{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreicibbujt5tzimurml4crnkv27cf5xnqkb4wvknipruq5ktpaxpkla",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:lk3jfj3zq4k4wxnk474axylu/app.bsky.feed.post/3mligetzixiw2"
  },
  "path": "/t/inline-clarification-threads-for-long-responses/1380614#post_1",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-10T08:20:33.000Z",
  "site": "https://community.openai.com",
  "textContent": "One issue I consistently run into with ChatGPT during university work and complex planning tasks is that conversations are entirely linear.\n\nFor example, ChatGPT may give me a great 10-step breakdown for an assignment. I understand 9 of the 10 steps perfectly, but I want clarification on Step 4.\n\nCurrently, I have to:\n\n  * scroll all the way to the bottom,\n\n  * ask the question,\n\n  * receive another long response,\n\n  * then scroll back up and try to reconnect everything together.\n\n\n\n\nOver time this saturates the chat with additional text and breaks the flow of the original response.\n\nA feature that would massively improve usability would be “Inline Clarification Threads” or “Side Threads”.\n\nThe idea:\n\n  * each paragraph, section, or numbered step could optionally support a small comment/clarification icon on the side,\n\n  * clicking it opens a small sub-chat panel attached to that specific part of the response,\n\n  * the user can ask follow-up questions about only that section,\n\n  * the assistant responds inside the side thread,\n\n  * the original response remains visible and preserved.\n\n\n\n\nThis would work similarly to:\n\n  * academic annotation comments,\n\n  * Google Docs comments,\n\n  * code review discussions,\n\n  * margin notes in educational platforms.\n\n\n\n\nI think this would especially help users working on:\n\n  * university assignments,\n\n  * coding/debugging,\n\n  * lesson planning,\n\n  * research synthesis,\n\n  * long procedural workflows,\n\n  * ADHD/executive functioning challenges where context-switching and scrolling become cognitively expensive.\n\n\n\n\nThe current linear chat structure works well for conversation, but not always for deep iterative work on complex documents or plans.\n\nThis could make ChatGPT feel much more like an interactive workspace rather than a continuously expanding message feed.",
  "title": "Inline Clarification Threads for Long Responses"
}