Every time there is a black bar, I have to CNTR-F (died|dead|"Passed away"). If you're going to change UI to signal something, please explain it to the user.
I think this is a good idea, but if you want to tell the moderators something, you should send an e-mail to hn@ycombinator.com (as per the Guidelines).
Help me tell them buy providing feedback in a visible forum. Why have a social discussion tool, only to obfuscate actual requests?