Why GitHub?

GitHub is a web-based hosting service for projects that use the Git revision control system. It's the logical starting point for an archive of protocols thanks to its advanced collaboration features and its key involvement in the open science movement. Here's a few ways GitHub makes a fantastic foundation for the Scientific Protocols site.

Version Control GitHub provides version control. Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later. Any type of file on a computer can be placed under version control. In addition to being able to track the history of changes to a file using a version control system means that if you make a mistake or lose files, you can recover them easily.

Forking GitHub provides protocol forking. A fork is a copy of a protocol. Forking a protocol allows you to freely experiment with changes without affecting the original protocol. Most commonly, forks are used to either propose changes to someone else's protocol or to use someone else's protocol as a starting point for your own idea.

Collaboration GitHub provides excellent collaboration features. These features allow you peer review protocols, track protocol changes and follow your favorite protocol authors.

What else is on offer?

Markdown Markdown is a plain text formatting syntax designed so that it optionally can be converted to HTML. It's a syntax designed for the web and its power lies in its compliance with the four basic principles of simplicity, readability, security and convertability. Learn more » The Reproducibility Initiative Scientific Protocols is part of the Reproducibility Initiative. The aim of the Reproducibility Initiative is to identify and reward high quality reproducible research via independent validation of key experimental results. Learn more »

In addition to leveraging the power of the GitHub platform Scientific Protocols also utilizes markdown to ensure simplicity and reusability of protocol data. Furthermore it's a part of the Reproducibility Initiative which ensures it's plugged directly into the heart of the open science movement.