[birken]

Yes, but if the 90 day expiration is in the plan, then it is 90 days. It doesn't matter why the lawyers put it in there, though IRS treatment is a reason why it is very common. You aren't going to be able to negotiate changes in the stock option plan with a company you are thinking of joining.

If you are working at a company like Pinterest with a more employee-friendly option plan, then you should value the stock options at a higher value as compared to less employee-friendly plans. I ultra-long expiration periods are awesome, and they are another practical method to deal with the longer period to IPO. These types of options aren't as good as having liquidity for the stock, but with them you can be sure that if you vest the option and the company value goes way up, you'll get the benefit from that.