

The Types of Emails not to Send Us (websummit.net) - donal_cahalane
http://blog.websummit.net/post/21641261574/the-types-of-emails-not-to-send-us

======
microcentury
I would bet my house this is supposed to be a joke. It just falls slightly
short of the mark in a way that's hard to define, and so looks like it might
possibly be serious. It comes from the same school of humour that occasionally
gets Irish people arrested by Homeland Security when they're asked if they
have anything dangerous in their bags, and they roll their eyes and say 'Yeah,
a bomb.'

~~~
joshu
Agreed, but: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poes_law>

I think the followup emails make me think it is serious.

~~~
edanm
The second email made it seem _more_ obvious it was a joke to me.

~~~
joshu
is it too late for me to say that i meant the opposite when i wrote that?

------
JohnnyFlash
Make 10B in 8 months and single handedly pull Ireland out of recession...
wow...

Its almost funny until you read how despite needing funding he expects
investors to pay for hotel and presumably travel so he can pitch. You then
have the NDA on top of that.

I wonder what the idea is... probably something new and down to earth. Like a
thimble with an edge so people with short / no fingernails can open a can of
drink and avoid potential injury. I would buy that!

~~~
pavel_lishin
> You then have the NDA on top of that.

Not to mention, an NDA that all employees must sign.

Yup, I sure am worried about our custodial staff running off and undercutting
your genius idea out from under you. I bet they're in cahoots with the lady at
the front desk.

------
StavrosK
Oh come on, that can't be serious. I'm being literal, they're probably
joking/trolling.

~~~
AznHisoka
That's what I thought. I know people who send emails faking acquisition
interests to startups just for laughs. 99% chance this is fake.

~~~
troels
That's ... mean

------
chris_wot
Is it possible that you were dealing with someone with a mental illness? Looks
pretty bipolar to me!

~~~
jrockway
I don't think "delusions of grandeur" is in the DSM-IV yet.

~~~
Maxious
DSM-IV would probably suggest Bipolar Affective Disorder "Inflated self-esteem
to levels of grandiosity" or Narcissistic Personality Disorder "Believes that
he or she is 'special' and unique and can only be understood by, or should
associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)" "Has a
sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable
treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations"

~~~
jrockway
My point is: not everyone that writes something dumb on the Internet is
mentally ill. They may just be bad at writing or unclear about the importance
of their work. (Remember, we only laugh at people like the subject of this
article when they're wrong. If Zuckerberg sent them this letter, the reaction
would be much different.)

------
alanmeaney
Comedy gold!

A couple of weeks ago I was waiting in line in a phone shop in Grafton Street,
Dublin. All the shop assistants were busy and there was a man in his sixties
ahead of me at the top of the queue. Five minutes later he was not so
discreetly f’ing and blinding the sales assistants out of it calling them lazy
so and so’s and accusing the customers being dealt with as being thick for
taking so long. When he got served he handed over a vintage nokia phone and
asked the sales assistant could he change the time.

Dealing with the public you really don’t know what you will get next.
Sometimes it can provide a laugh or two.

------
TomGullen
I'm pretty sure it's a troll!

------
PaulHoule
About once every two weeks I hear from somebody who has a "once in a lifetime"
opportunity who wants me to build an A.G.I. in three weeks and do it on spec.

~~~
archivator
AGI == artificial general intelligence?

