4 ms·

I might be in the minority opinion here, but I think Maciej is getting off light on this one. I am a happy paying subscriber to Pinboard and enjoy his writing

I might be in the minority opinion here, but I think Maciej is getting off light on this one. I am a happy paying subscriber to Pinboard and enjoy his writing as much as anyone here, but Pinboard can barely be considered a startup at this point in time (running since 2009), and he seems like he has not really been interested in adding much new since then (for good reason..) The original posting stated "It will be like a lighter version of YC for idea and prototype stage companies" - Which doesn't fit Pinboard at all. I think the original response to the voting, etc was handled very professionally by YC, and Maciej should spend more time writing and less time stewing up trouble.

theuttick 10y ago
"It will be like a lighter version of YC for idea and prototype stage companies" - Which doesn't fit Pinboard at all." - I agree 100%
- gargarplex 10y ago
  The argument is irrelevant. YC doesn't know what it doesn't know (missing out on "black swan mining") and it reached out to the community for assistance. Maciej was anointed and then snubbed. The micro-drama is healthy for human relationships. Whether we will witness a post-experiment, quantum jump by YC remains to be seen. Personally I am excited about the Farm-in-a-Box, but maybe I played too much Sim City 2000.
- waffle_ss 10y ago
  This comment adds nothing to the discussion. Use the upvote arrow if you simply agree with someone.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
danieltillett 10y ago
I would say it was marketing genius and Maciej knows how to play YC and the HN community like a master. Personally if I have been Dan or Kevin I would have called Maciej’s bluff and demanded that Pinboard participate in the program since that is what everyone was voting for and if he still chose to participate then hold his feet to the fire over the time requirement of the YC fellowship program.
- fourstar 10y ago
  Exactly this. Maciej built his entire brand based off of HN. He is laughing all the way to the bank with this post.
  - SherlockeHolmes 10y ago
    Does that take away from his achievements? I don't see anyone else succeeding or even attempting to "build a brand", which requires one to forge his own path. Courage: in short supply. is not defined by ability to mouth off ideas propelled by groupthink. often is found in those who are divergents. I believe he laughed all the way to a homeless shelter, not a bank. I'm sad because I do believe he'd have invested the money into Pinboard had he been chosen as deserved the first time around. But it was not a total loss, and can potentially bring greater benefits to a needy population given prudent resource management.
    - gcr 10y ago
      Given the number of sign-ups he received over the past week, I'm certain he made off very well with this deal, even after donating the "spoils".
      - SherlockeHolmes 10y ago
        I'll share a secret. I'm aware of the fact that my tirades here are getting me (HN nick) name recognition, something that may assist me in getting more penetration with my messages and my products. however, that is a byproduct of how my soul acts in this given situation. I have a firm foundation on who I am, which is why I am able to get attention whereas some aren't. therefore, if Pinboard founder didn't have some solidity (this implies neither "good" nor "bad" - qualifiers that fall short of capturing non-absolutism in life) to himself, none of this would've happened. he has reaped the reward for molding himself (which takes work) in a way so that he was able to win a battle like this. that is to his credit.
shubhamjain 10y ago
When dang pointed out how asking for upvotes is against HN policies, the argument Maciej put forward was - "Hey. If I knew about this, do you think I would have done it?". Really? "ignorantia juris non excusat". This is nothing but high level of arrogance and unprofessionalism.
- chaostheory 10y ago
  This is coming from someone biased since my Apply HN was disqualified for the same reason. Before you make a quick judgement of Maciej and myself, I'd ask you to take a better look at the Hacker News website and the Apply HN post itself. 1. I may have missed this but if you look at HN's guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) there's nothing that says that asking for upvotes is not allowed. You'll only find this in the FAQ (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html). I'm going to guess that long time members of HN are not going to read the FAQ. 2. If you take a look at the submissions page, as of this moment there's no link to HN's guidelines, or even a mention of it. Nor is there a link or mention to the FAQ. 3. If you look at the stated rules for Apply HN, there's a) add Apply HN to the title, b) comment and 'be nice' and c) rules for scoring (which are designed to account for upvotes). You'll only see the mention about asking for upvotes, pretty deep in the thread. If it's that important then the announcement should be updated to reflect it 4. When you reference 'What We Look for in Founders' (http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html), it sends a mixed message because #4 comes to mind. "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not Goody Two-Shoes type good. Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties... They delight in breaking rules, but not rules that matter." Of course "rules that matter" are going to be arbitrary. If HN is going to be really strict about the rules, then it would be nice if the rules were referenced more often and if they were more specific ie. if a 'rule' is broken that isn't written down e.g a 'spiritual' rule, it would be nice if it would be written down for posterity This said, I'm still happy about the end result of the 1st Apply HN, though it kind of shocks me that the winners were rejected during F3.
- coldtea 10y ago
BinaryIdiot 10y ago
I completely agree. I missed most of this "event" but the very idea that Pinboard was involved in any way, shape or form just doesn't make sense at all. It seems very not-in-the-spirit of things and it was very obvious from the start (so Maciej knew he was not acting in good faith). In my opinion of course but you are not alone.
Lazare 10y ago
I don't disagree with your points, but given that, shouldn't all this have been resolved before it even got started with a quick: "This is for idea and prototype stage companies, sorry"? YC decided to let it move forward when it clearly didn't fit the criteria; having done so they then changed their minds and disqualified it on completely different grounds. > I think the original response to the voting, etc was handled very professionally I'd have to disagree. I think the professional way of handling this would have been to nix it quietly at the start.

theuttick 10y ago

"It will be like a lighter version of YC for idea and prototype stage companies" - Which doesn't fit Pinboard at all." - I agree 100%

gargarplex 10y ago
The argument is irrelevant. YC doesn't know what it doesn't know (missing out on "black swan mining") and it reached out to the community for assistance. Maciej was anointed and then snubbed. The micro-drama is healthy for human relationships. Whether we will witness a post-experiment, quantum jump by YC remains to be seen. Personally I am excited about the Farm-in-a-Box, but maybe I played too much Sim City 2000.
waffle_ss 10y ago
This comment adds nothing to the discussion. Use the upvote arrow if you simply agree with someone.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]

danieltillett 10y ago

I would say it was marketing genius and Maciej knows how to play YC and the HN community like a master. Personally if I have been Dan or Kevin I would have called Maciej’s bluff and demanded that Pinboard participate in the program since that is what everyone was voting for and if he still chose to participate then hold his feet to the fire over the time requirement of the YC fellowship program.

fourstar 10y ago
Exactly this. Maciej built his entire brand based off of HN. He is laughing all the way to the bank with this post.
- SherlockeHolmes 10y ago
  Does that take away from his achievements? I don't see anyone else succeeding or even attempting to "build a brand", which requires one to forge his own path. Courage: in short supply. is not defined by ability to mouth off ideas propelled by groupthink. often is found in those who are divergents. I believe he laughed all the way to a homeless shelter, not a bank. I'm sad because I do believe he'd have invested the money into Pinboard had he been chosen as deserved the first time around. But it was not a total loss, and can potentially bring greater benefits to a needy population given prudent resource management.
  - gcr 10y ago
    Given the number of sign-ups he received over the past week, I'm certain he made off very well with this deal, even after donating the "spoils".
    - SherlockeHolmes 10y ago
      I'll share a secret. I'm aware of the fact that my tirades here are getting me (HN nick) name recognition, something that may assist me in getting more penetration with my messages and my products. however, that is a byproduct of how my soul acts in this given situation. I have a firm foundation on who I am, which is why I am able to get attention whereas some aren't. therefore, if Pinboard founder didn't have some solidity (this implies neither "good" nor "bad" - qualifiers that fall short of capturing non-absolutism in life) to himself, none of this would've happened. he has reaped the reward for molding himself (which takes work) in a way so that he was able to win a battle like this. that is to his credit.

shubhamjain 10y ago

When dang pointed out how asking for upvotes is against HN policies, the argument Maciej put forward was - "Hey. If I knew about this, do you think I would have done it?". Really? "ignorantia juris non excusat". This is nothing but high level of arrogance and unprofessionalism.

chaostheory 10y ago
This is coming from someone biased since my Apply HN was disqualified for the same reason. Before you make a quick judgement of Maciej and myself, I'd ask you to take a better look at the Hacker News website and the Apply HN post itself. 1. I may have missed this but if you look at HN's guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) there's nothing that says that asking for upvotes is not allowed. You'll only find this in the FAQ (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html). I'm going to guess that long time members of HN are not going to read the FAQ. 2. If you take a look at the submissions page, as of this moment there's no link to HN's guidelines, or even a mention of it. Nor is there a link or mention to the FAQ. 3. If you look at the stated rules for Apply HN, there's a) add Apply HN to the title, b) comment and 'be nice' and c) rules for scoring (which are designed to account for upvotes). You'll only see the mention about asking for upvotes, pretty deep in the thread. If it's that important then the announcement should be updated to reflect it 4. When you reference 'What We Look for in Founders' (http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html http://www.paulgraham.com/founders.html), it sends a mixed message because #4 comes to mind. "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not Goody Two-Shoes type good. Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties... They delight in breaking rules, but not rules that matter." Of course "rules that matter" are going to be arbitrary. If HN is going to be really strict about the rules, then it would be nice if the rules were referenced more often and if they were more specific ie. if a 'rule' is broken that isn't written down e.g a 'spiritual' rule, it would be nice if it would be written down for posterity This said, I'm still happy about the end result of the 1st Apply HN, though it kind of shocks me that the winners were rejected during F3.
coldtea 10y ago

BinaryIdiot 10y ago

I completely agree. I missed most of this "event" but the very idea that Pinboard was involved in any way, shape or form just doesn't make sense at all. It seems very not-in-the-spirit of things and it was very obvious from the start (so Maciej knew he was not acting in good faith). In my opinion of course but you are not alone.

Lazare 10y ago

I don't disagree with your points, but given that, shouldn't all this have been resolved before it even got started with a quick: "This is for idea and prototype stage companies, sorry"? YC decided to let it move forward when it clearly didn't fit the criteria; having done so they then changed their minds and disqualified it on completely different grounds. > I think the original response to the voting, etc was handled very professionally I'd have to disagree. I think the professional way of handling this would have been to nix it quietly at the start.