Elimination of turn-taking and time constraints Threaded discussions allow readers to quickly grasp the overall structure of a conversation, isolate specific points of conversations nested within the threads, and as a result, post new messages to extend discussions in any existing thread or sub-thread without time constraints. With linear threads on the other hand, once the topic shifts to a new point of discussion, users are: 1) less inclined to make posts to revisit and expand on earlier points of discussion in order to avoid fragmenting the linear conversation similar to what occurs with turn-taking in face-to-face conversations; and/or 2) obligated to make a motion to stay on topic or move to change the topic of discussion. Given this advantage, threaded discussion is most useful for facilitating extended conversations or debates involving complex multi-step tasks (e.g., identify major premises → challenge veracity → share evidence → question accuracy, validity, or relevance of presented evidence) – as often found in
newsgroups and complicated email chains – as opposed to simple single-step tasks (e.g., posting or share answers to a simple question).
Message targeting Email allows messages to be targeted at particular members of the audience by using the "To" and "CC" lines. However, some message systems do not have this option. As a result, it can be difficult to determine the intended recipient of a particular message. When messages are displayed hierarchically, it is easier to visually identify the author of the previous message.
Eliminating list clutter It can be difficult to process, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and integrate important information when viewing large lists of messages. Grouping messages by thread makes the process of reviewing large numbers of messages in context to a given discussion topic more time efficient and with less mental effort, thus making more time and mental resources available to further extend and advance discussions within each individual topic/thread. In group forums, allowing users to reply to threads will reduce the number of new posts shown in the list. Some clients allow operations on entire threads of messages. For example, the text-based newsreader
nn has a "kill" function which automatically deletes incoming messages based on the rules set up by the user matching the message's subject or author. This can dramatically reduce the number of messages one has to manually check and delete.
Real-time feedback When an author, usually a journalist, posts threads via Twitter, users are able to respond to each 140- or 280-character tweet in the thread, often before the author posts the next message. This allows the author the option of including the feedback as part of subsequent messages. == Disadvantages ==