Resistive Plate Chambers in running and future experiments

This document surveys the RPC-based detection systems of running and future collider experiments focusing on the implications of the choice of some basic detector features: number of gaps, electrode material and operating mode. The muon identification systems of the B-factory experiments BaBar and Belle is described and the RPC performance since the first operation of the detectors is briefly reported. The trigger systems of the future LHC experiments ALICE, ATLAS and CMS are discussed and some results obtained in the extensive research and development programs carried out by the Collaborations are reported. The application of the multi-gap RPC for the Time-of-Flight system of the ALICE and STAR experiments is also considered.