Jonathan Pater
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Jonathan Pater is an editor and co-founder[citation needed] of Slashdot. His online nickname (handle) is CowboyNeal, a name inspired by a Grateful Dead tribute to Neal Cassady in their song, "That’s It for the Other One".[citation needed]
He is best known as the target of the usual comic option on Slashdot's poll. In the past, nearly all Slashdot polls contained what is called a "CowboyNeal" option, where one of the poll options is either "CowboyNeal" or some variant. For example, if the poll were "What kind of vehicle do you drive?", the CowboyNeal option might be "CowboyNeal", or "CowboyNeal drives my limo" or even "I ride CowboyNeal's handlebars." This has spread outside of the poll, and often jokes will be seen referencing CowboyNeal.
During summer 2005, the former poll editor stopped being in charge and as a result the CowboyNeal option disappeared. From the moment of its disappearance, its absence was questioned by the Slashdot community. However, in mid-October 2005 it made a return in a poll regarding EULAs. CowboyNeal also appeared on the 2006 April Fool's joke poll titled "What Is Cuter?".
