In fact, we had agreed not to reveal any information until CNNfn went on the air that evening, and not to make public the technical specifics of the glitch. Shortly after CNNfn and PC Magazine Online broke the news, Larry sent Netscape a cache file from our test system in order to get the company's reaction. He suspected that the file would help Netscape fix the hole, and it did. But when Netscape reported having found the problem, a spokesperson said Netscape found it by examining our computers. This was reported, and again the information was not quite true.
Obvious questions come to mind.
Our first responsibility is to our readers. The choice to us was obvious. There is no right or wrong answer. We live in a capitalistic society where individuals and companies have to worry about survival. Other holes have been reported and will continue to be reported.