By creating sockpuppet accounts, you can fake more activity in discussions. This encourages real users to participate. Repeat until there are enough real users to sustain a community without sockpuppets.

Reddit did this, as they said in this interview. Others confirm the approach.

    • Ravn
      11·
      4 years ago

      To expand on this: No.

      It’s an immoral, disingenuous practice employed by corporations in their quest for rapid growth to attract venture capitalists. We do not require growth.

      • ksynwa
        3·
        4 years ago

        Some user there confessed to making sock puppet accounts to fuel discussion. But I think it was in a specific subcommunity rather than a sitewide undertaking.

  • nBee
    2·
    4 years ago

    Yeah, I agree with the others. I think the instances and communities need to grow organically; otherwise there will always be a kind of hollow feel to the posts.

    Maybe when chapo.chat manages to get integration up and running, we could have more interactions (their instance seems pretty active).

  • realcaseyrollins
    11·
    4 years ago

    I’m not opposed to it, but that needs to be done on a separate instance cuz plenty of people are put off by that kinda thing