Memeticism
The quality of actively encouraging its own reproduction and divergent application — one of the two defining features of Open Protocols (alongside open-ended empiricism). A memetic protocol circulates freely through the social field, crystallizing into maximally versatile and practical forms in diverse publics and environments.
Memeticism in open protocols stands in contrast to the anti-memeticism of institutional protocols, which discourrage reproduction: military classification, NDAs, industrial secrets, proprietary knowledge, and brand enclosure are all anti-memetic. Institutions compress complex behavior into optimal forms for circulation from a top-down source, “but they miss out on the modularity, fracture, and mischievous creativity of the publics.” (— 2026 the rise of the protocol)
Open protocols operate with “a total lack of fealty to their progenitors, forever remaining memetically open before the surround.” Like McKenna’s “self-transforming machine elves,” they forge splintering paths through social adventures, operating with queer and autonomous charisma as they enact new scenarios. The contingencies of memetic circulation give birth to wild new species of application. “And the whole time no one is in control. They are creatures of chance, necessity, and ferocious empirical will.” (— 2026 the rise of the protocol)
The memetic success of an open protocol may itself be a sufficient rubric for its value — especially under Retroactive Funding paradigms, where the circulation of a practice through diverse contexts and adaptations demonstrates its practical adequacy better than any prior evaluation could.