: Should I create topics in a forum I'm about to launch so that new users won't feel it is "empty"? I'm about to launch a discussion forum about Taiwan. I'm really trying to figure out how

@Martha676

Creating fake accounts to post from sounds very dodgy to me. You could post something saying "Welcome to our new forum". It would be better to get friends / selected people to seed it with genuine discussions.

Perhaps have a closed beta and tell people they have to e-mail you to get on it. People who join a closed beta will understand that the forum is supposed to be empty. People who haven't joined won't see that it is empty until you end the beta period.

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@Kevin317

"Seeding" your forums is definitely a good idea. In fact, the two ideas you have are how most sites go about it. I'd say start a few topics and have your friends participate. If you find that isn't quite working to your level of expectations then you can create a couple of alter egos and add create some good discussions. I'd only do the latter if really necessary and stop once you get some momentum going.

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