The Types of Emails not to Send Us (websummit.net) | Hacker News Reader

The Types of Emails not to Send Us (websummit.net)

blog.websummit.net

I would bet my house this is supposed to be a joke. It just falls slightly short of the mark in a way that's hard to define, and so looks like it might possibly be serious. It comes from the same school of humour that occasionally gets Irish people arrested by Homeland Security when they're asked if they have anything dangerous in their bags, and they roll their eyes and say 'Yeah, a bomb.'

Agreed, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poes_law

I think the followup emails make me think it is serious.

The second email made it seem more obvious it was a joke to me.

is it too late for me to say that i meant the opposite when i wrote that?

Make 10B in 8 months and single handedly pull Ireland out of recession... wow...

Its almost funny until you read how despite needing funding he expects investors to pay for hotel and presumably travel so he can pitch. You then have the NDA on top of that.

I wonder what the idea is... probably something new and down to earth. Like a thimble with an edge so people with short / no fingernails can open a can of drink and avoid potential injury. I would buy that!

Actually, as an habitual nail-biter, I would buy one of those.

> You then have the NDA on top of that.

Not to mention, an NDA that all employees must sign.

Yup, I sure am worried about our custodial staff running off and undercutting your genius idea out from under you. I bet they're in cahoots with the lady at the front desk.

> he expects investors to pay for hotel And not just any hotel, but a five-star one.

Oh come on, that can't be serious. I'm being literal, they're probably joking/trolling.

That's what I thought. I know people who send emails faking acquisition interests to startups just for laughs. 99% chance this is fake.

That's ... mean

Is it possible that you were dealing with someone with a mental illness? Looks pretty bipolar to me!

I don't think "delusions of grandeur" is in the DSM-IV yet.

narcissistic personality disorder?

DSM-IV would probably suggest Bipolar Affective Disorder "Inflated self-esteem to levels of grandiosity" or Narcissistic Personality Disorder "Believes that he or she is 'special' and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)" "Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations"

My point is: not everyone that writes something dumb on the Internet is mentally ill. They may just be bad at writing or unclear about the importance of their work. (Remember, we only laugh at people like the subject of this article when they're wrong. If Zuckerberg sent them this letter, the reaction would be much different.)

Comedy gold!

A couple of weeks ago I was waiting in line in a phone shop in Grafton Street, Dublin. All the shop assistants were busy and there was a man in his sixties ahead of me at the top of the queue. Five minutes later he was not so discreetly f’ing and blinding the sales assistants out of it calling them lazy so and so’s and accusing the customers being dealt with as being thick for taking so long. When he got served he handed over a vintage nokia phone and asked the sales assistant could he change the time.

Dealing with the public you really don’t know what you will get next. Sometimes it can provide a laugh or two.

I'm pretty sure it's a troll!

About once every two weeks I hear from somebody who has a "once in a lifetime" opportunity who wants me to build an A.G.I. in three weeks and do it on spec.

A.G.I.?

AGI == artificial general intelligence?

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