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I applied to Y combinator with an app that addressed both points raised under news section three years ago and didn't get accepted. Back then we were facing th

I applied to Y combinator with an app that addressed both points raised under news section three years ago and didn't get accepted. Back then we were facing the same issues in Turkey. Ultimately, we had to close down the site because Turkish government was silencing every opposing voice. Funny how you guys are now thinking this is a big issue NOW.

grzm 10y ago
Funny how you guys are now thinking this is a big issue NOW. How is this sentiment useful? Sorry, guys. Whatever you do now is invalidated by what you didn't do before. The past is only useful as something we can learn from. Focussing on what can be done now is something we can actually grapple with, change, and improve.
- anonimus17 10y ago
  That is your interpretation of my comment. Notice how you are twisting it with the "Sorry, guys". I support YC's effort. After all, I spent many hours of my life on solving this very problem through my non-profit startup. Fake news has been a big problem for a long time for many countries. It would have been great if YC took an action before it became USA's problem. Think about the impact they could have made! I guess hindsight is 20/20.
  - grzm 10y ago
    Indeed, that's how I interpret it. I generally try hard to avoid snark myself in responses, as it rarely is effective at engendering sympathy or support or understanding. I'm getting exhausted at all of the accusations of "why weren't you concerned then?" that are being thrown around HN the past couple of days. They're absolutely not constructive. I apologize for letting it slip this time. Funny how you guys are now thinking this is a big issue NOW. It's hard to interpret this charitably. On the face of it, it's a sideways, snarky accusation of hypocrisy. I have a hard time reading it any other way. People are human. People grow and change. People pay more attention when things affect them directly, or at least are closer to home. Is that really wrong? Or just realistic? It's wonderful but mistakenly idealistic to think that everyone can be concerned about everything that's wrong all the time. People have limited resources. Of course people should be held accountable for their actions, but we also have to allow for the possibility of change, of becoming better. Sometimes it takes a significant kick to get people moving. Are we going to begrudge them the fact that they're moving now? And as a sibling comment pointed out, I'm sure there's a lot that goes into the evaluation YC candidates.
lebanon_tn 10y ago
Maybe the problem being addressed wasn't the reason for rejection.
- anonimus17 10y ago
  That was probably the case with my application. They are smart investors. In the big picture, my application is insignificant compared to the problem. I am questioning the reactive behavior.

grzm 10y ago

Funny how you guys are now thinking this is a big issue NOW. How is this sentiment useful? Sorry, guys. Whatever you do now is invalidated by what you didn't do before. The past is only useful as something we can learn from. Focussing on what can be done now is something we can actually grapple with, change, and improve.

anonimus17 10y ago
That is your interpretation of my comment. Notice how you are twisting it with the "Sorry, guys". I support YC's effort. After all, I spent many hours of my life on solving this very problem through my non-profit startup. Fake news has been a big problem for a long time for many countries. It would have been great if YC took an action before it became USA's problem. Think about the impact they could have made! I guess hindsight is 20/20.
- grzm 10y ago
  Indeed, that's how I interpret it. I generally try hard to avoid snark myself in responses, as it rarely is effective at engendering sympathy or support or understanding. I'm getting exhausted at all of the accusations of "why weren't you concerned then?" that are being thrown around HN the past couple of days. They're absolutely not constructive. I apologize for letting it slip this time. Funny how you guys are now thinking this is a big issue NOW. It's hard to interpret this charitably. On the face of it, it's a sideways, snarky accusation of hypocrisy. I have a hard time reading it any other way. People are human. People grow and change. People pay more attention when things affect them directly, or at least are closer to home. Is that really wrong? Or just realistic? It's wonderful but mistakenly idealistic to think that everyone can be concerned about everything that's wrong all the time. People have limited resources. Of course people should be held accountable for their actions, but we also have to allow for the possibility of change, of becoming better. Sometimes it takes a significant kick to get people moving. Are we going to begrudge them the fact that they're moving now? And as a sibling comment pointed out, I'm sure there's a lot that goes into the evaluation YC candidates.

lebanon_tn 10y ago

Maybe the problem being addressed wasn't the reason for rejection.

anonimus17 10y ago
That was probably the case with my application. They are smart investors. In the big picture, my application is insignificant compared to the problem. I am questioning the reactive behavior.