The Compendium Test: Would someone quote this a year from now, without the thread?
A passage bears collecting when it:
- Stands alone. It carries its meaning without the reply chain, the embedded image or video, or the news cycle it was posted into. If you need the context to get it, it's a comment, not a quote.
- Is worth repeating. You could open a talk with it, put it on a slide, cite it in a video, or place it in a compendium. Insight, wit, motivation, reflection, or a laugh all qualify — profundity is not required, repeatability is.
- Observes its moment rather than fights in it. Commentary on current events belongs here when it's an observation of the time — a professional's read on emerging AI capabilities, a maker's note on how tooling is changing — not a move in the discourse. A hot take wants to win an argument today; an observation wants to be remembered.
What we ask you not to capture: dunks, pile-ons, and hot takes; commercial endorsements and promotions; commentary on embedded media that's meaningless without the media; anything a casual observer would never repeat.
Who can be quoted: anyone. We filter on the quotability of the words, not the notability of the speaker. A pseudonymous account's aphorism stands alongside Seneca — attribution goes to the voice that said it, named or not.