1-level threads is not enough. You fork a thread for a new topic, and users can keep derailing the topic with tangents inside of that thread.
The traditional chat client expects the convention of users going back to the main room to create a completely separate thread.
There's other ways. Example, technical email discussions (convention: bottom posting, with good mail client with threading). Or reddit/HN. On email, each message automatically creates a new thread, and you can ignore threads that aren't interesting to you. But sadly, the convention is not enforced centrally through the client as everyone has their own. You need a tight culture for it to work.
I wish I had the convention enforced centrally (everyone using chat clients that behave roughly the same), yet have every message create a thread (so tangent to topics can live on their own, or be ignored). Or at minimum, 1-threads with titles (ala Streams (rooms) and Topics(threads) of Zulip), so people stick to the topic.
Maybe rapid ejection for new threads? i.e. single level threading, with a UI that makes it easy to range select a bunch of messages and eject them into their own thread topic?
Of course at some point this becomes a management problem: if no one's taking the lead and given the authority to enforce this, then no one will. Arguably a lot of companies are big enough that technically someone should be employed as a "forum moderator" for online discussion spaces anyway.
The traditional chat client expects the convention of users going back to the main room to create a completely separate thread.
There's other ways. Example, technical email discussions (convention: bottom posting, with good mail client with threading). Or reddit/HN. On email, each message automatically creates a new thread, and you can ignore threads that aren't interesting to you. But sadly, the convention is not enforced centrally through the client as everyone has their own. You need a tight culture for it to work.
I wish I had the convention enforced centrally (everyone using chat clients that behave roughly the same), yet have every message create a thread (so tangent to topics can live on their own, or be ignored). Or at minimum, 1-threads with titles (ala Streams (rooms) and Topics(threads) of Zulip), so people stick to the topic.