In an effort to support the growth of Open Source resources, portal site Lycos announced Monday it will incorporate Netscape’s Open Directory Project into Lycos.com’s search engines, as well as HotBot.com.
Netscape’s Open Directory Project relies on more than 8,900 volunteer editors to find and categorize sites based on individual’s areas of interest and expertise. The intent is to offer search results that are more relevant and timely than a standard search engine.
According to the companies, Monday’s agreement will introduce the user-edited directory to the more than 28.5 million users of the Lycos Network. In addition to front door placement on HotBot.com and Lycos.com, both sites will actively encourage users to join as contributing editors.
Lycos is licensing the Netscape Open Directory Project content under a free-use license that allows
anyone to make use of the directory while directing potential editors back to the Netscape Open Directory
Project. Its goal is to facilitate Open Source to as many users as possible, the company said
“We’re pleased to be embracing the Open Directory Project because it embodies the philosophy that brought the Web to prominence in the first place–the ability to harness the knowledge of thousands of people from diverse locations, backgrounds, and interests to find useful information quickly and easily,” said Ron Sege, executive vice president, Lycos, Inc. “This resource is an incredible value
addition for our users.”
Open Source technology is currently found in resources such as the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, and Netscape’s Communicator browser.
“What started as a small, independent site with a handful of contributing Web users in 1998 has quickly mushroomed into a major contender in the directory space that has attracted the interest of Web industry leaders such as Netscape and Lycos,” said Mike
Homer, senior vice president and general manager of Netscape Netcenter. “That’s the power of the Web and open standards in action.”
