How much content was on your forum before you opened it to the public?
I don't exactly remember but I think on my forum it was a goal to have every forum, including sub forums, filled with 10 threads and 5 posts. That was a good amount of starter content for the amount of forums/categories we had.
Wasn't there another thread like this a few weeks back?
Content is more important than post count. A forum is technically "open" to me once you start bringing friends over. Seeing the administrator talking to himself is a quick and easy way to turn off potential members.
This largely depends on the nature of the forum, whether it's a standalone startup or an add-on to an existing site with content and traffic already.
If the former I'd say at least 10,000 posts of seeded content, for an existing site this is less important however forum participation will be slower.
Alternatively on a brand new startup you could hide topic / post counts until the community is firmly established. Crucially the main thing is to show potential new users that the forum is active and there is a benefit to them joining. The thing to ask yourself is: Would you join an empty forum?
I would say that initially the administrator has to fill up things to make things more attractive for a new forum. Maybe hiring someone with some quality posts will help visitors know that the forum is active and encourage them to join for free.
I would say, depending on the nature of the forum, and how quickly you want it to take off, having 10 to 25 topics per board would be ideal, with some users already on the forum helping with that goal, would be a good start to have before opening a forum up.
