The problem is that the black bar isn't always there when someone "significant to the HN community dies". The black bar is an admin/moderator decision, and bec

The problem is that the black bar isn't always there when someone "significant to the HN community dies". The black bar is an admin/moderator decision, and because it's not applied to all front page deaths, it's hard for headline skimmers to associate the black bar with a consistent pattern. That is why the black bar confused me - it's when the black bar isn't there that throws me off, because it makes me doubt the assumption that someone died.