Why SSL was renamed to TLS in late 90s (2014) (tim.dierks.org)

Article summary

The article discusses the history of the SSL protocol and its renaming to TLS in the late 1990s. The rename was a result of the browser wars between Netscape and Microsoft, with Microsoft attempting to create a competing protocol called PCT. Netscape developed SSL 3.0, which was later standardized by the IETF and renamed to TLS. The rename was done to avoid giving the impression that the IETF was simply rubberstamping Netscape's protocol.

Main themes

• Browser wars
• SSL/TLS history
• Microsoft and Netscape
• Standardization and naming
• Security protocols
• Industry politics

What commenters say

• Some argue that Microsoft's actions in the browser wars were not entirely malicious and that Netscape's resistance to Microsoft's proposals was petty.
• Others believe that Microsoft's history of embracing, extending, and extinguishing standards justified Netscape's caution.
• The rename from SSL to TLS is seen as unnecessary and petty by some, while others view it as a necessary step to avoid Microsoft's dominance.
• There is disagreement over whether the terms SSL and TLS are interchangeable, with some arguing that they refer to specific protocols with different capabilities and versions.
• Some commenters reflect on the history of the browser wars and the impact of Microsoft's actions on the development of the web.
• The discussion also touches on the topic of thread local storage and its relation to the TLS acronym.