[rcthrowaway]

Throwaway account because reasons.

Having attended RC, this actually makes sense if you understand the scene. First, RC intro is key to getting everybody on the same page, and has been done in-person until recently. If an early-morning meeting seems weird, chalk it up to timezones...the in-person intro is at a much more humane hour for the East Coast and has catered breakfast and everything.

Also, as part of the whole hard-line thing...RC is in NYC and is in large parts reflective of that. They need to filter out the large quantity of dabbles and dilettantes and people who would attend just as another social status thing or adventure in finding themselves. They want people who are committed to their craft, and if you've set aside six weeks or twelve weeks of your life but can't stay on top of reading emails and double-checking that you've done everything right, maybe you shouldn't be complaining.

[verytrivial]

If they're expecting all condidates to attend and non-attendance to be fatal, it seems ... diskish? ... to not atune candidates regarding the consequences of missing the very first meeting. They might not be made of the right stuff, or perhaps they were about to make an incredible contribution to programme and culture? Who knows! They missed that one meeting. Oh well!

[reikonomusha]

Is the RC scene such that a plethora of such dilettantes make it through the interviews and get admitted, only to follow up and not contribute?

It doesn’t seem like the author fits into this category of person anyway; he did show (early in the morning) and did participate faithfully on the first day, unbeknownst to him making the mistake.