The January 2013 copy of the policy on archive.org lists the same contact information.
Does it? It's pretty easy to spool up a lot of faxes if you have an account with an email-to-fax service.
In any event, spooling up a lot of faxes would tie up YC's fax machine, not YC's staff.
I'd still be interested to know the legal basis for that policy. I asked about this once before, because having read the actual text of the DMCA it doesn't seem like such a policy would be sufficient to achieve the safe harbour protection, but I'm not a lawyer and I don't think I ever saw an answer on the earlier discussion. If anyone at YC would be willing to share any information they can about their rationale, it might be of general interest to anyone running sites with user-created content, which surely applies to many people reading HN.
DESIGNATED AGENT- The limitations on liability established in this
subsection apply to a service provider only if the service provider
has designated an agent to receive notifications of claimed
infringement described in paragraph (3), by making available through
its service, including on its website in a location accessible to the
public, and by providing to the Copyright Office, substantially the
following information:
the name, address, phone number, and electronic mail address of the agent
...
To be effective under this subsection, a notification of claimed
infringement must be a written communication provided to the
designated agent of a service provider
At the same time, the actual form to designate an agent implies that the notification should be delivered by mail:
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/agents/n/news_ycomb.pdf
That said, whether YC ignores a notice it gets by e-mail because it doesn't believe it was delivered properly, or because it simply chooses to ignore the notice, the result would seemingly be the same -- YC can be sued for copyright infringement.
If the motivation for complying (or appearing to comply) with the DMCA is to gain the liability protection, YC would want to be easy to contact and act on the notice no matter how they receive it.
If YC isn't actually worried about being sued, which seems reasonable for a site that hosts nothing but minimal discussion and external links, then urging potential notifiers to jump through hoops makes more sense. That minimizes the amount of notices they have to deal with, and their impact on the site.
You may have a hard time arguing they meant to require an email address, but at the same time, stuff sent there would not be valid.
From Google's old DMCA page[1] (cached 13 April 2013 - now directs to an automated system):
> To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail and not by email, except by prior agreement)
From Google's current support pages [2]:
> Send the written communication to the following address: <postal address> OR fax to: <fax number>
> To file a counter notification with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail -- not by email, except by prior agreement)
[1] http://www.google.co.uk/dmca.html [2] http://support.google.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=112...
I'd say you have a reasonable argument either way, my point was more on the side of "A judge may disagree".
Hence "you may have a hard time arguing".
Y-Combinator's policy requires all notification to be physically delivered - i.e. US Postal Service or UPS or another delivery service is acceptable. Email is not acceptable - and presumably fax is not either, since no number is listed.
This means:
1. It will take several days for most takedown requests to be acted upon, by which time material will probably have rolled off the front page.
2. There is significant documentation when an entity pursues takedown in less than good faith - and if it came via USPS there could be substantial penalties for any fraud.
3. It makes bulk takedowns more difficult because each notice is required to provide adequate documentation.
In other words, Y-Combinator places a meaningful burden on those claiming violation of copyright, and I suspect that this creates enough friction to eliminate many claims - making HN better, and letting YC staff do more important work.