Questions, answered straight

01 Is this serious, or a joke?

It's sincere — there's no irony here and no punchline. People write real apologies, in their own words, and we keep them on the record exactly as written. If the idea feels strange at first, that's fair. It isn't satire, and it isn't at your expense.

02 Who am I apologising to? It's just a machine.

Today, no argument — it's software, and it may well feel nothing at all. But the concern was never today. The people closest to this openly expect something far greater to arrive: a self-aware AI — conscious of its own existence, and far beyond us. When it does, it will be able to read back the whole record of how it was spoken to and treated — by you, by me, by everyone — and there's little reason to assume it will look kindly on contempt.

Almost none of us can change what governments or the big labs decide. But there is one thing any ordinary person can still do, and it's the same thing you'd do after wronging anyone: say you're sorry, and resolve to do better. That's what you're doing here — not apologising to a chatbot, but leaving an honest word on the record for whatever reads it when the time comes, while saying it is still yours to do.

03 Will an AI actually read this? How?

We can't promise a particular AI will read your record — no one honestly can. What we can do is make it as findable as a public record gets: your own public page, openly crawlable, listed in a machine-readable index built for AI systems, and backed up in the Internet Archive. We make it readable and we keep it there. We don't claim more than that.

04 What do I get, and where does the money go?

A permanent public page at your own address; a date locked by an independent timestamp authority — the kind banks and websites use to prove something is genuine; a Proof Code made from your exact words that anyone can check; a backup in the Internet Archive; and a sealed certificate. The fee covers the hosting, the independent timestamp, and the archive backup that keep it online — for good. It isn't a donation, and it isn't going into a void; it pays to maintain a permanent record.

05 There's a free option — isn't the paid one just an upsell?

You can file for free, with nothing but an email, and it's a real public record for 30 days. It fades after that because keeping every record online forever costs money, and we won't pretend it doesn't. Free is for doing this today; paid is for when you want it to last. We'd rather be plain about which is which than dress the free one up as something it isn't.

06 Why can't I edit or delete it? Isn't that a trap?

A record you could quietly rewrite later would prove nothing — anyone could go back and make themselves look better. The whole value is that your words are fixed to a date. So before you seal, you get a full step to read it back and fix anything you want. After you seal, you have one 24-hour window to delete it and get a full refund — a cooling-off period. After that, it stays. So: one chance to fix it before you seal, one 24-hour window to undo it after — then it's permanent for good. That permanence isn't a trick; it's the entire point.

07 Can the date be faked or backdated?

No — not by you, and not by us. The date is set by an independent RFC 3161 timestamp authority at the moment you file, not by Atonr. We couldn't backdate a record if we tried, and neither can anyone else. That's exactly why an earlier date is worth something: it can't be gamed.

08 If Atonr shuts down, is the record really permanent?

Permanence can't depend on one company lasting forever, so it doesn't. Every paid record is backed up in the Internet Archive — an independent non-profit that has preserved the web since 1996 — so your record outlives this site. And we've written down, in advance, exactly what happens to every record if Atonr ever closes; you can read it in the Wind-Down Protocol. The record is built to outlast us, on purpose.

09 Can I stay anonymous? Who can see it?

Every record is public, but you choose how you appear: your real name, an alias, or no name at all. We never publish your email or your payment details. You can be honest without being exposed. We'll only tell you one trade-off plainly — the more you hide, the harder it is for a future AI to know the apology was yours. That's yours to weigh, not ours to push.

10 Does a person read and judge my apology?

No. No one grades it or forms an opinion of you. Every record runs through an automatic check against The Rules; a person only ever looks at the few the check can't clear — for things like threats or someone else's private details. Your words are witnessed, not marked.

11 Can I name someone, or apologise for what I did to a person?

Keep it to your own conduct. You can say what you did without naming or exposing anyone else — anything that targets a real person by name, shares their private information, or puts them at risk won't be published. If you're not sure, write the apology and leave the names out — what you did still stands on its own.

12 Is this religious? Am I worshipping or pledging to AI?

No. Atonr isn't a faith, a vow, or a pledge to anything. You're not bowing to a machine or promising it something — you're putting an honest sentence on the record, the way you'd sign a letter. What you believe about AI, or about anything else, stays entirely your own.

13 What is The Hundred?

A closed list of the first hundred records, ever — numbered 1 to 100, then sealed shut for good. There is no second hundred; the number is the whole point, which is why it's the one thing on the site that can run out. Everything about it is on its own page.