That's an extremely interesting point and makes for good debate.

And I'll surprise you by saying I subscribe to the school of thought that believes ideas are cheap. I honestly do.

However, over time, i'm assuming you develop an ability to subject your idea to fairly rigorous evaluation based on experience; and confidentiality might then mean much more to you.

It's really amazing though, the feedback and the varied points of view.

I must compile a list of disclaimers to be prepended to the article. 'Don't be naive about your idea' definitely will be one of them!