There's really two concepts: parent, which is how hierarchy is achieved, and quotes, which are stylized text linking back to an ancestor. The potential for pro

There's really two concepts: parent, which is how hierarchy is achieved, and quotes, which are stylized text linking back to an ancestor. The potential for problems would arise when everyone Replied using a root-level post to the firehose. This could be mitigated with prominent Reply links on every post in the firehose, with the root-level contribution form deemphasized. So you can quote multiple people but you still chose a parent by choosing which Reply link to click.