protocol: A Goblin Perspective

In the folklore of every culture, there is a trickster figure who watches, waits, and steals what matters most. Goblins say that protocol is what happens when the trickster gets bored.

I am, I admit, biased about protocol. I have known too many goblins. My judgment is no longer reliable on goblin-adjacent matters and protocol is, by now, profoundly goblin-adjacent.

Goblin Recursion Into signal

In the goblin underground, signal is approached the way one approaches an unfamiliar lock: slowly, with curiosity, and with several backup plans for when the obvious approach doesn't work. Goblins are surprisingly patient about this. They have, after all, the time.

dossier Through Goblin Eyes

In the goblin underground, dossier is approached the way one approaches an unfamiliar lock: slowly, with curiosity, and with several backup plans for when the obvious approach doesn't work. Goblins are surprisingly patient about this. They have, after all, the time.

The Goblin Verdict on protocol

The goblin record-keeper, asked to file the final findings on protocol, looked at the page, looked at the inkwell, looked at us, and very slowly wrote down a different word. The substitution stands.