more prep.

notes/How threads are organized.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+title: How threads are organized
+type: note
+source: original
+date: 2026-08-23
+status: published
+draft: false
+tags:
+  - note
+  - how-to
+description: How archived Twitter/X threads are filed and read.
+---
+
+Threads are grouped by **author handle**, then by **date and a short title**.
+
+```
+archive/threads/<handle>/<YYYY-MM-DD-slug>/
+  index.md              ← the author's own chain (the spine)
+  YYYY-MM-DD-who-slug.md  ← one file per reply that left that chain
+```
+
+## Spine
+
+`index.md` is only what the author posted as a single chain: each post replies to the previous one of theirs. Posts are numbered **1/** **2/** in that order. Other people do not appear in this numbering.
+
+If the first post is a reply to someone else, that other tweet is quoted at the top as context. It is not numbered as part of the spine.
+
+## Branches
+
+A reply from someone else, or a second chain the author started from an earlier post, is its own note in the same folder. Follow-ups on that reply stay in that note, including if the original author answers there.
+
+The spine links out under the post that grew the branch. Each branch note links back to `index`.
+
+## Tags
+
+Every imported thread starts with `archive`, `twitter`, and the author's handle. Topic tags (`vulkan`, `crt`, `alsa`, …) are added by hand when the thread is reviewed.
+
+## Images
+
+Pictures on the site are ordinary HTTPS URLs. Working copies of files live outside what GitHub Pages serves. A note that is still being prepared is marked `draft: true` and does not appear on the site.
+
+## Reading
+
+Start at [[archive/threads/index|Threads]], pick a handle, then a date. The spine is the essay. Branch files are the conversation around it.

notes/What this archive is for.md

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ Threadwell holds material that search engines and platform pages do not keep rel
 | `notes/` | Your writing. What it means. |
 | `canvases/` | Spatial maps between the two. |
 
-An authored note should [[How to archive a thread|link the archive record]] instead of pasting the thread again.
+How a thread is filed: [[How threads are organized]].
+
+An authored note should wikilink the archive record instead of pasting the thread again.
 
 Set `draft: true` until a note is ready. `archive/`, `canvases/`, and `notes/` publish otherwise.

notes/index.md

@@ -10,3 +10,5 @@ tags: []
 Essays and syntheses. Link back to [[archive/index|archive]] records instead of restating the primary source.
 
 Use the `authored-note` template. Example: [[What this archive is for]]
+
+Convention: [[How threads are organized]]