What is Formal Protocol Theory?

Special Interest Group in Formal Protocol Theory (SIGFPT), a group of participants in the Summer of Protocols program, meets every other Friday on Discord to build rigorous foundations for protocol studies. The group defines Formal Protocol Theory as seeking general unifying principles across scales, from handshakes to planet-scale climate agreements, and compares its ambitions to those of economics. Over six sessions since May 28, topics have included observability, notation, paper-napkin math and process calculi, with the next session on impossibilities and symmetries set for August 22. The group is running as a six-month pilot and is also hosting the Protocol Foundations Workshop (September 12–14), with applications due August 22.