Don't broadcast development intentions. That never works well.
One thing that makes zipit not apply is that it's already partly a reality in two different ways. First, he has a pretty good prototype, with good branding already. Second, his call to action has actually started some serious interest, from what I can tell. There are quite a few encouraging comments and suggestions here and on his blog, for something that was just announced half a day ago.
Ben, I hope you can bring collabedit to fruition!
In this case I was looking for feedback, ideas and awareness. Given the state of things, the timing has worked out pretty well.