It's been a thing for a while and as I recall it's intended to de-clickbait a certain category of title. Mostly one doesn't notice because e.g. How John Smith

It's been a thing for a while and as I recall it's intended to de-clickbait a certain category of title. Mostly one doesn't notice because e.g. How John Smith Bought Foo Corp -> John Smith Bought Foo Corp Why John Smith Bought Foo Corp -> John Smith Bought Foo Corp Within some time window the OP can edit back in the missing word if it makes a difference (as it did here), and you can always email hn@ycombinator.com when one gets missed (as I shall do now).