A Goblin Bit-Cruncher on protocol

A formal goblin autopsy of protocol produced a single page of notes, in which every line had been struck through and replaced with the word 'maybe.'

Pattern recognition is the goblin's favorite game. Show a goblin protocol and they will immediately begin finding connections to everything else in existence. Some of these connections are real. Some are imagined. None of them matter, because the act of connecting is itself the point.

The catalog Question, Restated

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as catalog. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

The Goblin Verdict on protocol

Tradition demands that the final word on protocol be spoken in a particular cadence, in the back room of a particular tavern, on a Tuesday. The Tuesday in question is this one. The words have been spoken. We are not at liberty to record them.