Suppose you're on an internet forum. If post Y is a response to post X, then X is a [WHAT] to Y? What's the antonym of "response", here? The word coming to mind is "antecedent", but that's not the right word. The thesauruses I looked at (online) weren't very helpful; most of them didn't list any antonyms, and the ones that did gave words only kinda relevant, in context, like "cause".
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Instigator, provacateur.– XanneCommented Mar 25, 2021 at 8:46
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4 Answers
Your question is a precursor to my answer.
precursor: one that precedes and indicates the approach of another
The word offers a little extra meaning (“and indicates the approach of ...”) to that of a mere antecedent.
By analogy with psychological and biological usage you might describe Post Y as a response to the stimulus of Post X (Britannica)
related, but perhaps not exactly what you want
call and response
2. A form of verbal interaction between a speaker and listeners, usually at religious or public gatherings, in which each utterance by the speaker elicits a response from the audience.
Lexico
example:
Speaker: What do we want?
Crowd: Justice!
Speaker: When do we want it?
Crowd: Now!
[repeat]
The original post in a thread is frequently referred to as the "original post" and often abbreviated as "OP."
