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Comment by bing_dai | Hacker News Reader

I completely agree. It bothered me as well.

It's fascinating and a little sad that anyone who spoke up about this point was downvoted into oblivion... even though my point is entirely valid and easy to verify.

I don't think PG would disagree with my suggestion, and he certainly doesn't need people to defend him.

Perhaps it's because you/they are focusing on some minuscule act of wording instead of on anything significant in the video. We don't need to play the internet gotcha game on HN. In fact, it's off topic by the site guidelines, since it isn't done out of intellectual curiosity (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).

You might think it’s minutia for Jessica to be erased, but obviously many of us disagree.

I think it’s a powerful data point to see Paul quietly accept the the title of Founder. It is evidence he’s not in the habit of correcting people who don’t see him as a co-founder with a woman.

It speaks to his mindset. And perhaps this thread speaks to yours as well. It’s not about some kind of gotcha game. We are legitimately interested in how deeply both of you are engaged with this subject.

Personally, I don’t mind if you and Paul don’t think it’s a serious issue. I don’t think you do. You are under no obligation to care. But I think we should be free to discuss the possibility that you don’t. And to notice evidence that you don’t.

This is the kind of thinking that makes me realize YC isn’t a good fit for me. I think it benefits both me and YC for YC’s approach to these issues to be discussed. You don’t want people like me to apply, it would be bad for the health of the program.

It doesn't "speak to his mindset". You've simply cherry-picked that detail ("a powerful data point"!) against all evidence to the contrary. No one who really cared about pg's "mindset" would look at just a single use of the word 'the' which he didn't even say. If that isn't the internet gotcha game I don't know what is.

I chose to see things from Dan's perspective because I trust that he's not an agitator and that there exists a large spectrum between intentional oversight and missed opportunity. Dan's point about this being unworthy of this much attention is correct. Ultimately, it's just not that big a deal and if it's enough to keep you from applying to YC, YC is probably not a good fit for you. You have to be able to see things from multiple perspectives if you're going to have the best chance at dodging blind spots. Things don't always have to be comfortable and if everyone is agreeing with you, it's possible that you're not moving forward.

At any rate, I don't for a moment believe that PG would ever introduce himself as "the founder" and I hope that didn't come across.

I appreciate the reply. I'll accept your wisdom on the subject, given your role and perspective.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I tried.

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