Research first, publication second
Crypt of Echoes is an independent archive. Collections, nested subjects and dossiers organize research across history, literature, technology, public records and other disciplines. Geography is optional. Publications reuse reviewed records rather than owning separate copies.
What a record contains
Each record has a permanent identifier, a neutral description, source attribution, an original link when available, a capture description and a separate verification assessment. Preserved files have their own ingestion times and SHA-256 fingerprints.
What preservation proves — and what it does not
A matching fingerprint shows that bytes match the reference fingerprint. It does not independently prove who wrote a statement, whether an account was genuine, whether a screenshot was fabricated before ingestion, when the source was captured or whether the statement is true.
The source-published time and the reporter-entered capture time are not the same as the server’s ingestion time. None is represented here as an independently certified timestamp. Quotations and factual claims must be evaluated separately.
The original stays separate
An uploaded original is not overwritten by a correction or public redaction. A redacted copy is a new file with a separate fingerprint. An editor releases each public attachment separately, so a public record can exist without exposing a restricted original.
Review comes before release
New records, files, notes and article links begin as private research. Before releasing record metadata, an editor reviews attribution, context, privacy and publication rights. Attachments and story links have their own release controls. Reporter notes are not included in public source pages or public exports.
Corrections add to the record
Metadata edits create new working revisions. Readers keep seeing the previously approved version until a reviewed revision is published with a publication or correction note. Earlier versions remain in the private research workspace history.
An editor can withdraw a record, which disables its public page, file releases and article links. Withdrawal cannot recall copies already downloaded by others. Any later re-release requires review.
Connections are annotations, not automatic facts
Dossier relationships name the supporting source revision, the relevant passage and an assessment. Hypotheses stay private. A released relationship is hidden if its supporting revision is no longer the current published version, or a connected dossier becomes private.
Search is deliberately limited
Public search covers published metadata and manually entered transcriptions, not private notes or unreleased drafts. This version does not automatically extract text from PDFs, run OCR, crawl websites or make full-text searches of media files.
Privacy, rights and sensitive sources
Preservation is not blanket permission to republish. The research workspace must assess what it can responsibly make public, including sensitive personal information, restrictions on material and the need for redactions. Do not submit confidential information through this public archive.
Inspect and cite
Use a record’s permanent URL and identifier in citations. Public file manifests list the released files and their fingerprints. A manifest is an export from this archive, not an independently signed certificate.
To question material cited by a publication, send that publication the record identifier and your explanation. The archive keeps corrections as reviewed revisions rather than silently replacing an earlier source.
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