What makes a really good thread?

What are ways you think people can improve the quality of an entire thread, whether one is starting a new one or trying to improve an existing one? What are some threads that exemplify these good qualities? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. I’m hoping that this can be a resource for people wanting to improve threads in the future, and maybe as we are discussing we can try to turn this one into some sort of good example. Though perhaps that is too hopeful.

Great topic Maieshe!

Making a thread that gets a lot of traction really is tricky. I can't say that I know what makes up the magic sauce but I know what I like seeing in threads.

How does the saying go? "A picture is worth a thousand words." Having photos that relate to the discussion seems to inspire conversation. Extra points if the photos are originals and not pulled from the web.

I like threads that ask questions. Those threads can get a lot of unexpected answers which really adds depth to a subject. I have also noticed that the way a question is asked can be a boon. I personally have to keep in mind of not asking too narrowly tailored of a question because that sometimes stifles conversation.

Sometimes I am not well versed in subjects that are being discussed and I appreciate the folks who provide information to get onlookers up to speed with the discussions. Things like dynamic accumulators or humanure were foreign to me at first but Permies threads really helped fill the knowledge gaps.

Example Threads

Cooking with Dry Beans and Peas

Simple Trellis for Green Beans

The Great Big Thead of Sunchokes

One thing that is more and more important to me especially when using the search function is a title that clearly identifies the threads subject.

I love catchy, funny, criptic titles but when it comes to looking for a certain subject they don't easily register in a search.

When I first found the forum I really wanted to have a thread that was several pages long.

I finally achieved that goal back in 2020.

I believe my success was due to an interesting topic something that everyone was interested in.

I like threads that have lots of pretty pictures or that has pictures for a project from start to finish.

Here are a couple of threads that might help make posts better:

https://permies.com/t/31696/posts-simple

https://permies.com/wiki/52623/formatting-tags-permies-posts-awesome#426719

In my opinion, in general, you make a thread better by taking the subject seriously, writing about your actual experiences -- preferably with pictures, and suggesting ways to learn more. The Permies software figures out 'similar threads' and presents them at the bottom of the page, but because a lot of people ignore that, cross-linking to other related threads and also outside references also makes the thread better, as long as the link destinations are good.