“One of the most significant moments in the history of the
modern software industry took place in 1998 when Netscape announced
plans to release the source code of its browser under a license
that would freely permit modification and redistribution. That
pivotal event represents the point at which software freedom
extended its reach beyond the enthusiast community and began its
ascent into the mainstream.“The ‘Open Source’ term was proposed by Christine Peterson at a
strategy session held in Palo Alto on February 3rd, 1998–one month
after Netscape’s announcement. The people present included also
Todd Anderson, John ‘maddog’ Hall, Larry Augustin, Sam Ockman,
Michael Tiemann, Eric Raymond…”