It would be my opinion that PG probably doesn't care.

If this wasn't already clear, we're not looking for the sort of obedient, middle-of-the-road people that big companies tend to hire. We're looking for people who like to beat the system.

http://ycombinator.com/howtoapply.html

I understand that, going against unjust rules, regulations and industry monopolies because otherwise economically; people pay more (taxi monopoly) or inconvenienced (no driverless cars allowed).

But these black hat email marketing tactics are akin to harassing people automatically without discrimination. Posted two properties? At least two emails from two 'women' advertising AirBnB. It's effectively destroying Craigslist if every company including my potential own escape backlash for spamming users.

Some people like me look to PG as a chaotic good role model for entrepreneurs.

I think most people are looking for PG's general opinion over the issue. He has had written about certain "naughtiness" in his essay(s?). To what extent does he think it's OKAY?

We shouldn't be looking up to PG as some sort of moral authority.

I'd wager PG is laughing all the way to the bank.

Yep, he once spammed it lot. Another one about Groupon http://rajeshanbiah.blogspot.com/2011/03/groupons-pr-possibl...

No $Billion company, or its investors will apologize for such actions.

Further, I agree with the above post - While it seems bad on the surface - there is really nothing wrong with this, they are not misleading the owners to using a shady service. Airbnb is a great service.

Further - It would be time that the AirBnB team actually use this to their advantage.

They need a boilerplate response to CL listings that says:

"ABnB is now the first $1B company with massive reach, appeal and customer satisfaction that is committed to getting your place rented and seen globally. Come check us out - we are XXX% more effective than CL with YYY% more return on your listing with XYZ tools that provide you a service dashboard to see just how well your property is doing."

All of which is NOTHING That CL can provide.

This is another reason, actually, why I am starting to despise CL's lethargy. They could have owned this space, but they sat around claiming higher motives.

The truth is that CL produces an insane amount of revenue for the head, Craig - and he is happy with that.

I detest this rationale.

Have I used Airbnb? Yes. It was a great experience. And I have recommended it to all my friends (until now at least).

But that doesn't mean I think that they should be excused for violating a very rationale Terms of Service policy, e-mailing people explicitly against their wishes (as indicated by don't contact me for commercial services option), and creating e-mails that violate CAN-SPAM policies.

Legality aside, I think it's slimy and in my eyes, taints their grassroots story which I had really embraced and enjoyed telling people.

Did you also stop using Facebook when you discovered they used spam (via their email address import feature) to reach their critical mass?

Yes.

> The truth is that CL produces an insane amount of revenue for the head, Craig - and he is happy with that.

I fail to see what the problem is here, as long as he's spreading the wealth along to the rest of the organization and its investors.