I can assume lots of things raldi. I could also assume it's because of Brussels, but I would be wrong. I could assume it's because of a mudslid, still wrong.

Regardless of what you say it's not obvious... If it was there wouldn't be this thread.

I know that this site does not deal in current events outside the tech/startup community but my first thought was an error. My second thought was the Brussels bombings. I did not know who Andy Grove. I now know he was a significant figure in the community but the black bar did clearly state that to me. In general, I don't think that some background information on the person takes away from their significance.

The problem is that the black bar isn't always there when someone "significant to the HN community dies".

The black bar is an admin/moderator decision, and because it's not applied to all front page deaths, it's hard for headline skimmers to associate the black bar with a consistent pattern.

That is why the black bar confused me - it's when the black bar isn't there that throws me off, because it makes me doubt the assumption that someone died.

I just showed up, and I assumed it was due to the attacks on Brussels. Currently, the #5 post is "Safety Check for Brussels." It makes more sense that it's for Andy Grove, now that I think about it, but I agree with others that a small amount of text could help clarify things.