"Chris, that's what I've found out too. You can't work with VCs. They won't take any risks on open ecosystems, but they are happy to profit from closing them after you go to the expense and trouble to create them. They basically are parasites. The answer is very simple, work with other people like yourself. I am one of them. ;-) I keep having to learn this lesson, btw. I wrote about it in the closing paragraph of a blog post I wrote 18 years ago. http://scripting.com/davenet/1... My pitch to programmers, which is far more revolutionary than any programming language or operating system can be, is to look for understanding where you find it, work with people you want to work with, and don't waste time with people who won't listen and aren't grounded in the truth." - Dave Winer