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Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

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Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#31

Post by selven »

Confusion wrote: post #11
snprbob86 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sigh As a die-hard inclusionist, I'll never understand deletionism... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deletionism_and_inclusionism_in...

There is too much information in the world to include it all in Wikipedia. That leads to information dilution , which has the consequence that you cannot find what you are looking for anymore. Die hard inclusionism is as stupid as die hard deletionism. If you cannot understand the opposing viewpoint, you do not understand your own position.

How does including information prevent me from finding other information? Sure, it makes the "random page" option (which really should have a bias toward popular articles) less interesting, but if you're looking for information on something, the article on it will be the first search result and you can go straight to it ignoring all the other ones. I have never in my life been incovenienced by insignificant articles getting in my way.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#32

Post by ErrantX »

snprbob86 wrote: post #18
jacquesm wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, you're making the case here that on the page about Y combinator there should be lots of relevant information about Y combinator left out ? Giving every start-up including the failed ones their own page would be a waste of space, but to give them a single line in a list is pretty good use of the space available I would say.

Why is giving each their own page a waste of space? Even if it is only a one sentence stub, it might be interesting to someone and their mother. No one else will ever know it is there, but a tiny piece of history, no matter how insignificant it may seem now, will be preserved. It's not hurting anybody. Imagine if some YC startup did some interesting things, but ultimately failed and was promptly forgotten. Two years…

That makes the assumption that failure of the company is something that the notability of "something interesting" would be judged on...

Which in my experience is not the case: if it was interesting or unique people will write about it - and then it is notable.

(wikipedia is not really for recording primary information; that makes it a little useless)

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#33

Post by tree5 »

cperciva wrote: post #25
gjm11 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spouse and children of a notable person are not generally notable in their own right (although of course sometimes they are). None the less, an encyclopaedia article about a person might quite reasonably say "She married Joe Blow in 1973. The couple had one child, Oliver; they were divorced in 1984" or whatever. A list of companies funded by Y Combinator, unless it's outrageously long (which it wouldn't be at pre…

If someone had 100 children, I don't think it would be worth listing them all in an encyclopaedia article. YC has funded somewhere around 100 startups, hasn't it?

I think it would be worth listing them if others find that useful. I fully believe a large percentage researching YC wants a comprehensive list. If you look at the famous alumni lists on Wikipedia of universities, you'll see quite a few lists of over 100 people (some famous; some obscure). Having a large list isn't out of the ordinary. I think YC's page should restore the company list.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#34

Post by tree5 »

haasted wrote: post #4
zokier wrote: post #2

"The lists in this article may contain items that are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article" I have to agree, listing all funded organizations is not useful. Just list those which are notable, and mention the total count somewhere

I completely agree with your sentiment. Listing all Y Combinator participants may approach what Wikipedians label "fancruft" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Fancruft ) "Fancruft is a term sometimes used in Wikipedia to imply that a selection of content is of importance only to a small population of enthusiastic fans of the subject in question. The term is a neologism derived from the older hacker term cruft,…

Well, I think those actually researching YC on Wikipedia would find a comprehensive list relevant. The alumni lists on Wikipedia, for example, aren't very interesting to a large population, but it does serve those researching those universities.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#35

Post by tree5 »

Confusion wrote: post #12
paraschopra wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree. Having all YC funded startups at one place is incredibly useful. I especially dig for stories of funded startups which eventually shutdown so as to learn what went wrong for them inspite of having funding. Maybe one can categorize on basis of _notability_ but the list should have all YC startups.

Having all YC funded startups at one place is incredibly useful. Yes, and Wikipedia is not that place. You know what would be a good place? Somewhere on the YC website .

I disagree. The more comprehensive Wikipedia can be, the more information we can share with each other on any particular topic.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#36

Post by tomerico »

jedc wrote: post #6

I keep a list of every YC startup I've found here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkkhSN3vaY4jdF90b1l... I compiled the info as part of my master's thesis this summer. Likely not 100% correct, but very close.

Can you please link to your thesis as well?

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#37

Post by Major_Grooves »

jedc wrote: post #21
Major_Grooves wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this not all of them? http://ycombinator.com/faq.html

Unfortunately, no. (If you view source, you get a few more, but that's still not the full list.)

Interesting - there's a lot of info in the page source. In particular the "Why didn't you accept our application" question.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#38

Post by Hexstream »

Confusion wrote: post #12
paraschopra wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I respectfully disagree. Having all YC funded startups at one place is incredibly useful. I especially dig for stories of funded startups which eventually shutdown so as to learn what went wrong for them inspite of having funding. Maybe one can categorize on basis of _notability_ but the list should have all YC startups.

Having all YC funded startups at one place is incredibly useful. Yes, and Wikipedia is not that place. You know what would be a good place? Somewhere on the YC website .

The solution seems obvious to me:

Have only the most notable companies listed on the main Y Combinator page itself, then have a link to a List of Y Combinator-funded startups that lists every last one of them.

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#39

Post by jedc »

tomerico wrote: post #36
jedc wrote: post #6

I keep a list of every YC startup I've found here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkkhSN3vaY4jdF90b1l... I compiled the info as part of my master's thesis this summer. Likely not 100% correct, but very close.

Can you please link to your thesis as well?

Sure. - http://blog.jedchristiansen.com/2009/09/21/copying-y-combina...

Re: Help keep the Y Combinator Wikipedia page updated

#40

Post by jedc »

leelin wrote: post #26
jedc wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, no. (If you view source, you get a few more, but that's still not the full list.)

Wow, good find jedc. Of all the times I've checked faq.html, I never thought to view the source! A commented-out company seems to mean that the startup officially launched at one point but is now acquired or gone (sometimes reincarnated).

Full disclosure: I didn't think of it. I was pestering pg and jessica for details of YC companies, and they pointed me to it. :)
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