Moreover, people have invented tools to make themselves more productive and thereby have developed interactions with their tools. In the broadest sense people work in collaborative environments which engage them with one another and with a variety of tools. Protocols are the rules by which we manage interactions with one another and with our tools. For example, Roberts' Rules of Order are protocols for the management of meetings. They do not directly involve participants other than people but they have a notable complexity in the way they allot control of the floor and limit the topics which may be discussed in various situations.
Board games provide other examples.
In checkers and chess two players take turns and must observe particular rules regarding allowable moves and when a piece may be captured. Monopoly is turn taking as well but may involve many players and allows them to barter properties and to build houses and hotels and charge rent in appropriate circumstances. Protocols also govern how people interact via computer systems in the growing domain of computer supported collaborative work. In such systems, several people undertake the accomplishment of a task or set of tasks with the aid of networked computers. Simple examples include the way newsgroups and on-line chat rooms are managed.