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[Flying Dice]

I never really said I was offended, just that I was shocked and depressed. I hadn't been on there in around 3 years, and had forgotten just how bad it really was. That was the whole point of my original WTF.

Fair enough, it's been more than a day so I probably forgot what you said in the first place.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Neonivek]

Ok here are two terms I want people to retire from using.

"Domesticated Animal" and "Wild Animal"

These terms at first glance look rather easy to understand. After all you have a cute little puppy and they are a lot harder to raise then a mean Coyote.

Yet "Domesticated" doesn't actually mean anything in the grand scheme of things and has incredible vague terms and requirements that usually just amount to "How much do we keep this animal?", as quite a few domesticated animals are violent or dangerous.

There will probably be people who will defend this under the basis that we have raised these animals for thousands of years... However, a big however, not all domesticated animals are anywhere close to that old. Plus we not only know how to breed animals for improved domestication (A specific Fox), but some animals typically listed as "not domesticated" domesticate just fine (a few species of Wild cats).

"Wild Animal" to mean "an animal in the wild" is a perfectly valid term. I wouldn't want to raise a wild dog. Yet when it is used to be the opposite of domesticated... yeah.

There are reasons we do not domesticate a Zebra but whenever I hear "Because it is a wild animal" what I actually hear are "Just because!" Not things like how Zebra's natural behavior are too difficult to teach out of them that are detrimental to domestication.

---

Or rather we shouldn't use terms that amount to arbitrary categories.

[overseer05-15]

Neo, where have you seen these words used in these manners.
I've always understood it as wild animal=wild animal and domesticated animal=/=wild animal.

[Neonivek]

Neo, where have you seen these words used in these manners.
I've always understood it as wild animal=wild animal and domesticated animal=/=wild animal.

In all fairness I practically never hear normal people use those terms in a way that aggravates me.

[Egan_BW]

You can have a trained wild animal or a feral domesticated animal. Domestication means that the animal is genetically different from their wild counterparts due to breeding.

[Rolan7]

To be honest, I sorta thought "domesticated" just meant "won't poop on your rug".
And when applied to a species, "Might not poop on your rug".

In other words I thought "cats are domesticated" was shorthand for "individual cats can be domesticated".

To be fair, a domesticated cow won't poop on your rug because it can't get in your house.  Or outside the fence.

[Egan_BW]

Meaning that if you keep your doors closed tight, bears are domesticated.

[Neonivek]

Domestication means that the animal is genetically different from their wild counterparts due to breeding.

So... Just dogs then? and only some dogs...

[Rolan7]

Meaning that if you keep your doors closed tight, bears are domesticated.

> Not putting a greeting rug on your front step to taunt wildlife

[Eric Blank]

Meaning that if you keep your doors closed tight, bears are domesticated.

But only if said doors are upwards of three inches thick and made of solid oak with reinforcing struts, just like every other wall of the house.

Steel or concrete works too, i guess. Just not sheet metal; like proper warship plating.

[NullForceOmega]

And don't leave any gaps, bears are stupid strong, they will pry that crack open to get your icecream.

[wierd]

Well duh, it's icecream.

For me, Domesticated means more "More likely to not maul or maim you in response to normal human shenanigans" than "wont poop on the rug"

Domesticated cows are more than likely going to just look at you stupidly if you do strange things around (or to) them. (Like making them take a giant suppository, or reaching up their hoohoos to pull a stuck calf.)

Wild cattle are quite likely to plant a big sharp horn someplace in your body if you try something like that without shooting them full of chemical sedatives.

Similar with things like Bears-- If you try to stop them from eating your icecream, they are likely to rip you into little bits, THEN eat the icecream anyway.

Your pet dog? You tell him NO, and he cowers and wets himself.

[Neonivek]

"More likely to not maul or maim you in response to normal human shenanigans"

Horses, Pigs, and even cows to a certain extent.

Not to mention some wild animals are well known for never attacking humans and will run away from them until they die.

[Greiger]

Cows are terrifying.  I grew up as a member of a family that raised Holsteins.  Like your typical black and white super friendly cow you see on milk bottles.  They would fuck your day right up if given half the chance.  And I'm not even talking about the bull.  When the farmer's doing that kind of stuff to the cow they are almost always doing that in a stall, where there is a big thick block of wood or metal between the cow's hooves and the farmer.

EDIT: Fortunately I was too little at the time to have to work with them, but me and my cousins would go play out in the pastures all day and we learned not to come anywhere near the towering walls of muscle and hooves.

[hops]

b-but cows