Ask the Man Behind the Legend - Cowboy Neal 234
After many reader requests, we're finally getting around to interviewing the famed, mysterious CowboyNeal. He's more than a poll response, you know. He's the guy you go to if you have problems with your Slashdot user account -- or if you just generally need a cheerful face on a day you're feeling a little down. But who is the "real" CowboyNeal? Here's your chance to find out. Post questions below. We'll send 10 of the highest-moderated ones to Da Man and run his answers as soon as he gets them back to us.
no (Score:1)
From what I've seen, the cap is 50 even for accounts that existed before the cap. I used to have a couple hundred karma, then for a few weeks there was a phenomenon where it only went down and could never increase, but it stayed around 200. Then one day, I looked, and it had magically changed to 50.
Re:Can you not give trolls accounts? (Score:1)
-vivik
Re:easy question (Score:2)
Re:Hemos and burning houses (Score:1)
*grin*
Re:Virginity? (Score:1)
Slashnet (Score:1)
Re:Why do you always add yourself as a poll respon (Score:1)
And for a replacement question: How come you don't hack the database to win anymore?
Re:It has to be asked! (Score:1)
Only one. (Score:1)
Inquiring minds want to know.
A poll-ish question (Score:2)
Re:Karma? (Score:3)
Seriously, linear karma is stupid. IMHO, we need a 2-D or 3-D karma system, to represent the different types of post and style.
eg: Someone with +50 might be a very funny poster, but lousy on facts or a troll at times. By having something like +50/-25/+4, with the first being "interesting/informitive", the second being "funny", and the third being "social", that would give you a much better picture of the poster.
Summer 1983 (Score:3)
On my last trip, the one before retirement, I was busted. A lanky dude with hair like Kris Kristofferson, what must have been a 15-gallon hat, and dusty iguana-skin boots was sitting there, pants at his ankles, using my beach house toilet and pointing a sawed-off shotgun at me in the doorway.
"Don't move, dude. And don't drink the water in Guayaquil."
My question: was that you, Cowboy Neal?
Re:Karma? (Score:1)
Anonymous Coward had over 2000 last time we were told. This has certainly increased.
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Poll... (Score:1)
Who is your favourite Shoto?
* Ken
* Ryu
* Satsui no Hadou Mezameta Ryu
* Akuma
* Dan Hibiki
* Makoto
* Sean
* CowboyNeal
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Re:Karma? (Score:1)
AC posts start at Zero.
They can be moderated down once before no more negative moderatino can be done.
They can be moderated up 5 times before no more positive moderation can be done.
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really opening up (Score:3)
All we know comes from GIS ... (Score:1)
I have to say that CowboyNeal is the single biggest reason that I obsessively check for new Geeks In Space episodes.
I suppose my question then is : Are you that hyperactive normally, or is that your "GIS Face"? I imagine that being CowboyNeal would be exhausting :)
( Hmm, Being CowboyNeal ... I smell sequel! )
As a fellow large dude... (Score:1)
Do you have the same problems that I have with:
JonKatz could do a series on big fat guys, and why we don't get the {ladies,men,CowboyNeal} of our dreams. I'm sure it's just as important as the Hellmouth. :-)
How can I dress like you? (Score:2)
Konami cheat codes (Score:1)
ToiletDuk
Protector of the Wastes
Re:Give us the ups and downs! (Score:1)
ToiletDuk
Protector of the Wastes
Re:A User Info slashbox? (Score:1)
ToiletDuk
Protector of the Wastes
Re:Karma? (Score:1)
Re:Wow.. (Score:1)
Re:In the same vein... (Score:1)
Favorite authors (Score:1)
Also, is Thomas Wolfe or Tom Wolfe the wolfe in question?
Longest Uninterupted Hacking Binge (Score:5)
Give us the ups and downs! (Score:5)
What's the best thing that happened to you since Slashdot started? Conversly, what's the worst?
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Outside Projects (Score:5)
Rob's working on Animefu [animefu.com], Hemos does work on Everything 2 [everything2.com], and Nate's the brains and looks behind Everything In General [everydevel.com].
What keeps CowboyNeal busy when he's not keeping Slashdot running, or mixing some tasty tunes in his recording studio?
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My only question... (Score:5)
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freestylin' sratchin (Score:2)
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
Dragon Ball Z (Score:2)
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
Does Taco's music piss you off? (Score:2)
Enquiring minds want to know... (Score:3)
Hemos and burning houses (Score:3)
-=-
What was your fav poll abuse? (Score:5)
What was the most depressing?
-- Chris Chabot
"I dont suffer from insanity, i enjoy every minute of it!"
Two questions (Score:5)
1. What was life like with Rob and Jeff in "real life" before Slashdot was aquired by Andover? I'm a Geeks in Space fan and it always sounded like you guys were the best of friends - especially the Kurt bashing part. Did you guys go to school together, how did you come into the picture?
2. Why are you so cool? Do you do special yoga exercises every morning to be so cool? Do you drink a special formula to be so damn cool?
Thanks and when's the next Geeks in Space?
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All browsers' default homepage should read: Don't Panic...
More importantly... (Score:2)
(To MrP: His name is Jeebus! You will burn for your spelling error!)
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Your favorite poll... (Score:5)
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Gonzo Granzeau
How's it doing? (Score:4)
Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What drives you to get up and go out into the hard, cruel world and face the legions of trolls and misanthropes you know you're going to have to face during the day? What's the motivation? (Hey, could be worse: I could be asking this of Katz!)
tell us the truth (Score:5)
Are you getting bored with slashdot? What is the biggest screw up that you did to the site that we never found out? Have you ever used "super moderating power" to mod down posts attacking slashdot editors...? What is your favorite pizza topping and sandwich?
Re:really opening up (Score:4)
Besides, poor Jon Katz would never make it on the front page again...
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
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Re:odd (Score:2)
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
For accounts that were in effect before the kharma count was instituted, you kpet your kharma, but you can only go down, ie, I have a triple digit kharma, but if I get modded down enough, my kharma would drop and it would never increase, until I got below 50.
Anecdotally, siggy had a 700+ kharma, IIRC.
George
the kharma cap is a favor to us (Score:5)
You probably remember the first time you got a positive moderation, it felt pretty good, like, Wow someone likes my work.
When you past 10 kharma points, it was nice, not as good as the first point though.
When you got your first +5 moderation, you were on a high, though not as much as your first points.
When you got 26, and could post with the +1 if you wished, it was special, but still, not as good as the first time.
Face it, kharma is a drug. It's never as much fun as your first time, and if there was no cap, you'd keep setting inane goals (when I get to triple digits I'll stop, I'll have all the kharma I'll need, when I get 200 I'll stop...) to feed your kharma jones, and end up spending all your time reading Slashdot and gathering kharma, trying to recreate that first kharma high.
That becomes ugly real fast, you become a bona-fide kharma-whore. Trust me, Taco has seen the bad sides of severe kharma-whoredom, and he is thinking of us when he instituted the cap.
George
Re: (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:3)
not quite boxers vs. briefs (Score:2)
"What do you shave, and why?"
Answers Right Here. (Score:2)
The Max Karma one can achieve is 50. I emailed Cmdr Taco about that a few months back.
Who among us is the current Karma Whore King, and what is their score?
I am currently at level 50.
Is there a cutoff level where you auto-post at 3 or above?
As it stands my current posting only auto score 2.
Re:Answers Right Here. (Score:2)
"Who among us is the current Karma Whore King, and what is their score?"
And this was the answer:
I am currently at level 50
Where did I say I was the highest? I am the highest now that one can achieve, but I didn't say I am the highest ever.
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
When it was capped, I had right around 250, and have managed to dwindle it down to 212 since. I figure if I keep up my regular rate of posts, I'll make it down to 50 sometime in March, 2004.
Cowboy Neal at the wheel of a bus to neverneverlan (Score:2)
You don't get a more hippie name. (Score:2)
I mean, even Kerouac would be less hippie. Are you a bonafide longhair (ah, what an industry the tech industry is, I can work for a Fortune 500 company and still have long hair), or is there just something about Neal Cassady that you admire?
Re:easy question (Score:2)
Re:Longest Uninterupted Hacking Binge (Score:2)
Myself
?
- JoeShmoe
Polls (Score:2)
-rak (the former holder of account 31337, which mysteriously went foom)
Slashdot (Score:5)
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Presuming, for a moment... (Score:3)
Also, Karma is reset to 50 if... (Score:2)
You're right about that... (Score:2)
On a related note, word is the release of the Dogma: Special Edition DVD is being delayed indefinitely, even though it's been completed for months, because of assholio Disney execs. The film was produced by a Disney subsidiary company, but because of protests by Xtian Xtremists, Disney sold the film off to an unrelated studio. Well, Disney apparently still owns the rights to deleted scenes and some extra material produced during filming, and isn't allowing their use. Columbia Tristar is trying to negotiate with Disney to get the rights to the extra materials, but Disney is being a monumental bitch. Score another one for corporate oppresion and censorship. I'd like to drop that fucking Mickey Mouse into a cuisinart...
Will /. get editors/fact checkers? (Score:2)
grammar, bad reporting, incorrect facts, and occasionally even completely untrue stories.
Have you considered (or would you) getting an editor and fact checker for new stories before they get posted? How would you see that affecting
So after all is said and done... (Score:2)
Would you do it again? With the success of /., to the point that even other sites (like cnet, zdnet, msnbc, etc) look to this page to see what the "programming community" is talking about, would you have made Slashdot the same way, or is there a different path you would have taken?
That, or who'd win in a mud-wrestling fight: Linus or RMS?
John "Dark Paladin" Hummel
Jam Bands (Score:2)
Burris
Anime (Score:5)
When did you really get into Anime?
What was the first anime movie/series you watched?
Are there any in particular that stick out as being particularly good or "close-to-home"?
If you could be any anime character, who?
Have you seen The Lain?
Re:A User Info slashbox? (Score:2)
Slashcode (Score:4)
What's with the blue monochrome picture? (Score:2)
What's the story on this? Inquiring optics want to know.
The future (Score:5)
And yes, I know 5 - 10 years is an eternity.
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Re:really opening up (Score:2)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing for them to open the queue; it's their site, they can do whatever they hell they want with it. It's just illogical to assume that just because there are tons of duplicates today that there would still be lots of duplicates tomorrow if people could check what's already been submitted.
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Re:Karma? (Score:3)
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One Time I Asked RobLimo About You... (Score:2)
I was an English major in college [umbc.edu], and still retain a healthy admiration for Beat-Generation literature. Seeing as the great beat heroes have mostly died off (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs) -- with the possible exception of Gary Snyder -- I'd like to ask you about Cassady.
What impressed you the most about him? According to the numerous depictions I've read (Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, plus the beat canons), Cassady was some sort of human dynamo, radiating nervous energy and constantly spouting reams of poetic prose. So what did y'all talk about?
Sincerely,
Vergil
Vergil Bushnell
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
Trolls? (Score:2)
What is your favorite slashdot troll (i.e. hot grits, not CmdrTaco)?
easy question (Score:2)
Which linux distributions do you use? (Score:2)
As a windows user about to take the plunge into the rarified air of Linux, I'm curious about where to start?
For my, and the rest of /.'s edification, which distribution(s) of linux do you use? Debian, RedHat, SuSE, other? Why did you choose the distribution?
If its a commercial distribution, could you email me in advance so I can buy stock in the company before your preference is revealed, I'd really appreciate it. :)
Do you really exist? (Score:2)
It's a conspiracy I'm working on, you see. A theory if you will. The Conservation of Cowboy Neal, or something. It's a work in process...
J
Editors? (Score:2)
Stories (Score:5)
Wow.. (Score:2)
I guess I'll then ask Cowboy this:
Would you do us all a favor and up the cutoff limit of 50 a little?
Karma? (Score:5)
Who among us is the current Karma Whore King, and what is their score?
Is there a maximum amount of karma one can earn?brAnd finally, is there a cutoff level where you auto-post at 3 or above?
Re:Can you not give trolls accounts? (Score:2)
What are you saying man - waste that on Trolls!
No, please Please PLEASE do this to me! me me me me! please please please!
Re:easy question (Score:2)
also the Karma Whores, a lesser known work but worth checking out
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Questions (duh) (Score:2)
The problem with capped Karma is it only goes down...
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
The problem with capped Karma is it only goes down...
Re:really opening up (Score:2)
Re:A User Info slashbox? (Score:2)
This would actually be great.
For a good look at some user-based slashbox-like entities, check out half-empty.org [half-empty.org].
Useful glassboxes (as they're called):
Another feature that might be nice is allowing users to rate posts so that we can skim for the good ones. That's pretty subjective, though.
Haiku (Score:2)
Coyboy Neal, what is your take...
On haiku postings?
It has to be asked! (Score:5)
A User Info slashbox? (Score:5)
Re:Karma? (Score:2)
Wow man, I apologize (Score:2)
Can you not give trolls accounts? (Score:5)
Just today I saw a new poster, Patrick McCrotch. Now, seriously, Pat McCrotch, do you think that's real?
For the sake of Slashdot, please stop the spread of trolls, and don't give them accounts. Please work with the FBI to track down the trolls that are ruining Slashdot, and have them be quietly captured in the dark of the night and locked in a warm cell with Christina Ricci styled nymphomaniacal fembots until they die of dehydration!
Thanks!
Re:Wow.. (Score:2)
That's not irony. For something to be ironic it needs to imply the opposite of reality. For example, a big guy named "tiny" is ironic because in reality he is the opposite of tiny. Also, Pacific Bell DSL's customer service is ironic in that "service" is the exact opposite of what they provide.
He does (Score:2)
Yes! (Score:5)
Seriously, can you give us a breakdown of how much time each editor spends actually reading the site they nominally run? Like, time spent clicking on user comments?
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Who's your favorite member of the A-Team? (Score:2)
/. Connections (Score:2)
The toughest (Score:5)
Re:Can you not give trolls accounts? (Score:5)
If you don't like my name, I'll be happy to let you know where you can go.
From my user info:
Yes, I am of Irish descent. And yes, that is my real name.
If you're thinking of being clever and coming up with some kind of witty joke about it please keep in mind the following:
a) I've already heard that one, and
b) You're not very clever.
Thanks.
I'll be happy to fax you a copy of my birth certificate if you'd like.