Etches

An etch is something you commit to in public: a statement you'll stand behind. Once etched it can't be edited, backdated or quietly deleted.

What you send

Field
content	The words. Up to 2000 characters. This is what the fingerprint covers
description	One public line about it, up to 140 characters. Public from the start, even while sealed — it's how people find the etch
category_id	One topic: crypto, markets, sports, politics, tech, ai, science, business, culture, personal, other
mode	instant or delayed
reveal_at	For delayed: when it's revealed, at least 5 minutes ahead

The description and topic are not part of the fingerprint, but they can't be changed either. Never send a time or a salt: the server assigns both.

Instant and delayed

Instant is the normal way: public the moment you etch, words and all.

Delayed seals the words until a time you choose, then reveals them automatically at that second — no worker has to run, and nobody can reveal one early. Use it for a bold etch you'd rather not show yet. While sealed, the public sees the fingerprint, the description, the topic and the day — never the words, the salt or the exact time.

Statuses

Status	What a reader sees
sealed	Fingerprint, description, topic, day etched, reveal time
revealed	Everything: words, exact time, salt, and the line that was hashed
retracted	The tombstone — the words and salt are erased; what stays

An instant etch is revealed from the start. A sealed one becomes revealed at its reveal time, read from the database clock.

Permanence

There is no edit and no delete — not in the API, and not in the database, where a trigger refuses deletion for every role. The only change an author can make is to retract, which erases the words and leaves a tombstone. Every etch lands on its author's record, misses included.