Playbook: seeding a discussion that does not look seeded

Playbook: seeding a discussion that does not look seeded
An empty comment section is a signal, and it is the wrong one. People join conversations, they do not start them. Your job is to make starting cheap.
What works:
— End the post with one narrow question that has a real answer. "Thoughts?" gets nothing. "Which of these do you actually do?" gets replies.
— Post the first comment yourself, and make it a genuine addition: a caveat, an example, the thing you cut for length. Not "great post".
— Ask one specific person, publicly, about something they actually know. One good response unlocks the rest.
— Reply to the first few comments within the first hour. Early replies visibly reward participation.
— Leave a deliberate gap. If the post answers everything, there is nothing left to say.
What does not work: fake accounts agreeing with you. People spot it faster than you think, and once they do, the real comments stop.
Give them something easy to disagree with.