How to respond in Telegram
I have written on this topic before, but here I'll use a concrete example to illuminate the concept better than previous attempts. 
The screenshot above shows a "Good morning" message I posted in a public Telegram group, plus a response by Nobel posted shortly afterwards.
What is a reply?
The definition seems simple enough right? So what is the problem?
When a response is NOT a reply
When viewed in the group these two messages are sequential, it"s apparent that they are contextually related. But Nobel's response is not technically a reply. It may sound like I'm splitting hairs, but this is a problem in a number of ways.
Message Isolation
Each message made in a public group or channel has its own message link. When a Telegram user clicks a message link it opens in the right place for that message in the group chat, but for users without the Telegram application the message link will open the message URL as a web page in a browser window just like any public web page.
A message's URL can be found in the message menu.
Nobel's message on its own web page, shows in isolation.
Shown on its own Nobel's response is now missing some context.
Here are a few more examples of isolated responses;
Messages seen in isolation often it makes no sense at all.
Telegram users might assume others will see their public message as they do; chronologically, presented alongside what they are responding to with other messages in the group. They may not know that their message could be seen on its own.
Provide more context by using reply!
Here is a screenshot of a message web page from a proper reply within the same group.
Plus how to scan it.
- From: Logan Williams
- Where: (in) English Cologne Group
- In REPLY to: Nobel "You seem to be a very popular person 😅"
- Message content (text): "It's the beard ;)"
Clicking the quoted part, (Nobel's "You seem to be ...") will open that message / page. So users outside of Telegram can navigate up the discussion thread to the previous message. Any response which is not technically a reply will break (appear as the start of) that discussion.
Swipe to Reply!
Note: using reply properly is not only about doing something so people outside of Telegram can keep track of discussions. There are benefits for the group members themselves when they and others use reply when responding.
Group Discussions
Inside of Telegram replies are threaded as "Discussions" and a discussion can be viewed by group members separately to the rest of the group content.
Any new message: meaning any message which is NOT a response to a previous message, becomes the start of a discussion when / if someone in the group replies.
Geek note: I reply to my own messages when a follow up is related, so everything is visible in the one discussion thread.
This is how discussions work in Telegram.
Group discussions outside of Telegram
Now we've come to the final piece of the puzzle.
Any public message can be embedded in a web page using the embed code generated on the message page.
The discussion thread (replies), can be presented on one page on any website using Telegram's Discussion widget.
Example
I have embedded my "Good Morning" post and the empty discussion container on the English Cologne blog here. Nobel's response to my message in the group is not shown on that page, why, because it wasn't technically a reply.
Try it out!
I have shared a link to this article on my "Social Media Talk" Telegram channel. Comments made on that channel post (technically replies in a connected group) will show in the discussion widget below. If you have any questions related to this article or Telegram replies in general please feel ask.
