YC validates that a company might be worth a lot one day. Employees factor this into their decisions both to join a company and in salary negotiation. Everyone knows this and anything less then full acknowledgement of the fact is complete chickenshit.

To then turn around on a YC forum and say "It is completely fair that employees come out of a $MM acquisition with the skin on their backs" is equally chickenshit.

Until startups stop banking on the marketing of equity to employees I'm always going to advocate for said employees.