“The beta site shows that the new AltaVista is using Netscape
Open Directory, a directory of Web sites compiled by volunteer
editors. The idea is to create a Web directory larger than Yahoo’s
by using volunteer editors instead of a paid staff. To generate
more momentum for the service, Netscape has allowed other sites to
use Open Directory, including rival portal Lycos and America
Online’s AOL Search engine…”
“Open Directory was created after Netscape acquired NewHoo a
year ago. NewHoo was based on the same ideas that created Linux and
Apache, two grassroots open-source software movements.“
“Since the acquisition, Open Directory has solicited numerous
volunteers. As of early October, it lists 16,000 editors that have
built a directory of more than 1 million Web sites, according to
Netscape.”