Hello everyone

We have updated the rules for /r/Aww, and provided more detailed description of these rules in the /r/Aww/wiki. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please comment here or message the moderation team.

The three most notable changes are:

1. /r/Aww will only permit post links to the following domains:

   • imgur.com
   • youtube.com
   • youtu.be
   • gfycat.com
   • vid.me
   • flickr.com/staticflickr
   • pinimg.com
   • 500px.org
   • streamable.com
   • twimg.com

2. Claiming ownership of a pet (generally in the title of a post) that is not yours will result in removal and/or banning.

3. Watermarks containing social media handles are not permitted.

The full rules text from the /r/Aww/wiki:

What is r/Aww?

Aww is a default subreddit, meaning you are automatically subscribed to it when you create your account. The focus of this subreddit is to to post pictures, videos and stories of things that make you go, "Aww!" from utter cuteness.

/r/Aww permits posts of both animals and humans.

Aww Rules

Here we have listed the sidebar rule followed by a more in-depth explanation of each rule.

1. No "sad" content, such as pics of animals that have passed away (try /r/petloss) or sob stories (e.g. found him in a dumpster).

• Your title must be "100% happy". No mentioning death, injury, RIP posts, finding abandoned animals, sick/survived cancer, pets being put to sleep, "I miss...", etc.

You may tell the complete story, unhappy parts and all, in the comments section.

• Silver lining stories still fall under Rule 1.

For example, "Jakey was hit by a car and had cancer, but he is a happy little fella today!" is not allowed.

2. No comics, captioned pictures (try /r/lolcats), or photos of just text.

• No memes, pictures of kind letters, photos with snapchat banners, or anything similar.

Example of caption. Example of letter.

• We do Not allow watermarks containing social media handles.

This includes Facebook pages - - Twitter users & #hashtags - - Instagram handles - - Pinterest handles

• Acceptable watermarks Must be small & non-distracting

• If you must have a watermark we suggest your reddit username

3. No post titles asking for upvotes or approval.

• For example:

"any love for...",

"what does /r/aww think of...",

"Not your typical aww",

"this didn't get much love on...",

"karma machine".

4. No slurs or harassing comments.

• This includes racial slurs, sexually inappropriate comments, and personal attacks on users or their animals.

• While we welcome reasoned and respectful conversation about animal related issues, this is not primarily a debate sub. Slapfights or comments that become abusive may be deleted and/or result in a ban.

5. No linking to personal social sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

• /r/Aww accepts submissions from only the following approved sources.

imgur.com

youtube.com/youtu.be

gfycat.com

vid.me

flickr.com/staticflickr

pinimg.com

500px.org

streamable.com

twimg.com

• If you feel your image host should be added to the above whitelist please message the mods explaining why it should be approved.

• Comments containing links to social media sites will be removed as they may contain personal or private information.

6. No NSFW content.

• Posting NSFW content is grounds for being banned without warning. This includes both comments and posts.

• Linking to NSFW subreddits is never allowed.

• Warning others that a post or comment is NSFW is no excuse for violating this rule.

7. No asking for donations, sponsorship, or adoptions (try /r/care or /r/assistance).

• This includes:

trying to find the owners of a lost pet.

Trying to sell your pet or find a pet a home.

Promoting adoption/breeder websites or shelters.

Asking for $ to pay for medical bills, food, or care.

Searching for pet sponsors, caregivers, or general assistance.

8. No bots or bot-like behavior.

• This includes both comments and links.

• No bots (unless given mod approval) are allowed to post comments, bans will be issued without warning.

• Novelty accounts are allowed, but if the action they make could be replicated by a bot (such as repeating the same word repeatedly or posting identical comments from previous threads) a ban will be given.

9. No false claims of content ownership.

• You may post images that do not belong to you, but pretending that they are yours will result in a removal/ban.

• If the title is written in a way such as to lead the subscribers to believe you are the pet owner/subject in the photo/photographer when you are not, the post will be removed.

• OP's pretending to own the pet/photograph in the comment section will also result in action against the comments/account.

EDIT: A very, very, VERY big, "Thank you!" to /u/Motha_Effin_Kitty_Yo for spearheading this effort! This would not have been done without your hard work.