The tag alias #60512 african_wild_dog -> african_painted_dog has been rejected.

Reason: As of right now, the tags african_wild_dog and painted_dog both exist for the African predator Lycaon pictus. However, african_wild_dog is the default reference tag, and painted_dog is replaced with the default when used in a search. I would like to propose, that while both tags should remain, painted_dog should become the default instead.

It is my understanding that some time ago, e621 created aliases for tags that might be offensive to certain groups of people. For example, the tag "dickgirl" is now aliased to "gynomorph," since "dickgirl" might considered offensive. The old tag can still be used, but defaults to the new term. People can even see the new tag when using the old one, which helps to inform them of the situation if they weren't aware of it, and helps to encourage people to use the new term/discard the old one.

By the same logic, I am requesting the change to "painted_dog" as the default reference tag. While an animal species is obviously not on the same level as a group of people, use of the term "wild dog" to refer to Lycaon pictus is still derogatory. The term was coined during the colonial period in Africa specifically with the express purpose of creating a negative image of the species, to help encourage the hunting and extermination of them as "pests." There were even bounties put out for painted dog tails and pelts. Here is a link to a source which mentions the history of the name, and more information can be found in academic papers: https://www.painteddogresearch.org/painted-dogs

Today, Lycaon pictus is a highly endangered species that will likely become extinct in the next 100 years. Despite their plight, many people are unaware that they are even a unique species, often confusing them for hyenas, or when corrected, thinking they are literally domestic dogs living in the wild, as the term "wild dog" might imply. The academic and conservation community has agreed upon the name "Painted Dog" as the best, positive common name for the species, and there has been an ongoing effort to rebrand the species as such for many years. Continued use of the term "wild dog" signals acceptance and agreement with the view that they are pests which should be hunted down, while use of the new term "painted dog" helps to highlight them as a unique species in need of our help. Public outreach and education is one of the most important things we can do to help aid conservation efforts.

I believe that making this change to the tags would go a long way to helping with those outreach and education efforts. There are obviously many people here who love animals. But due to the struggles and efforts the conservation community has had in rebranding the species, many people still aren't even aware of the other names for the species, continuing to call them "Wild Dogs" and completely unaware of its derogatory nature. If "painted_dog" could be made as the default reference tag, people would still be able to use "african_wild_dog," but they would actively see it replaced by "painted_dog" when they make a search. This would at least highlight the issue and make them aware of the rebranding effort, as opposed to being completely oblivious to the situation if they use "african_wild_dog" in the current state of the site.

Thank you for considering this proposal. While I use this site fairly frequently, I don't really interact in the comments or forums. But conservation of painted dogs is something I am very passionate about, so I felt compelled to make an effort for this change. I will try to check in on this post to see what the results are, and I would be happy to discuss the topic more if anyone would like.

Addendum: The "painted_dog" tag already exists, it is just not the default reference tag for the species. My proposal is not to create the "african_painted_dog" tag, but to make "painted_dog" the default reference tag. However, the site will not allow me to submit this proposal, since the "painted_dog" tag already exists. As such, I have modified the "To" tag, just to allow me to submit this request. "african_painted_dog" would also be an acceptable reference tag, but I see no need for such a tag if "painted_dog" already exists. Either one is fine though, and the entire point is to have one of those as the reference tag, as opposed to "african_wild_dog," which is the current reference tag.

EDIT: The tag alias african_wild_dog -> african_painted_dog (forum #353939) has been rejected by @gattonero2001.

kirov099 said:

Reason

As of right now, the tags african_wild_dog and painted_dog both exist for the African predator Lycaon pictus. However, african_wild_dog is the default reference tag, and painted_dog is replaced with the default when used in a search. I would like to propose, that while both tags should remain, painted_dog should become the default instead.

It is my understanding that some time ago, e621 created aliases for tags that might be offensive to certain groups of people. For example, the tag "dickgirl" is now aliased to "gynomorph," since "dickgirl" might considered offensive. The old tag can still be used, but defaults to the new term. People can even see the new tag when using the old one, which helps to inform them of the situation if they weren't aware of it, and helps to encourage people to use the new term/discard the old one.

By the same logic, I am requesting the change to "painted_dog" as the default reference tag. While an animal species is obviously not on the same level as a group of people, use of the term "wild dog" to refer to Lycaon pictus is still derogatory. The term was coined during the colonial period in Africa specifically with the express purpose of creating a negative image of the species, to help encourage the hunting and extermination of them as "pests." There were even bounties put out for painted dog tails and pelts. Here is a link to a source which mentions the history of the name, and more information can be found in academic papers: https://www.painteddogresearch.org/painted-dogs

Today, Lycaon pictus is a highly endangered species that will likely become extinct in the next 100 years. Despite their plight, many people are unaware that they are even a unique species, often confusing them for hyenas, or when corrected, thinking they are literally domestic dogs living in the wild, as the term "wild dog" might imply. The academic and conservation community has agreed upon the name "Painted Dog" as the best, positive common name for the species, and there has been an ongoing effort to rebrand the species as such for many years. Continued use of the term "wild dog" signals acceptance and agreement with the view that they are pests which should be hunted down, while use of the new term "painted dog" helps to highlight them as a unique species in need of our help. Public outreach and education is one of the most important things we can do to help aid conservation efforts.

I believe that making this change to the tags would go a long way to helping with those outreach and education efforts. There are obviously many people here who love animals. But due to the struggles and efforts the conservation community has had in rebranding the species, many people still aren't even aware of the other names for the species, continuing to call them "Wild Dogs" and completely unaware of its derogatory nature. If "painted_dog" could be made as the default reference tag, people would still be able to use "african_wild_dog," but they would actively see it replaced by "painted_dog" when they make a search. This would at least highlight the issue and make them aware of the rebranding effort, as opposed to being completely oblivious to the situation if they use "african_wild_dog" in the current state of the site.

Thank you for considering this proposal. While I use this site fairly frequently, I don't really interact in the comments or forums. But conservation of painted dogs is something I am very passionate about, so I felt compelled to make an effort for this change. I will try to check in on this post to see what the results are, and I would be happy to discuss the topic more if anyone would like.

Addendum: The "painted_dog" tag already exists, it is just not the default reference tag for the species. My proposal is not to create the "african_painted_dog" tag, but to make "painted_dog" the default reference tag. However, the site will not allow me to submit this proposal, since the "painted_dog" tag already exists. As such, I have modified the "To" tag, just to allow me to submit this request. "african_painted_dog" would also be an acceptable reference tag, but I see no need for such a tag if "painted_dog" already exists. Either one is fine though, and the entire point is to have one of those as the reference tag, as opposed to "african_wild_dog," which is the current reference tag.

According to Blades (2020), whose study is the basis for the suggested rebranding of the the "African wild dog" as the "painted dog", they argued that while renaming it to "painted dog" would be beneficial in creating a positive image for the Lycaon pictus in education and charity organisations, the split both within and between the scientific community and conservation societies in the naming of the species would ultimately hinder any sort of positive progress. It would require a widespread and collaborative effort between all parties to use the rebranded name for it to be effective. However, any sort of strife in the naming debate for the Lycaon pictus may be equally as harmful as naming them the "African wild dog".

In other words, unless widespread use of the "painted dog" name is adopted worldwide, I don't really see a reason to support this alias.

thegreatwolfgang said:

According to Blades (2020), whose study is the basis for the suggested rebranding of the the "African wild dog" as the "painted dog", they argued that while renaming it to "painted dog" would be beneficial in creating a positive image for the Lycaon pictus in education and charity organisations, the split both within and between the scientific community and conservation societies in the naming of the species would ultimately hinder any sort of positive progress. It would require a widespread and collaborative effort between all parties to use the rebranded name for it to be effective. However, any sort of strife in the naming debate for the Lycaon pictus may be equally as harmful as naming them the "African wild dog".

In other words, unless widespread use of the "painted dog" name is adopted worldwide, I don't really see a reason to support this alias.

Thank you for linking this study! I hadn't seen it before, and it hadn't occurred to me to find papers on this topic specifically, as most of my research has been on the biology of the species itself. It has a lot of good info, but after reading it, if anything, I think it supports my argument. You are claiming that the authors argue that a split would ultimately hinder any sort of positive progress, but I do not find that to be the case after reading it. They seem to suggest as much in a single sentence in the abstract, but that topic is not really revisited in the entirety of the paper until the conclusion. Within the conclusion, it doesn't make that argument directly, but simply says it's a potential that should be considered. To quote:

"What is absolutely critical, though, is that in order to be successful, conservation must be collaborative. Parties invested in painted dog conservation must either all adopt this term, or at least cease criticism between themselves in order for it to be successful or else run the risk of further confusion and split resources. Rebranding would not necessarily be without its challenges, but it is likely that if carried out successfully, it could begin to improve conservation outcomes for this endangered species."

Even if I'm wrong, and the authors are making that claim, it would be purely speculative on the author's part. That is not what study set out to find, and not what their data supports. And making an assertion without data-based evidence is exactly what they criticize the BBC for doing with the "Painted Wolf" name. What the paper does show, is that "African Wild Dog" is the established name within academic papers, and that "Painted Dog" has the best positive association for the species. And those arguments are backed by data.

In regard to the first assertion there, I think there's some bias. "African Wild Dog" is the currently established term, that much is clear already (there wouldn't be a rebranding effort otherwise). Because of that, since we are talking about peer-reviewed and edited papers, I think it likely that even if someone tried to use another name, editors would request a change to the already established name. Dr. Rasmussen is referenced extensively in the paper, as he's one of the big names associated with the species. I've a read a few of his papers, and the term "African Wild Dog" is used in the paper itself, even though he personally uses "Painted Dog," and is even clearly associated with the Painted Dog Research Trust in his name block in his papers.

In regard to the second assertion, it is clear that "Painted Dog" is the best choice for a name from the data, even if by a narrow margin, although the authors admit that there is difficulty in getting disparate groups to agree on using a single term. And that is *exactly* what I am trying to do with this tag request. I personally do not prefer the term "Painted Dog." I think "Madash," a native word, or "Painted Wolf," would be better options. But, in the spirit of XKCD's Competing Standards comic (https://xkcd.com/927/), I have adopted, and advocate for the term "Painted Dog," as that clearly seems to be the preferred choice among conservationists and academics, at least in the circles I frequent.

This all just brings me back to my original point though. "Painted Dog" is not the current standard. But "Wild Dog" is derogatory because of the history behind it's coinage. And that is *exactly* why I am making this request. The paper you cite indicates that if a rebranding is successful, it could have a positive impact. The difficulty is in the rebranding itself actually being successful. And we have the opportunity to help make it successful. I am not requesting this change because "Painted Dog" *is* the standard. I am requesting this change to help it *become* the standard. The "let's wait until widespread use is adopted worldwide" approach is what I'm working against. If everyone waits for somebody else to make the change first, then nobody ever makes the change. It takes people actively breaking the norm to help make that change.

The requested change wouldn't even be forced upon people. Everyone would still be able to use the "african_wild_dog" tag if they so desire. The only difference being that they would see "painted_dog" as the reference tag if they do. That's a victory in my book. There are so many people who aren't aware of the issue behind the name. There are so many people who aren't aware that they are an endangered species. There so many people who aren't even aware that they are a species of their own, and not a hyena or domestic dog. This change, which would have literally no negative impact on anyone (apart from the cost on the admins who have to implement the change), would do a lot help raise awareness. As it stands now, no one ever sees "painted_dog" unless they are someone who already knows it exists. With this change, people see the "painted_dog" name, and become aware of it. They might become curious about the name, and even if they don't use it, they might still learn more about the endangered plight of the species simply by looking up the dilemma behind the name.

The tag alias african_wild_dog -> african_painted_dog (forum #353939) has been rejected by @gattonero2001.