agreements left for only the paranoid and parochial? Apparently random people have not yet written to you requesting for confidential information about your workplace or hustling you for a contract or employment? Probably not.
In future I recommend that you take time to consider the implications of your post before you publish. You don't know me, and the anonymity afforded to you by your NL profile doesn't grant you the license to be a jerk.
PS: Please also try to take time to type out your words, your communication style says a lot about your personality. This isn't an SMS.

Hey dude, this is narialand for crying out Loud....smh....people like you don't entertain simple truth .He offered you his possible solution in his form.
And you kinda insulted him in such means, so u gave him MB to load on his phone or you add To his intellectual capacity by giving you such advise.......I really felt bitter.
If you sincerely need answer TOLERATE.....

Dear fflamingo, please go back and look at the salutation on my opening post. It reads 'Hi Professionals!'.
Professionals address each other with courtsey. Cmann77 opened his post by saying 'U r either sufferin 4rm paranoia or u have a parochial mindset or even both.did u jst join linkedin?'. That wasn't ok. I didn't 'kinda insult' him, I just wrote back to him in the same flavour as he wrote to me... I'm glad it made you feel bitter, now you know how I felt when I read his post.
By the way, please be careful, writing 'people like you' is judgemental and could get you sued or damage very valuable professional relationships... I'd steer clear of that kind of terminology if I were you. As for your statement 'so u gave him MB to load on his phone or you add To his intellectual capacity by giving you such advise.......'
I honestly don't understand what you are trying to say.
Did you mean that he posted in SMS language because he was trying to economise on data? Or that it was wrong to advise that he should restrict such writing style to sending of SMSs? Sorry for trying to be helpful... but its very easy to forget yourself and write this way in an official letter, say, to a bank, a school, maybe even your boss. I was only trying to help.
And finally, what exactly more do you need me to TOLERATE? I'm responding to these posts aren't I?

All I asked the house was:
How do I respond to a total stranger's request to be added to my professional network? Is it courteous to ask the person why they are requesting? How can I determine if this is just a random weirdo/stalker/admirer or my next potential recruiter?

Calm down guys
@poster, friends were once strangers, hence you will need to add seemingly strangers to your professional network, you can't continue to add people you know before and call it professional connection. I add strangers to my linkedin network and I send request to strangers too as long as they possess something in their profile that I term 'professional', even though I ignore or delete some requests if and when I find their profile not in tune with my reason for being on linkedin

Underdogg: Dear fflamingo, please go back and look at the salutation on my opening post. It reads 'Hi Professionals!'.
Professionals address each other with courtsey. Cmann77 opened his post by saying 'U r either sufferin 4rm paranoia or u have a parochial mindset or even both.did u jst join linkedin?'. That wasn't ok. I didn't 'kinda insult' him, I just wrote back to him in the same flavour as he wrote to me... I'm glad it made you feel bitter, now you know how I felt when I read his post.
By the way, please be careful, writing 'people like you' is judgemental and could get you sued or damage very valuable professional relationships... I'd steer clear of that kind of terminology if I were you. As for your statement 'so u gave him MB to load on his phone or you add To his intellectual capacity by giving you such advise.......'
I honestly don't understand what you are trying to say.
Did you mean that he posted in SMS language because he was trying to economise on data? Or that it was wrong to advise that he should restrict such writing style to sending of SMSs? Sorry for trying to be helpful... but its very easy to forget yourself and write this way in an official letter, say, to a bank, a school, maybe even your boss. I was only trying to help.
And finally, what exactly more do you need me to TOLERATE? I'm responding to these posts aren't I?

All I asked the house was:
How do I respond to a total stranger's request to be added to my professional network? Is it courteous to ask the person why they are requesting? How can I determine if this is just a random weirdo/stalker/admirer or my next potential recruiter?

I must sincerely highlight how you replied , and it gave me this second thought to re-read the post by cman77 ,he actually replied the awkward way a nairalander would reply in derailing topics. But, you clearly sighted what you want (professionals), cman77 dropped his advise in his way and clearly stood his fact right and why I talked about mb/intellectual property was that you did not forced him to comment, he voluntarily felt in answering your advise. So I deem it necessary that such post should be discarded....
And about the spelling stuff I particular would sight on yuzedo,who canny killed English
here in any TOPIC(seun self his tired of him), but when he literary comment wise able you hardly known whether he just upgraded his medulla or he borrowed someone else brain ....I hope you get my point ??..so pointing out blank on sms writing format such I guess its the work of the moderator to hide post (rule no 19 or so)...
And I quote "By the way, please be careful, writing 'people like you' is judgemental and could get you sued or damage very valuable professional relationships... I'd steer clear of that kind of terminology if I were you.
Please kindly expanciate further I really don't get the message/advise from this statement and why did you think I was judgemental?? ...

Underdogg, i also use linkedin and all i can say is that the profile of those who interest you should be of paramount importance. If after adding/ accepting the connection of a stranger, you find out that they don't meet up with your career standards or expectations over a period of time, then feel free to cut them off. I do that often. Ignore the insults and stay focused. 1 LUV

En-hen people, now I'm feeling you.
labongua, afrobaby, thanks for your frank feedback.

@ fflamingo
I'm glad you wrote back to clarify your position, I appreciate that we can still keep our communication lines open and also possibly have a positive exchange of ideas. I'm actually quite a sociable person, its just that I treat people with respect and I expect them to do the same to me...
As you requested, generally, its not proper to say 'people like you' because it indicates that you have assessed (judged) my personality (even though we have never met and you know nothing about me except the words I have writen) and placed me in a certain group separate from the mainstream and therefore subject to potential negative effects of discrimination. If for example you were a white person, you get to a congregation of black or Puerto Ricans in say, downtown Detroit, and say 'You people/People like you', you would be in serious trouble.

Underdogg: En-hen people, now I'm feeling you.
labongua, afrobaby, thanks for your frank feedback.

@ fflamingo
I'm glad you wrote back to clarify your position, I appreciate that we can still keep our communication lines open and also possibly have a positive exchange of ideas. I'm actually quite a sociable person, its just that I treat people with respect and I expect them to do the same to me...
As you requested, generally, its not proper to say 'people like you' because it indicates that you have assessed (judged) my personality (even though we have never met and you know nothing about me except the words I have writen) and placed me in a certain group separate from the mainstream and therefore subject to potential negative effects of discrimination. If for example you were a white person, you get to a congregation of black or Puerto Ricans in say, downtown Detroit, and say 'You people/People like you', you would be in serious trouble.

A lesson learn.... I must once again appreciated how you elaborately explain my vulgarity in the sense of "People like you"
The bitter part was that I learn psychology as a course in year one and also talked about Prejudice "people like you" connote several meaning which you clearly highlighted ....for like say in English language , I just said IN SUMMARY of one personal personality... Which I deem fit ON no circumstances should not used some absurd phrase again.
Hope my explanation serve better.
And back to the topic I don't know about "linkind, hope student and an aspiring entrepreneur can join too....

@fflamingo
No wahala, I guess you meant well and that's what matters.
You want to sign up for Linkedin? Why not? Its a brilliant way to build your professional network and its free.
Students and entrepreneurs join all the time. All the best, Take care!