Are you referring to OS X scrollbars prior to Lion? The bars in iOS and Lion are about as subtle as they can possibly be.
I'm fine with so-called minimalist design, like the visual look of HN. That said, there are some features that are woefully missing on HN. The bizarre too-wide text width makes it unusable on a mobile phone without reflow (which is a feature that makes browsing unusable on most other websites), and barely usable on even larger tablets like the iPad. Comment threads can't be collapsed. The whole user experience of voting and replying is bizarre and unpredictable (some threads can be voted and replied on, some can't, and voting icons just disappear after you click one).
I'm fine with so-called minimalist design, like the visual look of HN. That said, there are some features that are woefully missing on HN. The bizarre too-wide text width makes it unusable on a mobile phone without reflow (which is a feature that makes browsing unusable on most other websites), and barely usable on even larger tablets like the iPad. Comment threads can't be collapsed. The whole user experience of voting and replying is bizarre and unpredictable (some threads can be voted and replied on, some can't, and voting icons just disappear after you click one).