I too was disappointed to see the mob forming and stayed away from the original discussion poisoned by it - a crowd baying for blood and entertainment is the worst side of HN and online crowds, so it's disappointing to see people behave that way here.
As a suggestion for doing things better:
Make it clear what outcome YC wants (serious candidates for YCF) and what they won't accept.
Don't tolerate crass trolling like boaty mcboatface or 'I want my $20k', stamp it out early with a polite decline, if someone is clearly subverting the contest.
Make the reward explicitly be not participation and $20k, but an interview with HN, then starty mcstartupface who has no interest in the program can be gracefully declined, and others who are actually interested can participate as was intended.
Have categories defined by HN as well as an overall popularity contest, to encourage people to look at all the options, not just those which are popular.
As a suggestion for doing things better:
Make it clear what outcome YC wants (serious candidates for YCF) and what they won't accept.
Don't tolerate crass trolling like boaty mcboatface or 'I want my $20k', stamp it out early with a polite decline, if someone is clearly subverting the contest.
Make the reward explicitly be not participation and $20k, but an interview with HN, then starty mcstartupface who has no interest in the program can be gracefully declined, and others who are actually interested can participate as was intended.
Have categories defined by HN as well as an overall popularity contest, to encourage people to look at all the options, not just those which are popular.