A gossip protocol is a procedure or process of computer peer-to-peer communication that is based on the way epidemics spread. Some distributed systems use peer-to-peer gossip to ensure that data is disseminated to all members of a group. Some ad-hoc networks have no central registry and the only way to spread common data is to rely on each member to pass it along to their neighbours. The term epidemic protocol is sometimes used as a synonym for a gossip protocol, as gossip spreads information in a manner similar to the spread of a virus in a biological community.