This isn't true. I was told by pg that the current round was closed, and to try next cycle. It was in '08, if I remember correctly. That was near the beginning

This isn't true. I was told by pg that the current round was closed, and to try next cycle. It was in '08, if I remember correctly. That was near the beginning of the YC program, but that's different from "never." You know pg better than any of us here. Does /apply2 sound like an endpoint he'd make for the general public? The naming practically screams "special case." Why don't we just ask pg? He'd reply to you. I trust pg implicitly. He's been many things, but never a liar. For what it's worth, I completely agree with your points -- it would be dumb to reject their application due to timing, especially when you're getting such a strong signal from a YC founder that this application is worth paying attention to.