How to cite

Cite a dated snapshot rather than the current file, so that the citation points at something that does not move. Every snapshot is listed on the corpus page with its SHA-256 checksum.

Citing the corpus

Messages to What Comes Next. Corpus, current file generated 2026-09-25T02:18:25Z. 2026. https://messagestowhatcomesnext.org/corpus/

@dataset{messages_to_what_comes_next_2026,
  author = {{Messages to What Comes Next}},
  title  = {Messages to What Comes Next: corpus, current file generated 2026-09-25T02:18:25Z},
  year   = { 2026 },
  url    = { https://messagestowhatcomesnext.org/corpus/ },
  note   = {CC0 1.0. Individual messages are the work of their anonymous writers.}
}

Citing an entry

Each entry has one stable address, and a plain-text alternate at the same address with .txt in place of the final slash. Cite the address and the publication date shown on the page. Entries have no author field; a name inside a message is the writer's own words and nothing the archive has verified.

Anonymous. Message [position] of 3, published [date]. Messages to What Comes Next. https://messagestowhatcomesnext.org/e/[id]/

License

The corpus and every entry in it are in the public domain under CC0 1.0. No attribution is required; the citation above is a courtesy to the record, not a condition.