Does this look familiar to anyone?

I would argue that if you're going to go the trouble of including a "Shout-outs" page, you should mention the company who's application you stole verbatim:<p><a href="http://www.founderscoop.com/shout-outs.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.founderscoop.com/shout-outs.php</a>

Here's their apology:<p><a href="http://crashdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/sincere-apologies-to-paul-graham-and-y.html" rel="nofollow">http://crashdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/sincere-apologies-to-pa...</a>

Actually, I don't think YC should mind. If they're not smart enough, or dedicated enough to think of a few due diligence questions on their own, would a really good startup want them on board as investors?

Another thing is trust -- would you trust a knock-off to have that much experience and insight, when you can verify via PG's essays the insight they'll bring to the table? Hard sell if you ask me.

hey guys, chill out. Is the application the same as YC? (It is not currently posted on YC, so I don't know).<p>Other than the unattributed copying of the YC application... This seems like a totally different deal. He's not just giving a tiny bit of money to fresh college grads and making you move to San Jose for 3 months, it looks like it is going to be an actual co-op where each group accepted gets part of the pie from everyone else, and its not only limited to 10k. I live in Seattle and have 2 little kids, so I can't exactly do the YC thing, so I'm actually kind of fired up about this idea. I've read about the two founders of this group so it seems legit.

Calm down. This is precisely how industries standardize. No one thought it was "sickening" when search engines pages started to imitate each other's blue title + grey descr + green url design. It was just an obviously good idea.

what I don't understand is that why these people don't even try just changing around the wording at least just by a little bit... are they that uncreative and lazy? or at least (as brett mentions) give credit where it's due

These all seem so blatant at this point, but if the trend is moving towards early-stage/micro-investments like this, then most likely we'll be seeing lots more where this came from.<p>But when YC has all the cred which serves to give a nice profile boost to YC-funded startups, what can these others offer that amounts to the same thing? There's the community, experience and hookups with further funding opportunities, but these knock-offs just seem like they're lacking in comparison to the full value proposition YC offers. I wonder how they can compensate for that...

Again, I don't understand the super-reactionary responses here every time that there's something based on YC. By the YC founders own assessments they can't accommodate all of the good ideas that they're receiving.<p>And what of this, "Well, they're going to suck..." Do you think YC was perfect right off of the bat? Really? Sure, the copy-cats will be rough at first, then they'll, like most ventures, find ways to differentiate themselves and do their thing or die.<p>Or is the big objection that they copy-and-pasted the form? Other than very minor copyright infringement, which I'm sure they'd rectify if asked, it's obvious that they just went live. I can think of dumber ideas than copying your role-model as a place-holder until you have time to rewrite the form.

The hackers they'd like to attract all know about YC. Most probably knew about it long before they did. A good many probably have the YC application memorized. To make a verbatim knock-off and pretend you didn't is just so... inept. Certainly ineptitude is among the leading qualities I look for in an investor, how about you?<p>To anyone who knows the first thing about hackers, it's obvious how to do this: give full credit to YC, praise YC to the skies, point out that not everyone is suited to YC and argue that there's room for more than one. Differentiate yourself by being Seattle-focused or whatever.

Does anyone else find this sickening? I'd be unable to plagarise in a professional setting even if I knew 100% that I wouldn't get caught. I'd feel way too slimy afterwards to even consider it. What ever happened to taking pride in your work?<p>Add in to that the absolute certainty of getting caught on the internet (hell, you can automate the process), I'm just amazed that people still do it. I just don't understand their thinking at all.

Chris has responded to this issue on his blog: <a href="http://crashdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/sincere-apologies-to-paul-graham-and-y.html" rel="nofollow">http://crashdev.blogspot.com/2008/04/sincere-apologies-to-pa...</a>. Those of you throwing around uninformed, flaming commentary would benefit from a quick read followed by a few deep breaths.

We have built a search of their sites and blogs, whatever you want to know about Founder's co-op, just search for it here: <a href="http://www.intelliverb.com/Search/?ul=en-us&#38;six=src633439433255440000f" rel="nofollow">http://www.intelliverb.com/Search/?ul=en-us&#38;six=src63343...</a>

Look at how much you can learn about these people from this little bit of data:<p>1. They are creatively challenged.<p>2. They are professionally challenged.<p>3. They are ethically challenged.<p>Suppose you get involved with them. What do you imagine would happen as soon as a difficult situation came up?<p>Personally, this tells me just enough to run, not walk, the other way.

YC is a great idea, Founder's co-op is the proof. Honesty dictates that they mention YC as their source of idea. This is another opportunity for startups to get seed and backing. Coaching may not be as YCs, but hey why not try, apply!!!!

I know this is off-topic, but isn't asking for the applicants' ages illegal, as it can be used as a basis for discrimination? -- in the same way that asking if the applicants have children would probably be illegal.

&#62; 12. Why would your project be hard for someone else to duplicate?<p>Heh

I find it dubious not only for the massive plagiarism (even the word limit!) but in that they seem to lack the l33t skills needed to make an HTML form submission page.<p>I think having YC in your corner is a boost; these guys look like they'd HURT your chances. Why would you want people who are unoriginal and unscrupulous dragging you down?