Follow-Up to "YC deadline brings out stupid decisions" 
This post is a follow-up to the "YC deadline brings out stupid decisions" (http://myphdblogged.blogspot.com/2007/10/yc-deadline-brings-...) post where a fellow YCombinator Applicant, who we'll call the "Accuser",accused me of engaging in "unethical" behavior by saying I attempted to "poach" one of his hackers, who we'll call "Hacker X". Normally I wouldn't dignify such an ungrounded accusation with a lengthy response, however it might add some food for thought to this forum.

The Accuser seems to be offended because I solicited one of his partners. Allow me to provide some context. I solicited one of his partners by stating that in the event my application was approved and theirs wasn't I would love to have someone like him as a potential partner. I never pressured Hacker X to drop out of his own Y Combinator application. I don't even know what his project is about. Never asked him. Never even touched on the subject. Again, I only said in the event that his application didn't get approved and my team's application were approved (a lofty assumption, I know) I would love to have him potentially join our team because I felt he was someone that values the Y Comb experience a great deal and he would also be an incredible value add to the team. Furthermore, I never expected or asked Hacker X to extend me the same option in return; I will be pursuing my project full-time whether or not it is accepted from YC. (Sounds like a great deal for Hacker X, if you ask me).

As a result of these circumstances, in a post on this forum, the Accuser likens me to the Emperor from Star Wars as he attempts to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the Darkside .

To defend against this negative accusation I have listed below my reasons for soliciting "Hacker X":

1) As mentioned above I was looking for a capable backup co-founder in the event that my original partner(who was on the fence) dropped out of the Y Combinator process even if our application was accepted.

2) Hacker X and I have a mutual friend (not the accuser) who spoke very highly of the "Hacker X" in question.

3) From my recent encounter with him at a local bar, Hacker X seemed like an affable guy and more importantly had a strong entrepreneurial spirit that would have been great for any team.

Now I would like to ask the Accuser, if he would, to enlighten me regarding the following topics:

-How does the fact that I just met Hacker X make the solicitation unethical?

-Why do I need to ask your permission before I solicit Hacker X?

-Is he your property?

-Is there a timelimit as to how long one needs to know another person before one can approach them about a business proposition?

-What happened to free will and letting a person make his own decision?

-If I happen to know someone else on your 500+ facebook"friends" list that I want to solicit for my venture do I need to ask your permission as well?

You know, I could understand the accuser being upset if I were a close friend of his and I had solicited one of his friends without asking him about it first; but the fact of the matter is, the accuser and I aren't even close friends (if you couldn't already tell) he happens to be an acquantance I've known from my college days. I think we have spoken twice in the last 3.5 years since graduation.

Now, based purely on the above actions, the Accuser wants to smear my reputation and application with the Y Combinator folks in hopes that they will reject my application . Honestly, it doesn't even surprise me a bit that he would resort to this petty tactic; he was probably the type of kid that ran to mommy whenever he thought the neighborhood kids were excluding him--and mommy probably told the other kids to play nice or else.

In response I encourage the Accuser to go ahead and tell the Y Combinator folks my real name and how I have wronged him, I'm sure doing so will make him look real mature in the eyes of the reviewing board and help out the chances for his own application.

Btw, Mr. Accuser(last question I promise): Could you let me know how how that works for you in the business world someday?

Though I will not apologize for being "unethical", I will apologize to the Accuser for hurting his feelings. And if he wants to we can even hug it out in person as well.

That's all folks as I have a monstrosity of an application I would like to finish.

p.s.

If there are other hackers who are passionate about creating somethings cool and would be interested in "joining me in the Daaarrrkkk Side..." on a promising venture please email me at rlc3u@yahoo.com. I will need written consent from former collaborators (or else I may get a barrage of accusations about being "unethical").