I wonder how much PG and the others actually dislike the term. Are they against it on technicality grounds and nothing more? Or do they mean to make a statement about what exactly YC is and does by avoiding the 'incubator' label?
"Is Y Combinator an incubator? -- No. The defining quality of incubators seems to be that companies work out of the investor's space. We think that's a bad idea; it makes founders feel like employees."
In addition, the term 'incubator' has been around for a while and is an easily understood concept (esp to the lay person). Things like YC et. al. are not incubators as such but there hasn't been any particular term that has caught on outside the tech crowd. 'Seed Accelerator' is the term I usually use but even then it requires more exposition than 'incubator'. Given the difference is relatively minor (office space vs sort-yourself-out), I can see why people still use 'incubator'.
