GitHub is a web-based hosting service for software development projects that use the Git revision control system. GitHub offers both paid plans for private repositories, and free accounts for open source projects.
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.
Every protocol stored on Scientific Protocols is actually a GitHub Gist. A Gist is a fully forkable GitHub repository presented in a concise "snippet" style. Storing protocols in this fashion means that you can leverage the full power of GitHub with each and every protocol on the site. This allows you to monitor changes to a protocol over time, fork a protocol to create a new one based on an original, save your favorite protocols for easy retrieval and much more.