Records are canonical DRISL-CBOR bytes hashed with SHA-256 into CIDs; references carry CIDs, so a link is a hash; a reply names its parent by URI and CID; the hashes chain to the root.

Content addressing is what makes verification and diffs possible.

Inside, a record is CBOR: a compact binary form of JSON. A fixed, canonical encoding, so the same record always gives the same bytes.

Those bytes are hashed with SHA two fifty six. The hash, wrapped as a CID, is the record's fingerprint: its content identifier.

Inside the repository every link is a hash: the tree points at each record by its CID. Between records, a reference is an address, often with the CID beside it.

A reply names its parent twice. The address, to find it. The CID, to know it is unchanged.

Hashes of hashes, up to the root. Change one byte anywhere, and the root changes.

Check yourself. Why does a reply carry both the parent's URI and its CID?