You are arguing technical details when the issue is one of exploiting laypeoples' misunderstanding of technical details. It's not about confusing options for sh

You are arguing technical details when the issue is one of exploiting laypeoples' misunderstanding of technical details. It's not about confusing options for shares. It's confusion about how the 90 day window works. It is not at all obvious that the tax consequences may be many times greater than the strike price, resulting in you losing your vested options. This has been a surprise for many otherwise smart people. If you replaced it with more transparent terms, such as a "cliff that goes all the way to the IPO" or a heavily backloaded vesting schedule, I'd say most would consider it a below-market offer, even though it's roughly comparable. That's a reflection of the opacity and poor understanding of the standard terms.