Rereading the thread, it's like a flag at half mast or an armband. HN does it to acknowledge tragic events.
On a side note, I was quite stunned when I poked around in the HTML recently and discovered that the site still uses spacer gifs. (I was poking around because the spacer gif had started 404ing and I was wondering why I kept seeing random image placeholders.)
I understand the technical sentiment behind your suggestion, but don't believe it consistent with what the black bar means to express. Perhaps I see it analogous to a footballer's armband worn in tribute to a club's very late former player.
I don't think having the black bar being a link goes against that sentiment. When a footballer wears such an armband, an observant (but out-of-the-loop) spectator would ask "why are they wearing that black armband?" and either be told by the announcers, friends, or have to look it up. We just don't have the technology to attach a "link" IRL to an armband or a flag flying at half-mast. In this situation, a link would be beneficial without taking away from the respects being paid, IMHO.
In the case of asking a fellow club supporter there is a social act that reinforces the community. Likewise, with a public announcement in the stadium. Clicking a link is solipsistic. It's a technical puzzle subject to all the distraction [case in point] of opinionated arguments about UI design A versus B.
To me, the black bar seems to be pretty close the minimum needed to fulfill the purpose.
Even something in the FAQ about it would be helpful, I wouldn't have known what the black bar was for if I hadn't seen it previously and someone made a post just like this.
Possibly because your started your comment with "without having to read the article". If someone answers a question with a link to an article, you could skim the article at least, rather than post that you didn't bother to check the article out, and would rather have someone else explain it to you in the comments section.
YC has always been a supporter of technology. I don't know the history of the black bar, but I have been around for quite some time in HN and Ive only seen it twice now. So it makes me think it started when Reddit founder Aaron Swartz killed himself. This black bar is a way of morning such tech pioneers.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 49.7 ms ] threadOn a side note, I was quite stunned when I poked around in the HTML recently and discovered that the site still uses spacer gifs. (I was poking around because the spacer gif had started 404ing and I was wondering why I kept seeing random image placeholders.)
To me, the black bar seems to be pretty close the minimum needed to fulfill the purpose.
There was similarly one done for John McCarthy years ago http://web.archive.org/web/20111025011711/http://news.ycombi...