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YC is a cult

danielharan.com

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Re: YC is a cult

#91

Post by pg »

danielharan wrote: post #88
pg wrote: post #74

Actually there's a fundamental incompatibility between cults and startups. Cult followers tend to be people who want someone to tell them what to do. There are a lot of people like that, but they're the opposite of the kind of people who make good startup founders. What you want in a startup founder is the sort of tenacious independent mindedness that makes you start a new search engine in 1998, when everyone else th…

So, what's up with these insane hours? You've written about the need for working long hours, but aren't Michael Parkatti and Mike Marrone taking it a bit too far?

As far as I can tell, how hard people work has little correlation with whether they have follower-type personalities. It does, however, have quite a high correlation with working on a startup. So my guess is the cause is that they're working on a startup.

Re: YC is a cult

#93

Post by KirinDave »

I guess maybe I'd be more concerned about this accusation if YC wasn't one of the smaller players in the space. Simply put, people will go and make bad and self-harming decisions all the time (god knows I've done it), it's a constant. If YC is an unhealthy environment–and I see no evidence that it is, but perhaps the kool-aid is in my brain–then it's a relatively small one.

I mean, most people here realize they don't need ycomb, right? It's one of many ways to get some initial funding, but it's certainly not the only way or even the normal way. It's more of a publicity stunt for a new startup than a real viable path to large-scale funding (if funding is what you need).

Re: YC is a cult

#94

Post by ChaitanyaSai »

raganwald wrote: post #79
ChaitanyaSai wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably the best thread for this question, what is with all these pc, lg, pd (two letter, pg lookalike)usernames? Are you trying to be like him? Or hoping that a not-so-attentive user will read you and or vote you up because of that nickname? There seem to be way more than I see elsewhere, so I don't think abbreviating based on the first and last names is the only explanation.

Perhaps (s)he likes to self-identify as politically correct? There can be many, many explanations for the handles people choose. Be careful that you don't find yourself trying to make sense of a Rorschach Inkblot... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test

Are you saying that the person doing this has no conscious access to his or her own latent reasons? Or that this is just a random pattern like a Rorschach? I don't think it is a random pattern. There are far too many xx usernames here, relative to the other online communities I am a part of.

Re: YC is a cult

#95

Post by danielharan »

pg wrote: post #91
danielharan wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, what's up with these insane hours? You've written about the need for working long hours, but aren't Michael Parkatti and Mike Marrone taking it a bit too far?

As far as I can tell, how hard people work has little correlation with whether they have follower-type personalities. It does, however, have quite a high correlation with working on a startup. So my guess is the cause is that they're working on a startup.

So do you condone working such long hours that founders are routinely sleep deprived?

Re: YC is a cult

#96

Post by demandred »

"5. They are subject to entrapment (isolation from friends, relatives, and the mainstream culture) and their access to information is severely controlled."

Yet on Hacker News, the recruiting grounds of said cult, this post (information contrary to the teaching of said cult) has ascended to the top?

Re: YC is a cult

#97

Post by [deleted] »

ChaitanyaSai wrote: post #94
raganwald wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps (s)he likes to self-identify as politically correct? There can be many, many explanations for the handles people choose. Be careful that you don't find yourself trying to make sense of a Rorschach Inkblot... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test

Are you saying that the person doing this has no conscious access to his or her own latent reasons? Or that this is just a random pattern like a Rorschach? I don't think it is a random pattern. There are far too many xx usernames here, relative to the other online communities I am a part of.

[deleted]

Re: YC is a cult

#98

Post by raganwald »

ChaitanyaSai wrote: post #94
raganwald wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps (s)he likes to self-identify as politically correct? There can be many, many explanations for the handles people choose. Be careful that you don't find yourself trying to make sense of a Rorschach Inkblot... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_inkblot_test

Are you saying that the person doing this has no conscious access to his or her own latent reasons? Or that this is just a random pattern like a Rorschach? I don't think it is a random pattern. There are far too many xx usernames here, relative to the other online communities I am a part of.

I'm saying that trying to surmise what someone is thinking from their choice of a two-character handle is like interpreting a Rorschach, which is not the same thing as saying that the characters themselves are randomly generated.

Re: YC is a cult

#99

Post by ChaitanyaSai »

Speaking of the news.yc community and not of the founders, what if the perception of cultism keeps the quality of postings here from deteriorating rapidly? Most of the level-headed ones here do not buy into that percept and vote and comment independently and intelligently. The inevitable band of pg worshipers do amplify the noise, but could that be the cost of keeping the unaffiliated, median slashdotter away?

Re: YC is a cult

#100

Post by run4yourlives »

paul wrote: post #33

It's sad to see this trollish content rising to the top of news.yc.

Sorry, but all your comment does is pretty much confirm the article. Dismissing criticism as "trolling" is exactly what a cult member would do.

Even invalid criticism warrants a proper rebuttal, if at the least to educate those leveling the criticism as to their errors. The fact that it has risen to top stop this morning only serves to illustrate that there are many things about the YC process that people don't particularly enjoy.

Why those things are either a) misunderstood or b) essential to the process is the way to properly comment on the article.

EDIT: Wow, look at the downmods! So much for discussion being valued!

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