[redshirtrob]

I'd say it's the tax code that's at fault, but that doesn't stop folks from leveraging the tax code to their advantage.

As a single datapoint, I was in the final stages of interviews a while back. I had a call with the CEO where we got into some details about company funding, equity compensation, etc. When I pressed him on the 90 day exercise window he acknowledged their VCs liked it that way because it meant options flowed back into the pool when folks couldn't afford to exercise. I adjusted my salary numbers accordingly and we were unable to find common ground.

No, I don't feel like naming and shaming.