You say "dragging it up", I think "a reminder that we can do better".
History is useful for understanding the present situation and trajectory. It gives us context.
I can't speculate whether or not the practices of this site are illegal as I am not a lawyer, however I can say that it's addressing a very visible problem in hiring practices that are discriminatory. People may not be knowingly discriminating, but it certainly does happen. Often malice and incompetence cause the same results.
I for one think this is great for not only building an equal opportunity for everyone in the industry, but it also broadens the accessible talent pool.
This past weekend I decided to put together a prototype of an idea I've been thinking about for a while and wanted to get some feedback.
The service is called Founder Tap; a better way to find cofounders and collaborators. No profiles filled with buzz words. No spammy pitches. Just curated introductions to people who are changing the world.
I was motivated to build a curated community of makers/creators because I was frustrated with other "Founder Dating" sites. I've been on these other services to find people to collaborate with, but a lot of the time the quality of matches I get has been low. For example here is a message I received on one recently:
I know you're super busy but if you have any time/desire for side projects like simple app ideas that can sell for 99 cents, I have some that probably wouldn't take too much time developing and I can do all the heavy lifting outside of the coding and get it out there...and who knows, it gains a following, sells a couple million and we're millionaires! LOL, it's simple!
That FogCreek post is spot on. In the end, while a great product name can really help, a products ability to engage it's users is really what matters most.
I asked a friend of mine who is a writer how she comes up with titles for her stories & books. A lot of times they start with a working title and come up with something stronger after the story has been written. Usually something relevant to the story itself that may not have been discovered during the early mapping of the story. To quote my friend "A title doesn't create a good story, but a great story can create a great title. Just remember a great story is a great story regardless of the title."
Indeed, but I tried to be open with his own criticism on my response. Helping others understand how to work with others helps everyone and I am a developer who wants to bridge that gap.
Though definitely know when to walk away like you said.
If the service has a members section that is used frequently, then I would suggest having a login at the most common landing pages on your site. I like the way it's currently done on the "old" site.
First I'd like to say congrats and good luck to those who were selected to go to the next round! I'm sure this is going to be a very exciting, yet very nerveracking experience.
For those of you in europe, although it's not quite the same thing as Y Combinator I've been following the Seed Camp blog. This seems to be something that may be of interest to you not in the US. http://www.seedcamp.com/
As for those who got rejected (like me and my partner), just keep on working at it and keep your eyes open to opportunities. We tried and by far that's far better than not trying at all.
History is useful for understanding the present situation and trajectory. It gives us context.
I can't speculate whether or not the practices of this site are illegal as I am not a lawyer, however I can say that it's addressing a very visible problem in hiring practices that are discriminatory. People may not be knowingly discriminating, but it certainly does happen. Often malice and incompetence cause the same results.
I for one think this is great for not only building an equal opportunity for everyone in the industry, but it also broadens the accessible talent pool.