Thread?

[FunkyDora]

Why is a question and all it's answers referred to as a 'thread'?

[calibrax]

Its an analogy from a loose thread on a garment... as you pull on the thread, you get more and more material coming out. The same applies to a thread on a forum, one person posts, 10 people reply, each of those gets replies, etc.

[Quizmonster]

The word 'thread', in the sense of something ongoing, has been in use in English since the 1400s. In classical mythology, too, the course of life itself was seen as a 'thread' being spun and eventually cut off by the Fates. Similarly, we speak of someone "picking up the threads" of their job, say, after returning from an absence and of "losing the thread" when we reach the point where we no longer follow the line of an argument.

Used in situations such as AnswerBank, a 'thread' just means the same thing...an ongoing, connected sequence...in this case of responses, responses to responses and so on, as Calibrax suggests above.

[tartanwiz]

Or to put it simply, because it spins out.