Why the unnecessary use of "startup bros"?

While I understand where you're coming from, Max, this is really dangerous delusion. Couch just lost the drive it had in the beginning, for whatever reasons, crazy focus on "data liberation" and cell phones included.

That said, I agree with @dasil003 above that Couch played a irreplaceable role in getting people on the NoSQL track. I speak from my own experience. Compared to Mongo, Couch allowed me to wrap my head about design differences in the NoSQL world.

It's sad to see Couch fade into obscurity, but hey!, it's initial drive, it's original story (cf. the Rubyfringe video of Damien's talk), is an important part of "NoSQL archeology" for me.