Tim,
I see your point.
What I'm trying to do is implementing a custom data type (thank you for your articles on 74objects, btw!), and having a "post" object that mimics as closely as possible the behaviour of print - so, in fact, I think I am totally respecting the Max ecology! ;)
imho, the API should ideally allow for virtually every behaviour implemented in the native Max objects. While this may not be fully applicable in very extreme cases (I understand grab is one of those), I think that in general it should be left up to the developer's choice if and how much to deviate from an average "standard" behaviour for a specific purpose. In fact, it's true that this is basically what already happens, but I'd love to have even more...
Thank you anyway!
aa