class_vs_object

astonishing!

> Besides liability for damages incurred by the guest, hosts are also probably on the hook for liability should the guest be injured (or worse) while staying in your place.

Good point. I'd imagine hotels are required by law in most jurisdictions to take out public liability insurance.

Then there is the issue of who is responsible for ensuring that properties are actually safe for rental on Airbnb (i.e., no exposed electrical wires, slippery steps, etc.)

This new account (of a home trashing occurring 1 month ago, of which Airbnb had knowledge) doesn't seem to reconcile with what Airbnb told EJ:

"I do believe the folks at airbnb.com when they tell me this has never happened before in their short history, that this is a one-off case."

> It could be the case that this was a setup

It could also be the case that the founders running Airbnb have a mildly sociopathic personality style. (I don't mean that in a derogatory sense - I'm calling it a personality style, not a personality disorder... while such a personality style might represent a disability when it comes to forming intimate personal relationships, it would be an advantage when hustling to get a startup off the ground.) Of course, when such individuals are called on for a display of genuine empathy, compassion, or humanity, they will be left feeling confused and won't know what hit them - they might even start to believe that they are being victimized.

> Yes, and I helped her doing just that by pointing out which parts of her blog allow people to figure out who she is.

Maybe you think you are doing the right thing - but think about this from EJ's perspective: A stranger contacts her and points out all the ways she can be identified from her blog... he then passes her contact details on to an investor in Airbnb. He goes on hacker news and comments about how easy it was to identify her.

If I was in her position, feeling vulnerable and suspicious, I'd start to wonder whether your "helpful advice" was in fact a veiled suggestion that she should take down her blog post, or face the risk of being publicly identified and humiliated.

> I've passed her contact info to PG

This is the creepiest thing I've ever heard. She's had her personal space and privacy violated in a terrible way, and you're passing around her contact details? Did you ask her permission?

> YC should be getting blamed here?

What emphasis if any does the YC program place on ethics?

"it is about... removing people who spell their names in weird ways, like using upside-down characters"

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. The ones who dare to spell their names with upside down characters.

nothing says "open" like blocking publication of a book

I like his emphasis on kindness. Imagine a forum where you could rate a post on a separate dimension of kindness/ meanness (alongside rating on the usual vague dimension of "like/ dislike")... with restriction of privileges for people who are persistently mean. :)