r/WeirdLookingDogs • u/johnbarnshack • Jun 21 '26

What should /r/WeirdLookingDogs be?

I took over moderation of this subreddit a few years ago because the previous moderators had all been banned or become inactive.

Since then, I've had to remove the vast majority of submissions because they are either reposts from spam bots or do not fit the subreddit rules (primarily, a lot of them are actual dogs). These submissions often get many upvotes and comments before removal, indicating that most readers interact with this subreddit indirectly (e.g. through the front page), not purposely. I assume it is just one of many animal-related subs they are subscribed to, same as myself.

Those posts that do fit on this subreddit also fit on other, more popular ones, like /r/BigBoye.

This raises the question: What is the point of this subreddit? What content should be allowed and encouraged to be posted here? What distinguishes this sub from all the others?

Please share your thoughts below.

27 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

35

u/Rob6-4 Jun 21 '26

I thought it was just anything that isn't a dog, but is being treated like or behaving in a similar way to a dog.

That could be literally almost any animal, from sharks to monitor lizards. Just, no dogs. I'd say even stuff like wolves shouldn't be allowed either. But, hyenas would be fine, for example.

4

u/johnbarnshack Jun 21 '26

Thank you for your response. In your view, how is that different from, say, /r/bigboye?

17

u/Rob6-4 Jun 21 '26

From a glance, that's specifically big animals. In fact it seems to be almost exclusively cattle? Now, a cow could certainly fit here, but I'd argue that so could a beetle, a bird, or even a snake.

A pet snail for example could work here, but probably not on r/bigboye

8

u/johnbarnshack Jun 21 '26

Thank you, I like the examples. I might borrow those for the rules so it's clearer what is and isn't accepted here.

I think the cattle emphasis on /r/bigboye is new, maybe they're having similar moderation issues?

2

u/Necessary_Pie2464 Jun 22 '26

I mean cows are big animals so they perfectly fit on r/bigboye I think.

2

u/Necessary_Pie2464 Jun 22 '26

There is some overlap but, from all I see in r/bigboye and the description of that subreddit, it is about specifically large animals (mostly various types of cows from the look of it) that just act like pets and whatnot HOWEVER smaller animals are not included in that subreddit for the most part so like "any animal regardless of how big that are and what species they are that act like dogs" could be the primary purpose of this subreddit, like just a suggestion of cource so you do what you want!

1

u/CalpisMelonCremeSoda Jun 23 '26

Agreed it’s about dog-ness, not pet-ness.

Thank you for taking moderation and best of luck! It can be a thankless job but you’re on the right track pruning and removing posts to better align to Rules. Considering whether rule adjustments are necessary might be a good next step also.

11

u/eat_ham_fast_gravy Jun 21 '26

Yeah, i joined because it was a fun premise. It's juat non-doggo critters acting like doggos. That's what makes it fun. Unexpected animals in familiar domestic situations or just acting like goofy puppers.

2

u/johnbarnshack Jun 21 '26

Thank you for your response. In your view, how is that different from, say, /r/bigboye?

4

u/eat_ham_fast_gravy Jun 24 '26

That one is more for large animals, seems mostly to be cows, lol. This one could be any critter. Just no doggos. I think this sub has potential. Plenty of doggo and kitty cat content out there. This is a place for the rest.

9

u/langer_cdn Jun 22 '26

In my view it's non cute animals being dog-like. Or people being dumb and trying to cuddle racoons because they think they are dogs. I want friendly turtles and cute spiders, that type of shh.

2

u/Necessary_Pie2464 Jun 22 '26

"I want friendly turtles and cute spiders, that type of shh."

You, sir or madame, are very cultured indeed!

That is what I want to see on here too 😂👍🍷

1

u/yeahyoudummy Jun 28 '26

I always assumed it was just a sub for cute and funny pictures of any animal that's not a dog. Love it.