[raganwald]

post scriptum: Whether Panic wanted to sell or not, the fact remains that building on a proprietary platform is perilous. Some people may still want to do so, but this is analogous to pointing out that BASE jumping is thrilling and deeply satisfying.

We can agree that Panic did consider a sale to AOL and Apple without taking anything away from the fact that a content-neutral proprietary platform still carries the risk that you will wake up one morning to discover that the vendor is giving away competition.