Tony Cooper
In this case, though you are describing it poorly, you are referring to an action that does not need a user-defined protocol because the user does not need a standard set of steps to accomplish the action.

Sandman
Just like automatic backup, then. Heeey, sounds like what I've been saying all along, doesn't it?

Tony Cooper
Think really hard and you might begin to understand that an automatic backup action follows the protocol set by the developer.

The backup protocol is different because it can involve user-defined additions to the built-in protocol.

Sandman
"Can"? Are you now saying that both file copying and backup are governed by protocols but you would only call backup a "protocol" since you "can" add things to this supposed protocol?

Tony Cooper
And the user adds his own protocol requirements of frequency and destination to the backup protocol of the developer.

Backup is not "a protocol" as I have pointed out in another post. Backup is an action that will run based on the protocol used by the developer and the user (if user-defined steps can be added). The "backup protocol" describes the protocol employed to determine what is done, but just "backup" describes the action.

I'm not talking about file copying at all. I prefer to keep the discussion centered on the backup protocol.

Sandman
Here is the user implementing backup in an automatic system:

http://tinyurl.com/pju45q7

Please define in clear terms how he or she is adding items to the protocol.

Tony Cooper
The user is not adding anything to the protocol by clicking any of the boxes. That's a step in backup action routine.

The user determines a backup protocol that determines the frequency of backups and the location of where the backups are sent.

Sandman
Again, he or she attaches an external drive, and this is shown:

http://tinyurl.com/pju45q7

Tony Cooper
You have used the same link for both examples.

Sandman
No settings for frequency, and by hitting that button, the system already knows the location. Boom, all done. Automatic backup every hour around the clock.

Tony Cooper
I am not an Apple user, so I don't know what is done in the way of user-defined additions to the backup protocol, but I assume the user has set the location at some point. That's a user-defined addition.

Some programs, but not all by any means, allow the user to add this information and have that protocol followed automatically in the future.

Sandman
So some backup functions are protocols and some are not? How automatic does it need to become to not be a protocol?

Tony Cooper
No backup functions are protocols. Try to get this into your head. A function is not a protocol. A protocol can call for a function, though.

If you are going to continue this, do some research on what "protocol" means in this context.