chapter06.Rmd

# How threads work

Tweet threads are one of the little gems of this microblogging platform. A thread is a string of tweets all linked together by the author and will relate to a topic in some way. When composing a thread, usually people indicate this by starting it with [Thread] or 1/n or some other way to highlight it's a thread. 

Here's how a thread shows up in your feed. 


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What keeps you from contributing to other ppl&#39;s (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rstats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rstats</a> etc) open-source projects? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/thread?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#thread</a> 1/5<br><br>I have 3 fears:<br><br>1. What if my idea doesn&#39;t fit w/ the direction of the project?<br>2. What if my implementation doesn&#39;t match the project&#39;s design?<br>3. What if my style isn&#39;t on point?</p>&mdash; Benjamin Wolfe (@BenjaminWolfe) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjaminWolfe/status/1228697624087318529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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To make a thread of your own, start by composing a tweet as usual, then tap the "+" icon in the lower right. This will add another tweet below it. When you've completed your thread, you can select "Tweet all" and the whole thread will be posted. 

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![](images/tweet_thread_make.jpg){width=50%}


People can reply to any of the tweets in a thread which starts a mini offshoot thread. This can become a bit confusing if you want to see all replies to a thread, and we basically have to live with it until Twitter finds a way to make this more intuitive.