IstheInternetavastarenaofunrestrictedcommunicationandfreelyexchangedinformationoraregulated,highlystructuredvirtualbureaucracy?InProtocol,AlexanderGallowayarguesthatthefoundingprincipleoftheNetiscontrol,notfreedom,andthatthecontrollingpowerliesinthetechnicalprotocolsthatmakenetworkconnections(anddisconnections)possible.Hedoesthisbytreatingthecomputerasatextualmediumthatisbasedonatechnologicallanguage,code.Code,heargues,canbesubjecttothesamekindofculturalandliteraryanalysisasanynaturallanguage;computerlanguageshavetheirownsyntax,grammar,communities,andcultures.Insteadofrelyingonestablishedtheoreticalapproaches,Gallowayfindsanewwaytowriteaboutdigitalmedia,drawingonhisbackgroundsincomputerprogrammingandcriticaltheory."Discipline-hoppingisanecessitywhenitcomestocomplicatedsocio-technicaltopicslikeprotocol,"hewritesinthepreface.Gallowaybeginsbyexaminingthetypesofprotocolsthatexist,includingTCP/IP,DNS,andHTML.Hethenlooksatexamplesofresistanceandsubversion--hackers,viruses,cyberfeminism,Internetart--whichheviewsasemblematicofthelargertransformationsnowtakingplacewithindigitalculture.Writtenforanontechnicalaudience,ProtocolservesasanecessarycounterpointtothewildlyutopianvisionsoftheNetthatweresowidespreadinearlierdays.