I see no conflict between these two activities. And thank you for reminding us that such principles can still be put ahead of money. That it is probably what you should expect from the folks who hold a patent on electronic style sheets, a patent that isn't worth the paper it's written on, as it's clearly prior art. They're using every possible legal method they can to proprietize both content and delivery - indeed, I'd say that with .NET one could argue that they are trying to proprietize the 'net itself. That's how monopolies work.
Someone has to defend the principles of publicity on which scholarship rests.
It seems Microsoft is doing to ideas what Monsanto is doing to our genes. I have not subscribed to any blood oath, so I can say that the whole affair is most curious. Microsoft is headquartered in Washington State, is it not, which is where you are. If the contact was really from Microsoft, then perhaps the person thought that Washington residents are likely to support Microsoft even in bizarre circumstances. If the contact was not from Microsoft, then that is much trouble about a dictionary.