(FORTUNE Magazine) – So. You think you have a great idea for a business--specifically, perhaps, an Internet business--and you want to protect your guppy from would-be sharks. The discussion in the Oct. 2 column about patents and nondisclosure agreements brought torrents of comments from three camps: (1) people who have lost all faith that any legal instrument (or, apparently, any other force known to mankind) can shield a great idea from thieves and imitators; (2) people who lacked confidence in any such protection in the first place and don't see the need for it anyway; and (3) people who still want to know how to write a nondisclosure agreement, even if it does no good at all. Friends, this gets complicated. "If you want to know how to keep others from 'borrowing' or copying your idea, you shouldn't be doing business on the Internet in the first place. Once it's out there, it's out there--and it should be free and accessible to anyone who wants to look at it, save it, imitate it, or ignore it," writes someone signed Marauder, who claims to have started and sold four highly profitable Internet businesses. (Did you know there were that many?) "That's what the Net is all about." This seems awfully close to the argument that content should be free, in fine disregard of the fact that content producers--writers, musicians, editors, graphic artists, tech support, window washers--are curiously reluctant to work for nothing. But never mind. Onward. "When I patented my Big Idea, I found out that patents have loopholes," says a reader named Paul. "Just as hackers will always find a way into a 'secure' network, thieves can plunder a patented idea. It's like wearing flip-flops into a swamp: better than barefoot, but not by much."

Perhaps the fault lies not in our systems but in ourselves, writes California entrepreneur Peter Bell: "Big ideas are a dime a dozen! For example, I sketched out the basic idea for eBay years before it started, and I'm sure thousands of others did as well, including dozens who started auction sites on the Web. So what?" I like this guy. He goes on: "Instead of worrying about how to protect a big idea, entrepreneurs should ponder the question, Am I the best person in the entire world to turn this idea into a profitable corporation?" If you're not, go find something else to do. "But if you are, investors will back you rather than stealing your idea, because they get bigger returns that way." And speaking of the care and feeding of investors, for all of you who want to know what a real grown-up nondisclosure agreement (NDA) looks like, it's easy, thanks to publishers Glasser Legal Works: Go to www.techdeals.findlaw.com. Under the heading BUSINESS, click on TECH DEALS & CONTRACTS, then SAMPLE FORMS. You'll find standard forms for both mutual and one-way NDAs. Mutual is better, I hear. You learn more. (But you can't, of course, tell anything to anyone. Not even me.)

Now, before we run out of space here: The Oct. 2 column also included a question from a reader signed Numbers Guy about how to become a chief financial officer. Many thanks to all the CFOs who kindly took the time to tell how they got where they are. Beyond the CPA and (if possible) MBA credentials, their advice could apply to anyone who wants to reach a lofty rank within any organization, in finance or elsewhere. Writes Jeff Haslow, CFO of eMotion: "Join both local and national professional organizations [and] become chairman of at least one committee in your first five years.... Always have a mentor. This person may change over time as you change jobs or your career focus shifts.... Spend part of your early career at a small company. You will have the opportunity to do more because of the limited staff.... Pay attention to your personal life." Daniel Saint, who just became a CFO in Silicon Valley (after a stint as corporate finance manager at Chrysler, and a Big Five partnership), advises you to get as much--and as varied and complex--technical experience as you can, but don't forget to pursue and cultivate a "passion for the people side of the business.... Often that is the most overlooked, but everything we do is about people."

Adds Scott Schroeder, controller-treasurer of Bay Area Rapid Transit in Oakland: "Jump at any opportunity to fix big problems. Be willing to take prudent risks." Hear, hear. And this: "Hope for the lucky break that will put you in the right place at the right time."

Ah, yes.

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