Twitter makes it easier to follow conversations by linking replies

Twitter has updated the way it handles replies to tweets, ostensibly making it easier to track and follow conversations between different people under the same original post. Where before clicking on a tweet on Twitter’s web client would show any replies in an unordered mass below, forcing readers to track back and forth to pinpoint the comment the parties were replying to, chains of connected messages will now be linked with a line on the left-hand side.

The social media service says the new method will “surface some of the most interesting conversations” happening below a tweet. Twitter didn’t specify exactly how it would work out what qualifies as interesting, but said it would take into account factors such as whether the original account has replied — a move that should make it simpler to follow lengthy strings of tweets, but risks burying replies from some sources under other conversations.

The changes started to become available to users of web Twitter earlier this week. The social network says it’ll continue to roll out the new feature over the coming weeks, and will be bringing it to its mobile apps “in the future.”