> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.seloria.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Messages and threads

> The internal thread on a request, and the message thread with a supplier on an RFQ

Decisions get made in conversations, and conversations that happen in email get lost. Seloria keeps two separate threads attached to the record they're about.

## Internal thread on a request

Every purchase request carries an **internal thread** where the requestor, the assigned buyer and the PM talk about it: what the specification really means, whether an alternative is acceptable, why it's urgent.

* Messages take **text and attachments** — a datasheet, a drawing, a photo of what broke.
* The thread lives on the request, so it stays attached when the request becomes an RFI, RFP or RFQ.
* It is **internal only**. Suppliers never see it.

Access follows the work: the requestor who raised it, the buyer it's assigned to, and PMs. If a buyer is [covering for a colleague](/platform/work-continuity), they see the threads of the requests they're covering.

## Message thread with a supplier

On an RFQ you can also hold a direct thread **with one supplier**, separate from the internal conversation.

* Messages support **text and attachments** both ways.
* When you send one, the supplier gets an **email** with the message, in [their own language](/platform/language-and-appearance) — not yours.
* They reply from their quote portal, without an account.
* Each thread is **private to that supplier**. Nothing you say to one is visible to the others.

## Which is which

|             | Internal thread      | Supplier thread            | [Supplier Q\&A](/sourcing/supplier-qa) |
| ----------- | -------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Lives on    | The request          | The RFQ                    | The RFQ                                |
| Between     | Requestor, buyer, PM | Your team and one supplier | Your team and one supplier             |
| Started by  | Anyone on the team   | Your team                  | The supplier                           |
| Attachments | Yes                  | Yes                        | No                                     |

The supplier thread and Q\&A overlap on purpose: **Q\&A is the supplier raising a formal question** from the portal while preparing a quote, and it appears in their portal beside the questions from your side. The **message thread is your team opening a conversation** — chasing a missing document, sending a revised drawing.

<Note>
  Everything sent to a supplier is recorded in the RFQ's audit history. The internal thread is part of the record too, so a decision argued out in the thread can be read back months later.
</Note>