[dickfickling]

ah i think it's a feature for YC founders to identify each other, might not be on for everyone

[SOLAR_FIELDS]

Interesting hadn’t heard of this hidden feature. No, ordinary users of the site cannot see this.

[dang]

It's in the FAQ: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html.

HN gives three features to YC: job ads (see above) and startup launches get placed on the front page, and YC founder names are displayed to other YC alumni in orange.