6 ms·

Ask HN: Why is there a black bar on HN?

39 points by garritfra 5y ago

I noticed that there's a black above the navbar of HN. Is that a bug or does it have a meaning?

jjgreen 5y ago
[deleted]
- quantified 5y ago
  I make the same guess.
- msie 5y ago
  That’s odd. I would think Lorinda Cherry.
- cronix 5y ago
  > someone died usually someone of note to the tech/HN community
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
orangepurple 5y ago
I would appreciate it if the black bar was at least clickable for more info
- jdkjs 5y ago
  Or a “title” attribute so it has a tooltip.
  - AlwaysRock 5y ago
    That would be a great way to handle it. Maybe hide a link to the persons wiki page in a data tag or something similar.
  - orangepurple 5y ago
    It would be nice for everyone except touchscreen users
- steviedotboston 5y ago
  or something more prominent so it didnt just look like a CSS bug
- blihp 5y ago
  Great suggestion. I'd bet that many people, even if they know what the bar signifies, look around the front page to try to figure out who but unless it's a massively upvoted post and/or very prominent name aren't quite sure whose passing is being noted. There have also been cases of more than one person on a single day. Perhaps a link to their wikipedia page(s) or bio(s)?
- Ansil849 5y ago
  > I would appreciate it if the black bar was at least clickable for more info Agree. Why not have it point to the pertinent HN submission.
- thunderbong 5y ago
  Although I've been on HN for some time, every time a black bar appears, I click to see if it would go to the relevant HN post. No such luck (yet!)
throwaway889900 5y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354391 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354391
- tedmiston 5y ago
  > Lorinda Cherry, author of dc, bc, eqn has died (ncwit.org) https://ncwit.org/profile/lorinda-cherry/ https://ncwit.org/profile/lorinda-cherry/
fsflover 5y ago
See also: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Ask+HN%3A+Why+is+there+a+black+bar+on+HN https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Ask+HN%3A+Why+is+there+a+black+bar...
djohnston 5y ago
Lorinda Cherry passed away
jimmyvalmer 5y ago
dredmorbius 5y ago
The black bar is a mark of mourning and respect for someone in the technology community who has recently died. In this case, Lorinda Cherry, who did much work on early Unix at AT&T Bell Labs. The tradition appears to date from 2009 based on HN archives: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=644954#644981 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=644954#644981 dang on the concept: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26867411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26867411
devchix 5y ago
"The announcement of his death was carried in the local paper of Montreuil-sur-mer. M. Madeleine appeared next morning dressed in black and with a black band on his hat. This mourning was noticed all over the town, and there was talk. It appeared to throw some light on M. Madeleine's origins. The conclusion was that he was in some way related to the venerable bishop. 'He's wearing black for the Bishop of Digne,' was the talk of the drawing rooms; it elevated M. Madeleine very much and gave him suddenly marked consideration in the noblest circles of Montreuil-sur-mer. The microscopic Faubourg Saint-Germain of the little place considered lifting the quarantine on M. Madeleine, the probable relative of a bishop. M. Madeleine perceived the advance he had obtained, in increasing nods from old ladies and more frequent smiles of young ladies. One evening, one of the dowagers of that little social world, curious by right of age, ventured to ask him, 'The mayor is undoubtedly a relative of the late Bishop of Digne?' He said, 'No, madame.' 'But,' the dowager persisted, 'you wear mourning for him?' He answered, 'In my youth I was a servant in his family.' " Victor, Hugo, Les Misérables, Vol. 1, Book 5, Chapter 4 I think myself old, until the real grey men of HN answer, and then I'm young, and I have no idea who the people they talk of are. I, too, noticed the black band and had no idea who it was for. It would be good for me, and perhaps the HN community, if the black bands were accompanied by a description of the person who commanded the tribute, or their name at the least. I use 'bc' at least once a week, I had no idea 'dc' existed. > Cherry raced rally cars as a hobby. Respect!
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
sethammons 5y ago
@dang could the black bar be a link to an FAQ? Could allow folks to self serve this question as it comes up each time the site is in mourning.

39 points by garritfra 5y ago

I noticed that there's a black above the navbar of HN. Is that a bug or does it have a meaning?

jjgreen 5y ago

[deleted]

quantified 5y ago
I make the same guess.
msie 5y ago
That’s odd. I would think Lorinda Cherry.
cronix 5y ago
> someone died usually someone of note to the tech/HN community

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

orangepurple 5y ago

I would appreciate it if the black bar was at least clickable for more info

jdkjs 5y ago
Or a “title” attribute so it has a tooltip.
- AlwaysRock 5y ago
  That would be a great way to handle it. Maybe hide a link to the persons wiki page in a data tag or something similar.
- orangepurple 5y ago
  It would be nice for everyone except touchscreen users
steviedotboston 5y ago
or something more prominent so it didnt just look like a CSS bug
blihp 5y ago
Great suggestion. I'd bet that many people, even if they know what the bar signifies, look around the front page to try to figure out who but unless it's a massively upvoted post and/or very prominent name aren't quite sure whose passing is being noted. There have also been cases of more than one person on a single day. Perhaps a link to their wikipedia page(s) or bio(s)?
Ansil849 5y ago
> I would appreciate it if the black bar was at least clickable for more info Agree. Why not have it point to the pertinent HN submission.
thunderbong 5y ago
Although I've been on HN for some time, every time a black bar appears, I click to see if it would go to the relevant HN post. No such luck (yet!)

throwaway889900 5y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354391 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30354391

tedmiston 5y ago
> Lorinda Cherry, author of dc, bc, eqn has died (ncwit.org) https://ncwit.org/profile/lorinda-cherry/ https://ncwit.org/profile/lorinda-cherry/

fsflover 5y ago

See also: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Ask+HN%3A+Why+is+there+a+black+bar+on+HN https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Ask+HN%3A+Why+is+there+a+black+bar...

djohnston 5y ago

Lorinda Cherry passed away

jimmyvalmer 5y ago

dredmorbius 5y ago

The black bar is a mark of mourning and respect for someone in the technology community who has recently died. In this case, Lorinda Cherry, who did much work on early Unix at AT&T Bell Labs. The tradition appears to date from 2009 based on HN archives: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=644954#644981 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=644954#644981 dang on the concept: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26867411 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26867411

devchix 5y ago

"The announcement of his death was carried in the local paper of Montreuil-sur-mer. M. Madeleine appeared next morning dressed in black and with a black band on his hat. This mourning was noticed all over the town, and there was talk. It appeared to throw some light on M. Madeleine's origins. The conclusion was that he was in some way related to the venerable bishop. 'He's wearing black for the Bishop of Digne,' was the talk of the drawing rooms; it elevated M. Madeleine very much and gave him suddenly marked consideration in the noblest circles of Montreuil-sur-mer. The microscopic Faubourg Saint-Germain of the little place considered lifting the quarantine on M. Madeleine, the probable relative of a bishop. M. Madeleine perceived the advance he had obtained, in increasing nods from old ladies and more frequent smiles of young ladies. One evening, one of the dowagers of that little social world, curious by right of age, ventured to ask him, 'The mayor is undoubtedly a relative of the late Bishop of Digne?' He said, 'No, madame.' 'But,' the dowager persisted, 'you wear mourning for him?' He answered, 'In my youth I was a servant in his family.' " Victor, Hugo, Les Misérables, Vol. 1, Book 5, Chapter 4 I think myself old, until the real grey men of HN answer, and then I'm young, and I have no idea who the people they talk of are. I, too, noticed the black band and had no idea who it was for. It would be good for me, and perhaps the HN community, if the black bands were accompanied by a description of the person who commanded the tribute, or their name at the least. I use 'bc' at least once a week, I had no idea 'dc' existed. > Cherry raced rally cars as a hobby. Respect!

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

sethammons 5y ago

@dang could the black bar be a link to an FAQ? Could allow folks to self serve this question as it comes up each time the site is in mourning.