[rahuldottech]

It's used to pay respect to a recently deceased tech person. In this case, Larry Tesler: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22361282

In the past, we've had it for Steve Jobs and Aaron Swartz, among others.

[jolmg]

and Bert Sutherland:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22370667