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Posted by michael on Tue Mar 02, 2004 12:45 PM
from the kill-me-now dept.
theodp writes "Cubby from New Jersey has a passion for peanut butter. Dedeaux from Baton Rouge likes to suck his brother's ear. Spike from the East Bay just wants to kiss pretty girls. Two months after computer and canine geeks in San Francisco launched a social networking site for dogs, 8,000+ pooches have their own Web page on Dogster.com, complete with mug shots, personal stories and listings of likes and pet peeves."
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  • Barking mad (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Space cowboy (13680) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:45PM (#8442144) Journal
    The problem with a 'free society' is that some people have far far too much time on their hands :-) All the more kudos to the site-creators for finding an oft-overlooked gap in the market for a site that most people (the sane ones) never suspected would exist...

    Oh yeah, and (from the article):

    Rosemary Pepper is a writer and founder of an online feminist magazine who wrote the copy for the Dogster site. She is the "I Like It Ruff" columnist.
    /me definitely doesn't mention anything about spicy feminists liking it "ruff", 'cos that would be politically incorrect [grin]

    Simon
  • My dog... (Score:5, Funny)

    by bonytony (696466) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:46PM (#8442148)
    Likes to sniff butts!
  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:46PM (#8442157)
    And here I was thinking it was a dating site for fugly chicks!
      • The comment about Slashdot Personals being a refuge for ugly chicks is really not in very good taste, considering that several of them will see this message should it be modded up high enough. I'm sure that most girl geeks don't consider themselves sex goddesses (although a few of them are nice enough to give us guys something to fantasize about [slashdot.org]) but I doubt there is really any girl who wants to hear that she's ugly. Considering the many guy geeks have probably been mocked by the pretty, popular girls dur

  • So sad (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Supp0rtLinux (594509) <Supp0rtLinux@yahoo.com> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:47PM (#8442170) Homepage
    So sad that so many people out there need to get a life. Yeah, those of us with pets love them a lot, but this is a bit extreme... though knowing our twisted society, it'll probably make for the best IPO in history in a few months...

    Is there a separate section for same sex dogs?

    The only thing necessary for Micro$oft to triumph is for a few good programmers to do nothing". North County Computers [nccomp.com]
    • Bakery (Score:5, Interesting)

      by nycsubway (79012) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:50PM (#8442200) Homepage
      There is a bakery in my town that sells ONLY dog treats. They are in the shape of cookies, pastries, cakes, etc. But they're for dogs.

      It is sad, but if money can be made doing it, I'm sure someone will.

      • I think a lot of people are lonely (maybe don't have children, a SO, a happy relationship, etc.) for whatever reason and bored. I know people who spend enormous sums of money on their single (in some cases multiple) animal(s), have pictures of them throughout their house, buy them special food, all manner of toys and accessories, have their pet professionally cleaned/manicured, and will pay medical bills akin to that of a sickly child*. They also like to talk to other people about their $PET's, they help
  • by SoupGuru (723634) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:47PM (#8442171)
    oh yeah, had to be said. apologies.
  • Obviously (Score:3, Funny)

    by wowbagger (69688) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:48PM (#8442181) Homepage Journal
    Obviously, this is the application for which the British are working on smell for email [slashdot.org].

    However, do you realise how much "dog butt" carts are going to cost?

  • by saintlupus (227599) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:48PM (#8442185) Homepage
    Cubby from New Jersey has a passion for peanut butter.

    [cue porno bassline]

    --saint
    • by vena (318873) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:53PM (#8442269)
      urban legend nothing, i'm from new jersey and knew a girl in highschool who had to change schools after everyone found out how she was enticing her dog into licking certain parts of her body.

      not a friend of a friend of a cousin thing, this girl was on my bus.
  • by maxwell demon (590494) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:49PM (#8442191) Journal
    ... in the net nobody knows you are a dog.
    Obviously this site is out to change that.
  • by superpulpsicle (533373) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:50PM (#8442203)
    www.microsoft.com

    Check it out my dog did a really good job.

  • by MosesJones (55544) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:50PM (#8442206) Homepage

    WLTM Bitch in Heat for romantic butt sniffing and frenzied humping. Any breed or cross breed is fine, I'm not breedist. Must have own walker and a good turn of speed. I'm a 200 pound Newfoundland so small dogs might not want to apply, unless you have been around a bit.

    Likes: Butt sniffing and frenzied humping

    Dislikes: Buckets of Cold water
  • by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:51PM (#8442227)
    slashdot is pretty much the same than that doggie site... imagine those pet-holders thinkin about a weblog all about computers and linuxes and geeky stuff. Theyd probably think the same what we think of them...
  • by orthogonal (588627) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:52PM (#8442232) Journal
    [The 21st century's answer to Aristotle, Euripides and Sophocles] launched a social networking site for dogs, 8,000+ pooches have their own Web page on Dogster.com, complete with mug shots, personal stories and listings of likes and pet peeves.

    Ha! Take that, Library of Alexandria!

    Guess you don't look so special now, with your dusty old Greek plays and crap, huh?
  • OT (Score:5, Interesting)

    by *coughs loudly* (301749) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:52PM (#8442238)
    What a wildly inappropriate slashdot article. Eight thousand pictures of dogs on the internet? Wow, that's really stretching what's possible with our infrastructure in a geek-friendly way.
  • by The_Rippa (181699) * on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:53PM (#8442251)
    See, this is why we need to further develop the Scented Email...my dog said it want's to get a wiff of the ass of CutePup316
  • The coolster suffix for all those dudesters who dream of starting their own boomster sitester.

    Catster.com for pussies? Ratster for rodents? How about Hamster.com for those who like smoked pig thighs? Chickster.com for girls?

    We can make it even more cool:

    Dogsta! Chicksta! Gangsta! Hamsta!

    Hey d00d, I'm a Slashsta!

  • So What? (Score:5, Funny)

    by H8X55 (650339) <jason.r.thomasNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:53PM (#8442263) Homepage Journal
    Yeah - I scoffed at the article. Then I read it and scoffed a bit more. Then i went and registered our two dogs. And you know you did the same thing.
  • Wonderful! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:54PM (#8442273)
    I, for one, would like to welcome our Canine overlords! Woof!
  • Rant (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DarkHelmet (120004) * <mark.seventhcycle@net> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:55PM (#8442281) Homepage

    Sorry Slashdot readers, but I'm a little pissed.

    Dogster. Wonderful. I write an Open Source Social Network [sourceforge.net] program, and Slashdot rejects any sort of story on it only to put a story about Dogster.

    Sorry, but I feel a little shunned. I do have a little bit of pride in what I do, and things like this kind of shatter it.

    Yeah, I know, the type of site I'm doing has been done... But then again, does that make Linux "Just Another Kernel?" I'm sure that would be up for debate.

    Yes everyone, the ideal is novel. But hello, anyone? This is news for NERDS, not, news for dogs. We typically like things like anime, Open Source, Star Wars and SCO. This fits under neither.

    This wasn't even marked as "Humor". I'm not laughing anyway.

    /Rant off.

    • Re:Rant (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dave420 (699308) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:59PM (#8442332)
      Dude, it's slashdot. You have to expect brilliant articles being overlooked and replaced by dupes from earlier this morning. Just like you have to expect overzealous moderators and insensitive clods...

      It's easy to get your feelings hurt on here, but just remember that it's slashdot. After all's said and done, this is just a website with a bunch of geeks spouting off :-P

      And long may it continue... ;)

    • Re:Rant (Score:5, Funny)

      by savagedome (742194) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:00PM (#8442337)
      This is news for NERDS, not, news for dogs

      The guy sitting next to me greets me every morning with 'What up dog?'. I figure the story is appropriate.
    • by Wee (17189) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:21PM (#8442587)
      ...and nobody cares. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this.

      Dogster. Wonderful. I write an Open Source Social Network program, and Slashdot rejects any sort of story on it only to put a story about Dogster.

      Perhaps that's because the owners of this site feel that nobody would care about your web site? Or are you just upset that you can't get free advertising? Not to put too fine a point on it, but you sound like a kid whining because nobody comes to your birthday party. You can't force them to come, you know. If people see some value in doign so, or satisfy some personal need in doing so, they will come.

      Yeah, I know, the type of site I'm doing has been done... But then again, does that make Linux "Just Another Kernel?" I'm sure that would be up for debate.

      You hit the nail on the head: "it's been done". And done more than a few times. And been done probably better than you did it -- better than I would have done it, too. That's just reality.

      But what gets me is that you compare your web page to an operating system's kernel. Newflash: one is important in the grand scheme of things, and one is not. Again, that's just reality. I'm a little surprised that I even have to say that. I mean, your comparison isn't even close to valid. It's like you're complaining that nobody cares about the really nice and intricate paper airplanes you've made, and all anyone talks about is 747's. And now all everyone -- the ingrates! -- is talking about this new Airbus thing. Where's the justice? Seriously, can't you see where your anger is just a little misplaced?

      Yes everyone, the ideal is novel

      Again, you hit the nail squarely on the head: Dogster is a novel idea. My mom even knows about it. My relatives who hardly use computers think it's just fabulous, and put up profiles of little Fluffy the poodle. The idea has traction, for whatever reason (quite a bit of that reason is being the first to do it).

      Yours is not a novel concept, and is probably somewhat played out by now. You're late to the party. Time to look at reality again. If you did "Catster" or "Birdster" or, hell, even "Hamster" people might come. But imagine if you did a Dogster clone. Can you see anyone coming to it? No? Why not? Probably for the same reason that nobody comes to your Friendster clone: it's an already crowded market, with no room for your efforts. That may be sad, but it's true.

      But hello, anyone? This is news for NERDS, not, news for dogs. We typically like things like anime, Open Source, Star Wars and SCO. This fits under neither.

      Try not to tell people what they like. That's likely partly the cause of your problems.

      I'd suggest abandoning the Friendster clone you've done and spending time and effort on something else. You've probably learned a lot from your efforts, so it likely wasn't a completely lost cause. Use that knowledge to make a new site, if a web site is really what you want, only this time find a novel concept. Slashdot, even though it's been copied over and over, was novel when it started out. That's why it's popular (and regardless of what you think about its occupants or its design, Slashdot is popular).

      -B

        • The site itself is not original. The fact that "Catster", "Birdster" or even "Hamster" could be running off this codebase, is.

          Well, there you go. That's more than a silver lining: it's the groundwork for a new project. (Assuming that a popular web site is what's you're aiming for.)

          If what you're after is to showcase your work and get the word out there about your project, then why not try something like Linux Magazine's Project of the Month [linux-mag.com]? They've had articles by the guys that did Gallery, Tight

    • Mike, Just a suggestion... You might have better luck if you don't use your picture or refer to yourself as "DarkHelmet"
  • by addie (470476) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:59PM (#8442324)
    Everyone seems to be passionate about one thing or another, for many /. readers it's open source software, criticizing George Lucas, or karma whoring. For these people it's their dogs. Whenever I see someone who is so obsessed with a subject as to be considered disturbed, it makes me depressed. At first. Why don't you find beauty and inspiration in nature I think, or the arts? Get a hobby!

    But wait, you have one already...

    These people may have "nothing better to do with their time" or are "lonely and sad" but the fact is that everyone is passionate about one thing or another. If we all enjoyed the same interests then this world would be a very boring place, and there wouldn't be the advances in science and technology that there have been. So don't bash the hobby-freaks too much, as you're probably one too. Freak is in the eye of the beholder, as it were.
  • My Family. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Sentosus (751729) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @12:59PM (#8442329)
    My girlfriend and I can no medically have children. This is something that we have known for a while. Instead, we have Cricket, Cupid, and Prancer. They are our children. Cricket sleeps with his head on the pillow in bed. Cupid rolls up behind his mommy's(girlfriend)legs. Prancer sleeps on the floor.

    Cricket has missing front teeth from his owners in Winnsboro, South Carolina kicking him. He also suffers epilepsy. Cupid has no fur where his two previous owns let him get fleas, which he was allergic. Prancer has no fur at also.

    There is nothing wrong with us as a family. I care for them and pay their doctor bils. They are similar to a small child 6-7 years old. They love to go for rides in the car and also know when we are having a bad day.

    I truely endorse this website as any steps for us to make their life happy in the same way they make mine happy and soothe my needs to have children.

    So please do not put down pet owners or say they are freaks. You may simply not understand the bond that people have with their animals. I know that I consider Cricket to be my son and when he gets a shot, he reaches for me just like any child would to their parent.

    ^---- Chichiuahuas. --- Spelling bad.
    • Re:My Family. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Cryp2Nite (67224) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:28PM (#8442665)
      To quote the parent:
      I truely endorse this website as any steps for us to make their life happy...
      Trust me when i say your dogs don't care. If you want to make their life happier, take them out to play more often, buy them a bone or a toy, spend some more time with them.

      Putting your pooch on the web has nothing to do with with their happiness. It has to do with the owners being goofballs ;-)
    • So please do not put down pet owners or say they are freaks. You may simply not understand the bond that people have with their animals. I know that I consider Cricket to be my son and when he gets a shot, he reaches for me just like any child would to their parent.

      The twisty paths natural selection takes through "problem space" never ceases to amaze me.

      Humans are neotenous apes: our maturity is delayed, our childhood prolonged, in order that we can take the years required to train our over-sized brains
  • by Asprin (545477) <gsarnold.yahoo@com> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:03PM (#8442378) Homepage Journal

    I pronouce this idea DOOMED-TO-FAIL(tm)!

    Why?

    No smell-o-vision. Dogs need that.
  • really big bags of venture capital, a sock-puppet mascot and some future felons currently employed as stock analysts.

    When they outsource it to India, will it spin-off a Cowster.com?
  • by bareman (60518) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:03PM (#8442380) Homepage Journal
    with Doggie Style sheets?
  • by Prince Vegeta SSJ4 (718736) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:07PM (#8442422)
    Geez don't scare me, a quick glance at the article and I saw this:

    Dedeaux from Baton Rouge likes to suck his brother's ear

    and thought WTF is happening hear?

  • by prescot6 (731593) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:08PM (#8442444)

    Uhh... Could everybody stop going to the site? It's really feeling the burn of /. and my dog is expecting a really important e-mail from this bitch he met online last week.

    ...

  • by RailGunner (554645) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:12PM (#8442486)
    I want, nay, I demand equal representation for Cats. Discrimination against cats has gone on too long.. Felines have for far too long been portrayed in film and other media as villians - for example, why was Tom the Cat in the Tom and Jerry cartoons the villians? Why was Sylvester inept and always scared? My cat tells me that she's not taking it, and the claws will come out if they have to!

    This could very well be the most important civil rights issue in a long time. ;)

    • Oh - there's a Catster out there, so Cats are equally represented. Damn.. makes the joke a lot less funny.

      I guess all I have now is to channel Roseanna Roseannadanna and say "Never Mind".

  • by dr_dank (472072) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:19PM (#8442561) Homepage Journal
    Looks like Dogster has been put to sleep.
  • by malelder (414533) <kurtchristNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:22PM (#8442594)
    For me to poop on!

    Sorry :/

  • Pets.com anyone? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Saint Stephen (19450) on Tuesday March 02 2004, @01:23PM (#8442611) Homepage Journal
    It's official: Friendster and Instant Messaging are in a bubble. I swear to freaking god, people will fall for the same crapola time after time after time after time. Remember, people once thought pets.com was a GREAT idea!

    It's times like this I'm glad Silicon Valley is being outsourced.
    • The slogan for the now defunct pets.com was "because pets can't drive. Now that they can type and work a mouse, the driving thing can't be too far behind...
    • Waste of time, yes, but it sounds quite lucrative for the site operators.

      Most of the crap here on the internet is targeted at small demographics, but due to the large geographic market, they can be quite successful.

      There's probably still lots of untapped market in the pet oriented websphere. If you are a pet owner who knows how obsessive some pet owners can be, then why not? (note to self: remember this and get to work!)

      Too many people here seem to expect the web to remain self-referencial forever, but