This is my analysis too. And why, instead of just upvoting posts that interest me, I try to think of something to say about them too. The dreaded "0 comments" is never a good look no matter how we much we tell ourselves that it doesn't matter.
For this reason I tend to believe that many communities just have too much primary content. Too many posts and not enough comments.
Thought experiment. 2 communities:
- /c/one has 15 posts per day, 5 of them with 3 comments, the other 10 with none
- /c/two has 3 posts per day with 5 comments each
Which is the healthier community?