Ask HN: Black bar?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=644954

by j2d2 • 17 years ago

65 25 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

It's kinda weird. Is it a bug ?

cmos• 17 years ago

My hunch is that it's like the black armband worn on professional sports teams when they suffer a loss of a loved one. (I'm sure this extends beyond sports, but that's the only place I've seen it)

mahmud• 17 years ago

It's for mourning Dr. Motwani's passing.

huhtenberg• 17 years ago

No offense, but I really wonder how many people have actually knew who Dr. Motwani was before two days ago.

boundlessdreamz• 17 years ago

Does it matter? He helped quite a lot of people. You need not be famous for that. His loss will surely be felt. I think that's what matters.

Also, it is good that more people know of him because a selfless man like him should be celebrated. He is a good role model. Too often we are too obsessed with success and fame and money. Here is a man who didn't covet any of that and helped whoever he could. It is kind of sad to see that more premium is placed on being famous than anything else!

jganetsk• 17 years ago

I used the Hopcraft-Motwani-Ullman textbook on automata theory and it was awesome. That's how I knew him, and it's enough for me.

thwarted• 17 years ago

And this raises awareness. Just because you died, does that mean you should be forgotten, or shouldn't be remembered?

sown• 17 years ago

Everyone who has taken an automata class and used the Hopcroft-Ullman book has come to know him in a certain way.

quantumhobbit• 17 years ago

I didn't. But because of this I'm going to wikipedia.

gms• 17 years ago

All I knew about him was that he was co-author on that 'Randomized Algorithms' textbook. I had no idea he was this prolific elsewhere.

pg2• 17 years ago

As well as all the CS students who knew him through his books or his classes, everyone involved with startups in Silicon Valley did. He was one of the most respected angel investors. It's very strange to be using the past tense about him though.

j2d22• 17 years ago

A lot of people find their fame posthumously only.

eugenejen• 17 years ago

No by person. But most CS students either read the "automata book" or the "randomized algorithms". I enjoyed the books and respect him. I was hoping to be able to read his "approximation algorithms" when it is finished.

My emotion response to the news is "how come!". It is the same emotion response that I heard Daniel M. Lewin, founder Akamai, was on flight 11 in September 11, 2001.

abstractbill• 17 years ago

I think it's an online version of the black arm band that's often worn to acknowledge the passing of a great figure in a community.

pg2• 17 years ago

Yes. It's just for today.

noonespecial• 17 years ago

You should make it a tiny clickable link to Sergei's blog post. When I saw it up there, my first thought was to mouse at it and see what was up.

dell9000• 17 years ago

Terrific idea / tribute. Touching

j2d22• 17 years ago

It's clever and I appreciate the sentiment!

nuclear_eclipse• 17 years ago

I assume it got added at the same time the HN footer was added to the bottom of comment pages....

nixme• 17 years ago

Actually, I think the black bar got added earlier this morning and the footer was just added (last half-hour or so...?), so perhaps the black bar is for a different reason.

pmikal• 17 years ago

From a design point of view, I think it makes the page easier to read....

Ask HN: Black bar?

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