{i} response, topic in a discussion group which refers to the previous topic; maintaining contact so as to monitor the effects of earlier activities or treatments, work that comes after previous work
v [Usenet] A message generated in response to another message (as opposed to a reply, which goes by email rather than being broadcast) Followups include the ID of the parent message in their headers; smart newsreaders can use this information to present forum discussion in 'conversation' sequence rather than order-of-arrival See thread
A public reply to a posting to a Usenet newsgroup, particularly one that includes in its routing information a link back to the original posting, so "newsreader" programs that present postings by threads (postings and replies) can attach it to the appropriate position Most newsreader programs default to providing a followup to all the crosspostings (multiple newsgroups) mentioned in an original newsgroup If these are excessive, it's considered good form to "trim followups" or "set followups" to only the appropriate groups