This may sound sour but it’s just some honest feedback, even if it’s bitter to swallow. For an accelerator that prides itself on grooming some of the world’s best in technology this is a trivially amateur mistake that just shouldn’t have happened. There should have been a double check process for the notifications. Any other company would have been lynched on HN.
Saying you’re opening it up is a popular response but talk is cheap. It’s easy to make it sound like it’s a better thing but the reality is it’s a devalued experience for those originally chosen. Both in terms of advisor bandwidth and the quality signalling of being selected. Any company who partakes in this course is now not considered special at all. YC took the easy road and sold out a pound of their credibility for that but that’s their prerogative.
So I won’t be participating because of this as time is precious and it’s no longer worth it for where I’m at but good luck to the others who still do. Respect to everyone who breaks out of the conventional lanes to try and make the world a better and more exciting place.