Member Avatar for platinumbrit

Hey everyone,

I am new to the this forum and recently started my own. I am having a very hard time getting users and those that do get on, dont stay because there isnt much traffic.

Now I have seen a lot of people trying to prevent or block bots because they post and create users. I am thinking that might be a good idea for me, at least to start with so I could seem like I have a fair amount of usage.

Like I said all this is fairly new to me, so any advice will be appreciated. If I can use a bot what are the pros and cons.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by beamup

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer for : creating fake users or automated posts to simulate activity is a short-term illusion that usually backfires. As and noted, forums succeed on real, useful interactions; users quickly notice hollow threads and leave. Search engines treat deceptive behavior harshly and regulators treat fake endorsements seriously — see Google Webmaster Guidelines and the .

Practical alternatives that scale: seed 8–12 high-value starter threads around very specific, answerable problems; create a single "introduce yourself" thread with a tiny prompt (one sentence) so newcomers can reply without effort; run a weekly event (quick Q&A, mini-tutorial, or roundup) and promote individual threads to relevant niche groups on social networks. If time is the constraint, recruit 3–5 friends, colleagues, or paid microtaskers to act as early responders and beta testers — that is transparent seeding, not deceptive bot activity.

Use automation, but honestly and sparingly: schedule posts only from real admin/mod accounts, automate welcome messages and email digests, and deploy spam filters and moderation bots to keep quality high. Never present automated accounts as real people. Track simple metrics (new registrations, thread starts, replies per thread, 7‑day retention) and iterate on topics that spark replies.

If budget allows, hire a part‑time community manager as suggested; their job is seed content, nurture relationships, and convert first-time visitors into returning members. Focusing on a small, engaged core of real users will produce sustainable growth far more reliable than any bot-generated numbers.

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Member Avatar for happygeek

What would your bot be posting? That is the question you have to ask yourself. After all, giving the impression of being busy os one thing, but if all the 'users' are creating useless content what is the point? Ultimately this will do you more harm than good. There is no escaping the hard graft approach, long hours seeding discussions yourself and involving the people that come into your forums...

Member Avatar for bobchrist

Yep, I love the forum that have human touch!

Member Avatar for beamup

I think it wouldnt be wise to use bot for your forum. You can always hire some people if you really dont have time for it..

Steve

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