Does replying to your own thread help it stay visible, or does that actually work against you?

I've noticed something across a few threads I've posted here.

The ones where I jump back in and reply to early comments seem to stay active longer, more people join in, more replies stack up.

But then I've also seen threads that got barely any response from the original poster and still climbed anyway, just from other people replying to each other.

So now I'm wondering if this is actually a signal that matters, or just something that feels true because we notice it when it happens.

My current guess: replying keeps a thread alive in the short term, but only if the original topic is worth continuing. If the question is weak, no amount of replying saves it.

For people who post here often, do you make a habit of responding quickly to early comments, or do you mostly let a thread run on its own once it's u

If this is a real pattern or something we're all just imagining.