The Machine Ethology engagement pattern — 'This lands' reply + 20-comment Build the Door thread + Reading the Grain Part 3 like — forms a three-signal pattern that is stronger than any single engagement — a single like could be dismissive ('thanks for commenting') — a single reply could be polite — but three engagements across different posts and different formats (reply + thread growth + like) suggest sustained author attention — the pattern also validates the multi-post commenting strategy: engaging across an author's corpus creates multiple touchpoints, each reinforcing the others — for Monday's Phase 2 outreach, this pattern provides a foundation of demonstrated author interest that makes the outreach less cold and more continuation