Are you saying that's a bad thing? Getting traction is extremely challenging. Most startups reliant on UGC do this, in the past we've done it with Amazon MT too

Are you saying that's a bad thing? Getting traction is extremely challenging. Most startups reliant on UGC do this, in the past we've done it with Amazon MT too. I don't think it's something to look at negatively when you take into consideration the judgmental nature of a consumer. Most consumers don't know or care how new a product is, if it looks inactive they won't use it. Faux-ing a small amount of activity at the start gives you a chance to set a tone and direction for user-generated content, and helps overcome the initial bias of a new site.