# Onboarding Article

*Terminology, Link Library, FAQ*

By [Roots & Rooks](https://paragraph.com/@rootsandrooks) · 2023-04-08

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Thanks for reading The Protocolist.

In this publication, I tackle big questions about technology, commerce, and culture through the lens of protocol studies. Protocols are an emerging topic of interest in the fields of high-tech, policymaking, and management science. Software has been eating the world for the past three decades — but only now are we starting to feel the impact on a social level.

The Protocolist is a newsletter, technically speaking. But it is also an idea lab. It emerged from a research project funded by The Ethereum Foundation in 2023. About a dozen researchers came together to build on a pilot study, projecting into the world ten new essays on protocol studies. The rise of the field of protocol studies points to the need for a novel method of sensemaking. Old units of analysis (firms, nations, heroes, machines) are too chunky in an increasingly fluid world.

### Terminology

Making sense from this new perspective will require some new terminology. Here is a list of some terms that I use frequently in my essays:

### Link Library

There is a ton of writing being published on protocols today. Also, when we look back at previous writing, it often looks protocol-ish. Here is a collection of links to dive deep:

### FAQ

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*Originally published on [Roots & Rooks](https://paragraph.com/@rootsandrooks/onboarding-article)*