Imo this line in your essay is the most compelling reason I've come across for threaded posts on social media:
> [High character limits] are *monolithic* in a way that threads aren’t. Threading an essay requires the author to compose it in stanzas, each of which is a standalone, complete thought — and that means that readers can engage with each though separately, by replying to just that stanza.
This applies especially to idea-rich content (like, say, Cory Doctorow essays). Threading allows readers to respond either *holistically* to your thesis, or *specifically* to one of the thoughts that come together to make that thesis.
This meta-discussion is particularly relevant here in context of your post today about protocols vs platforms, in that ActivityPub allows you to format your posts in the form you feel best fits your content, while allowing readers to engage with that content in the form that best suits them by using the tools available to them with ActivityPub.
In my case (on an IceShrimp instance) I use the filter `/Long thread\/[0-9]+$/`, but your point about stanzas actually has me considering removing that filter. Which of course supports your greater point that the right protocols allow us that choice.
Ex dente leonem
npub14w…qvvup
2025-09-16 20:35:04 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…svd8
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npub14wkw7nvrq0r2ca59tntxwllesayzjfk57755qwqdfx4lhepmryvsuqvvupSeen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2025-09-16 20:35:04 UTCEvent JSON
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