4 ms·

This warrants the black bar. He has changed everything for humanity time and again. We owe him the best future we can possibly make.

exikyut 9y ago
I agree. I consider no black bar: - a violation of the principle of least surprise - a statement of discrimination Precedent has been set by the fact that it has been used in the past. If its usage is being wound down, I reckon this more than qualifies as exceptionally justifiable.
- krapp 9y ago
  Your comment illustrates perfectly why the black bar is a bad idea... unless it gets used for every death posted here someone will feel discriminated against and offended that it was omitted for someone they like. And if it is used for everyone, people will feel that its meaning has been degraded, because the black bar has become a status symbol - something to be "earned" or "deserved". And inevitably there will be tedious arguments over who deserves the black bar, and who doesn't, and what precedent is set by this person getting it and not that, and whether it means the moderators are biased, on and on. All of this sad nonsense over a stylesheet tweak that in the end means nothing and honors no one and whose application has always been entirely arbitrary. It's a distraction which is best done away with IMHO.
  - toopok4k3 9y ago
    Someones death should 100% be a distraction over our daily lives to remind us all on the impeding doom. People getting hurt and distracted over who gets a black bar or not is better than nothing at all IMO.
    - krapp 9y ago
      >Someones death should 100% be a distraction over our daily lives to remind us all on the impeding doom. People die all the time ... according to Wikipedia, about 105,000 per day, every day... yet I would bet those deaths don't distract you at all, if they did, you would be spending your life in a corner paralyzed with fear. Life is for the living, life is not for the dead. >People getting hurt and distracted over who gets a black bar or not is better than nothing at all IMO. Better at what? At reminding people of their own mortality? Better than the thread itself, or the posted obituary, or the experience of merely living as a human being? Nonsense.
  - exikyut 9y ago
    My reply/argument is this: This post has just disrupted the previous HN top post of all time. I would have used the black bar this time around. However, as it's such a source of contention, I can see not using it on this post, to set precedent for not using it. Incidentally my last account (https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=i336_ https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=i336_) ended up closed on this issue (you'll need showdead turned on to see its last comments). By "closed" I mean I said "okay I need a break" and set noprocrast to a high number due to there being no documentation about what the number represented (I thought it meant seconds, learned the hard way it meant hours!).
davesque 9y ago
Indeed. Black bar, please. He was a living symbol of the promise of science.
- gear54rus 9y ago
  How about no bs black bar for anyone, even for a Genius like Hawking? Who decides who's worth it? We've been over this already.
  - Bud 9y ago
    Um, the moderators decide. Cause that's their job.
    - gear54rus 9y ago
      They are not in any position to judge that. Thankfully, the black bar is not there, perhaps previous discussions made them reconsider.
      - thecatspaw 9y ago
        yes they absolutely are in a position to judge that.
      - throwaway-hn123 9y ago
        Emotionally stunted asshole working for a shit host.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
kissickas 9y ago
If they didn't do one for JP Barlow I feel like that's an indication they're not doing it anymore.
Grangar 9y ago
Agree. Hawking had a big impact on my general outlook on life.

exikyut 9y ago

I agree. I consider no black bar: - a violation of the principle of least surprise - a statement of discrimination Precedent has been set by the fact that it has been used in the past. If its usage is being wound down, I reckon this more than qualifies as exceptionally justifiable.

krapp 9y ago
Your comment illustrates perfectly why the black bar is a bad idea... unless it gets used for every death posted here someone will feel discriminated against and offended that it was omitted for someone they like. And if it is used for everyone, people will feel that its meaning has been degraded, because the black bar has become a status symbol - something to be "earned" or "deserved". And inevitably there will be tedious arguments over who deserves the black bar, and who doesn't, and what precedent is set by this person getting it and not that, and whether it means the moderators are biased, on and on. All of this sad nonsense over a stylesheet tweak that in the end means nothing and honors no one and whose application has always been entirely arbitrary. It's a distraction which is best done away with IMHO.
- toopok4k3 9y ago
  Someones death should 100% be a distraction over our daily lives to remind us all on the impeding doom. People getting hurt and distracted over who gets a black bar or not is better than nothing at all IMO.
  - krapp 9y ago
    >Someones death should 100% be a distraction over our daily lives to remind us all on the impeding doom. People die all the time ... according to Wikipedia, about 105,000 per day, every day... yet I would bet those deaths don't distract you at all, if they did, you would be spending your life in a corner paralyzed with fear. Life is for the living, life is not for the dead. >People getting hurt and distracted over who gets a black bar or not is better than nothing at all IMO. Better at what? At reminding people of their own mortality? Better than the thread itself, or the posted obituary, or the experience of merely living as a human being? Nonsense.
- exikyut 9y ago
  My reply/argument is this: This post has just disrupted the previous HN top post of all time. I would have used the black bar this time around. However, as it's such a source of contention, I can see not using it on this post, to set precedent for not using it. Incidentally my last account (https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=i336_ https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=i336_) ended up closed on this issue (you'll need showdead turned on to see its last comments). By "closed" I mean I said "okay I need a break" and set noprocrast to a high number due to there being no documentation about what the number represented (I thought it meant seconds, learned the hard way it meant hours!).

davesque 9y ago

Indeed. Black bar, please. He was a living symbol of the promise of science.

gear54rus 9y ago
How about no bs black bar for anyone, even for a Genius like Hawking? Who decides who's worth it? We've been over this already.
- Bud 9y ago
  Um, the moderators decide. Cause that's their job.
  - gear54rus 9y ago
    They are not in any position to judge that. Thankfully, the black bar is not there, perhaps previous discussions made them reconsider.
    - thecatspaw 9y ago
      yes they absolutely are in a position to judge that.
    - throwaway-hn123 9y ago
      Emotionally stunted asshole working for a shit host.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]

kissickas 9y ago

If they didn't do one for JP Barlow I feel like that's an indication they're not doing it anymore.

Grangar 9y ago

Agree. Hawking had a big impact on my general outlook on life.