Based on http://ycombinator.com/howtoapply.html, it seems that there's a point in the application where if you're impressive enough, they'll spend more time on it and if not, they'll disregard it.
> If the founders seem promising, I'll now spend more time trying to understand the idea.
It might be a good idea to put the applications that don't get past that point in one pile, and send them a different and more specific rejection letter. (I was just rejected and am naturally wondering how close I was, and this idea came to mind.)
I'm not saying to give "tailored responses". Just maybe put them in a different pile and send out a first rejection letter saying that you didn't make it past the "first cuts".
> If the founders seem promising, I'll now spend more time trying to understand the idea.
It might be a good idea to put the applications that don't get past that point in one pile, and send them a different and more specific rejection letter. (I was just rejected and am naturally wondering how close I was, and this idea came to mind.)