[rdslw]

No it shouldnt. It imposes (false) perception that anything not from today is old/not fresh/known/bad knowledge. It is not true.

This hunt for dates in titles on HN is bad and it's awitch hunt these days.

Disclaimer: I'm not an author nor submitter.

[grzm]

Adding the year does nothing other than let people know when it was published and gives it some context. You're reading too much into this. The practice goes back at least 2½ years.

[teddyh]

This is “Hacker News”.

[grzm]

The "News" is a bit of a misnomer. Any submission that "gratifies intellectual curiosity" is on-topic, regardless of age.