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Seconding this. I voted for Pinboard because A) I use and genuinely love the service, and I was excited to see what Maciej could do with the money and B) becaus

Seconding this. I voted for Pinboard because A) I use and genuinely love the service, and I was excited to see what Maciej could do with the money and B) because Maciej's statement of semi-purpose: > I am hoping to attract a certain protest vote of the silent majority who enjoy this community, but are uneasy about the values of its founders and more broadly, Silicon Valley. accurately reflects my feelings towards HN/SV, and I think having a dose of skepticism in the fold would be good for YC.

nxzero 10y ago
Pinboard & the community should just do it without YC/SV.
- idlewords 10y ago
  I anticipated this outcome by becoming profitable eight years ago. But I still want my $20K.
  - paulsutter 10y ago
    Try Kickstarter. Seriously.
    - idlewords 10y ago
      I did. And now I have to write all this shit about Antarctica.
      - pen2l 10y ago
        So, on the bright side, you're getting some nice publicity right now. I did not quite know of Pinboard (it's like.. del.ico.us? but with attitude?), I knew about you only a little bit. Now I do sorta know Pinboard and a little more about you... and I've decided I'll pay for pinboard.
        idlewords 10y ago
        Thank you!
        kejaed 10y ago
        It's almost like this is working!
        idlewords 10y ago
        Who could have foreseen, and profited from, such an outcome?
        webbore 10y ago
        The attitude (or opinions) comes from the creator/operator. The service itself appeals to me due to it's utter lack of attitude. What? A vanilla service that people pay for? If the primary criteria is "quality of founder(s)" I have no idea why they passed. Except maybe seeing someone everyday who's been successful with antithetical values might have been too much to bear.
      - aaronbrethorst 10y ago
        I am disappointed you aren't going to be included in YC, but also ever so slightly relieved given my desire to see you avoid writing poetry in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11443299 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11443299
  - rev_bird 10y ago
    I'm trying to figure out a way to articulate why "I still want my $20K" seems to me. The way this whole thing was handled stinks, and I'm sorry you got screwed by a poorly thought-out "contest." But it seems like the YCF deal isn't solely about the money -- they're trying to find companies to work with. Honestly, did you... want that? Or just the $20,000 that keeps getting mentioned?
    - idlewords 10y ago
      YC's values are so diametrically opposed to my own that I thought it would be interesting for everyone to have me go through the program. As for my demands to get paid, I had a clever idea about how to use the money, and I'm miffed that I won't get a chance to do it.
      - dineshp2 10y ago
        Can you explain a little bit about how your values don't align with YC's values? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts. If you don't mind me asking, how would you have used the money, if you were accepted into the program?
        wfn 10y ago
        Re. the former, I would start by reading e.g. http://idlewords.com/2015/11/the_advertising_bubble.htm http://idlewords.com/2015/11/the_advertising_bubble.htm and http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm
      - brhsiao 10y ago
        You're saying (a) YC's values are diametrically opposed to yours, (b) your call with Kevin wasn't successful, and (c) YCF isn't designed for companies like yours—but adhering rigidly to the original guidelines you still ought to get your bag of cash. Basically you tried gaming the system, with your fanbase who voted for you despite your comments like "I will go through YC like a bowling ball," and now you're protesting that YC won't let you. You don't even like YC. May I ask, out of curiosity, why you're doing this?
  - nxzero 10y ago
    If you're willing to raise the $20K for 1.5% of Pinboard under the same terms YC offers (minus access to YC & its resources) - I'm willing to make that happen; no guarantees, but pretty sure it's possible. If you're interested, let me know.
    - idlewords 10y ago
      Thanks, but $20K is about three weeks of revenue for me. It's not as funny if I sell a piece of the company for peanuts to anyone else.
      - matsemann 10y ago
        This post is a good reason for why you shouldn't be picked.
        howeyc 10y ago
        On the contrary, it means he was more in it to go through the process or have access to YC than the money. This is precisely why he should have been picked. They're all presumably adults, I'm sure they could get through some differing opinions, no?
        yarou 10y ago
        > They're all presumably adults, I'm sure they could get through some differing opinions, no? I'm guessing you aren't from here/haven't been in Silicon Valley that long.
        maaaats 10y ago
        If you read the rest of his posts you will see he is very eager for the money (he even feels entitled to them, somehow), and don't want anything to do with YC.
        webbore 10y ago
        If you read Maciej's comments and interpret them as "entitled to what's mine" you are obviously unfamiliar with the general vein of his work. In support of my opinion I expect the man himself to reply refuting this completely, stating no, it is in fact about the money. If anything I'd expect that he (and a lot of other people) are disappointed with not seeing what he was going to do with the cash, not the loss of the money itself. If funding is rocket fuel, I was excited to see what could be done with it in the hands of a proven SV-venture arsonist.
  - matheweis 10y ago
    Serious: With the number of votes you had, you could probably get those voters to give you $10-20k through gofundme et al ;)

nxzero 10y ago

Pinboard & the community should just do it without YC/SV.

idlewords 10y ago
I anticipated this outcome by becoming profitable eight years ago. But I still want my $20K.
- paulsutter 10y ago
  Try Kickstarter. Seriously.
  - idlewords 10y ago
    I did. And now I have to write all this shit about Antarctica.
    - pen2l 10y ago
      So, on the bright side, you're getting some nice publicity right now. I did not quite know of Pinboard (it's like.. del.ico.us? but with attitude?), I knew about you only a little bit. Now I do sorta know Pinboard and a little more about you... and I've decided I'll pay for pinboard.
      - idlewords 10y ago
        Thank you!
        kejaed 10y ago
        It's almost like this is working!
        idlewords 10y ago
        Who could have foreseen, and profited from, such an outcome?
      - webbore 10y ago
        The attitude (or opinions) comes from the creator/operator. The service itself appeals to me due to it's utter lack of attitude. What? A vanilla service that people pay for? If the primary criteria is "quality of founder(s)" I have no idea why they passed. Except maybe seeing someone everyday who's been successful with antithetical values might have been too much to bear.
    - aaronbrethorst 10y ago
      I am disappointed you aren't going to be included in YC, but also ever so slightly relieved given my desire to see you avoid writing poetry in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11443299 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11443299
- rev_bird 10y ago
  I'm trying to figure out a way to articulate why "I still want my $20K" seems to me. The way this whole thing was handled stinks, and I'm sorry you got screwed by a poorly thought-out "contest." But it seems like the YCF deal isn't solely about the money -- they're trying to find companies to work with. Honestly, did you... want that? Or just the $20,000 that keeps getting mentioned?
  - idlewords 10y ago
    YC's values are so diametrically opposed to my own that I thought it would be interesting for everyone to have me go through the program. As for my demands to get paid, I had a clever idea about how to use the money, and I'm miffed that I won't get a chance to do it.
    - dineshp2 10y ago
      Can you explain a little bit about how your values don't align with YC's values? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts. If you don't mind me asking, how would you have used the money, if you were accepted into the program?
      - wfn 10y ago
        Re. the former, I would start by reading e.g. http://idlewords.com/2015/11/the_advertising_bubble.htm http://idlewords.com/2015/11/the_advertising_bubble.htm and http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm http://idlewords.com/talks/internet_with_a_human_face.htm
    - brhsiao 10y ago
      You're saying (a) YC's values are diametrically opposed to yours, (b) your call with Kevin wasn't successful, and (c) YCF isn't designed for companies like yours—but adhering rigidly to the original guidelines you still ought to get your bag of cash. Basically you tried gaming the system, with your fanbase who voted for you despite your comments like "I will go through YC like a bowling ball," and now you're protesting that YC won't let you. You don't even like YC. May I ask, out of curiosity, why you're doing this?
- nxzero 10y ago
  If you're willing to raise the $20K for 1.5% of Pinboard under the same terms YC offers (minus access to YC & its resources) - I'm willing to make that happen; no guarantees, but pretty sure it's possible. If you're interested, let me know.
  - idlewords 10y ago
    Thanks, but $20K is about three weeks of revenue for me. It's not as funny if I sell a piece of the company for peanuts to anyone else.
    - matsemann 10y ago
      This post is a good reason for why you shouldn't be picked.
      - howeyc 10y ago
        On the contrary, it means he was more in it to go through the process or have access to YC than the money. This is precisely why he should have been picked. They're all presumably adults, I'm sure they could get through some differing opinions, no?
        yarou 10y ago
        > They're all presumably adults, I'm sure they could get through some differing opinions, no? I'm guessing you aren't from here/haven't been in Silicon Valley that long.
        maaaats 10y ago
        If you read the rest of his posts you will see he is very eager for the money (he even feels entitled to them, somehow), and don't want anything to do with YC.
        webbore 10y ago
        If you read Maciej's comments and interpret them as "entitled to what's mine" you are obviously unfamiliar with the general vein of his work. In support of my opinion I expect the man himself to reply refuting this completely, stating no, it is in fact about the money. If anything I'd expect that he (and a lot of other people) are disappointed with not seeing what he was going to do with the cash, not the loss of the money itself. If funding is rocket fuel, I was excited to see what could be done with it in the hands of a proven SV-venture arsonist.
- matheweis 10y ago
  Serious: With the number of votes you had, you could probably get those voters to give you $10-20k through gofundme et al ;)