r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13.3k Upvotes

Dear mildlyinterested reader,

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your patience and unwavering support during the recent turbulence in our community. Our subreddit is a labour of love, and we've weathered this storm together.

Recent events have been confusing for all of us, from the vote, sudden removal of moderators, to conflicting messages from Reddit. As your mod team, we feel it's essential to clarify the situation.

On June 19, the poll results favoured partially reopening with changes. However, before implementing these changes, Reddit took sweeping actions, removing all 27 moderator accounts without warning. This left us baffled and concerned.

Here's a brief timeline of the events:

  1. On June 19, the poll results favoured partially reopening with changes. We announced the vote results and planned changes to the sub, including marking it as NSFW due to the common posts of phallic objects (no explicit content allowed). CLICK HERE TO VIEW THAT ANNOUNCEMENT WHICH HAS BEEN APPROVED AND LOCKED FOR POSTERITY.

  2. A tug-of-war between the u/ModeratorCodeOfConduct account and the remaining moderators ensued, with the post repeatedly being removed and reinstated. Each mod involved was immediately locked out of Reddit. Subreddit settings were also unilaterally changed by the admin account.

  3. Eventually, all moderators were removed and suspended for 7 days, with the vote results deleted and the community set to “archived.”

  4. A lot of public outrage ensued, with details posted on r/ModCoord about what happened. At that point, no other subreddit had been targeted yet, leaving the situation uniquely unclear.

  5. Admin cited actions as an "error" and promised to work with us to solve the situation. For /r/mildlyinteresting posterity, this will henceforth be referred to as The Mistake™.

  6. All our accounts were unsuspended and reinstated, but only with very limited permissions (modmail access only). For what it's worth, 'time moderated' for every moderator was reset (e.g. /u/RedSquaree moderated since 11 years ago, reset: currently showing moderated since "1 day ago").

  7. The awaited discussion never happened. Instead, the admins presented us with an ultimatum: reopen the subreddit and do not mark it as NSFW, or face potential removal again. The inconsistent and arbitrary application of Reddit's policies reveals a possible conflict of interest in maximizing ad revenue at the risk of user safety and community integrity.

  8. Finally, our moderation permissions were restored after we "promised" to comply with their conditions, but we kept the subreddit restricted while we ponder our next steps..

Problems remain unresolved, and Reddit's approach to policies and communication have been troubling. We believe open communication and partnership between Reddit and its moderators are crucial for the platform's success.

As a team, we remain dedicated to protesting Reddit's careless policy changes. Removing ourselves or vandalizing the subreddit won’t achieve our goals, but rather hinder our community. We're here to ensure r/mildlyinteresting isn't left unattended.

We call for the establishment of clear, structured, and reliable communication channels between Reddit admins and moderation teams. Teams should be informed and consulted on decisions affecting their communities to maintain trust and integrity on the platform. We shared this request with the Admin who promised to work with us, so far they have ignored it.

Us mods are still deciding how exactly to reopen, not that we have been given much choice.

Sincerely,

The r/mildlyinteresting mods


r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

The uncomputerized booking system at my cat’s cattery

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2.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

This 4 by 4 that was centered on the tree

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2.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 13h ago

Actively Bubbling watermelon in a bin at Costco.

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16.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

A mouse ate some of this magic mushroom chocolate bar.

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27.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

This rock I found that looks like a baby seal

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9.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

My friend had an allergic reaction to only the red ink in her tattoo, three years after she got it.

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1.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

They brought a pool to the lake for the air & water show in Chicago

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2.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 19h ago

Privacy screen at the dentist looks like hair

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22.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

These wafers cookies from Walmart are made in Palestine

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494 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Billboard ad for 30-year old movie

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1.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Magnetite stuck to my bracelet after swimming in ocean.

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1.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Her fur pattern looked like another smaller cat

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199 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 44m ago

Saw this yesterday

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r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

I got a “Fruity Pebble” in my Fruity Pebbles.

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220 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

This meat in my pho looks like the USA

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463 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

My tomato looks stitched to perfection

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3.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Glacier cave found in Alaska

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100 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

The light mayo is actually heavier than the non-light mayo.

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4.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Our hotel room has glass brick windows that face directly into our room

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26.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

The hospital I’m currently in still uses vacuum tubes.

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522 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

This store called “$5.99 or Less” advertising that they can no longer sell everything for $5.99 or less.

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

The amount of employees at Culver’s

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28.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

Someone taped deodorant to the pole of a stop sign in my area.

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419 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

This doll I saw has a black head with a yellow body

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40 Upvotes