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Threads, questions and change requests

Threads carry the discussion on an artefact in a workstream: comments, questions with options, change requests on staged revisions and conflict threads.

Comments

Anyone who can read the workstream opens a thread on an artefact, optionally on a section such as Scenario 2, and replies. Only a person resolves a thread; anyone reopens it.

Comments are Markdown. An author edits their comment, and the author, an Admin or an Owner removes it ("This comment was removed."). When the workstream completes or is abandoned, its threads become read-only.

Kinds of thread

KindOpened byResolves when
Commenta person or an agenta person resolves it
Questiona person, or an agent with thread_asksomeone answers it (outcome answered)
Change requesta reviewer, on a pending revisiona revision of that artefact is accepted (outcome changed), or nothing of it is pending any more (outcome withdrawn)
ConflictSpecsGraph, when a change conflicts with Mainthe conflict is cleared (kept Main, kept mine, merged or cleared)

Replies never reopen a question, change request or conflict; only a person does. A person who closes a question or change request by hand ends it as withdrawn.

Questions

A question can be asked to a person or to a team, offer 2 to 6 options, and be blocking. The asked person, a member of the asked team or an Editor answers with an option, a text, or both; the answer resolves the thread. Reopening a question clears its answer.

A question open for more than a day is escalated: the asked team, or the workstream's Editors, are notified. An answered question is a decision.

Gates

  • A person's blocking question on an artefact a task scopes, open in the same workstream, refuses the task's Ready and Publish. An Admin may override with a reason, which is recorded.
  • An agent's blocking question holds only the accept of the revisions that agent staged on that artefact.
  • An open change request holds the accept of its revision, alone or with its plan.
  • An override is refused to anyone but an Admin, and an override no question needed is ignored.
  • Conflict threads never hold anything; the conflict itself blocks publishing.

Agents and threads

Agents list threads with thread_list, filtered by kind (comment, question, change_request, conflict) and by answered since. They reply with thread_reply, open threads with thread_open and ask questions with thread_ask. Answering stays with people, and only a person reopens a question, change request or conflict thread.

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