Well, if there's something I particularly want to discuss, or if I have a question I'd like answered, then I usually won't hesitate to start a thread. I can understand the concern that it might be a dud, though -- it's perfectly natural to hope that you don't get ignored.
In some fora, like the Trek ones, I've started threads that only got a few responses, but that's fine with me... I wasn't really expecting much more than that. In Miscellaneous, though, I've started two threads since I've been here, and both received over a hundred replies (one almost reached two hundred), which I was quite pleased with, as I didn't know what kind of response a thread started by a relative noob would get. I think the trick there was that I picked topics that some people have very strong opinions on, and that definitely helped my threads get some action.
At any rate, if you've got something to say or ask, and you want to start a thread about it, then I say go for it. I think most threads around here get at least some responses, often a decent amount, so there's probably nothing to worry about.
In some fora, like the Trek ones, I've started threads that only got a few responses, but that's fine with me... I wasn't really expecting much more than that. In Miscellaneous, though, I've started two threads since I've been here, and both received over a hundred replies (one almost reached two hundred), which I was quite pleased with, as I didn't know what kind of response a thread started by a relative noob would get. I think the trick there was that I picked topics that some people have very strong opinions on, and that definitely helped my threads get some action.
At any rate, if you've got something to say or ask, and you want to start a thread about it, then I say go for it. I think most threads around here get at least some responses, often a decent amount, so there's probably nothing to worry about.