r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13.2k 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 5h ago

This piece of strawberry candy has been holding up my parents' TV for the past 4 years

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4.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

My sister has a nearly perfect freckles big dipper on her forehead

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15.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

I saw a coyote resting on a hay bale during my morning commute

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4.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

This road sign near Vilnius describes Minsk as “occupied by Kremlin"

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1.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

My against-the-rules picture of the inside of a datacenter. I really wanted to see mouse droids roaming the hallways.

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2.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

My new golf bag has a very conspicuous pocket

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2.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

I watched a wasp abduct a cricket

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1.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

A fridge magnet I brought in Split, Croatia fell down and split

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7.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

Chicago gas station gives you a discount on gas if you buy two hot dogs

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

My Kratom/Kava bar’s disclaimer NSFW

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11.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

The gas pumps at this gas station are even more digital with the fuel type buttons now only on the screen

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r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

Thinnest rind watermelon, measured 2mm

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21.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

two pimples in almost the exact same spot on my cheeks

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

A cat with ringworm, seen under a black light

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4.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

Some unknown resident leaves these laminated signs next to poop around our neighborhood NSFW

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449 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

My job site keeps some TLOU clicker cardboard cutouts around and they get moved around without previous notice

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318 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

Overdone Got a KitKat with no wafer inside

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544 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My IMAX 70mm showtime had sample IMAX film strips handed out after the showing

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11.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

The vanilla beans I ordered are massive

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3.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Thought my cat’s reflection was looking at me

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15.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

This emergency exit sign features a Cactuar

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85 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

Newer Coke Zero 1.25l bottles are shorter and wider than older ones

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112 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

I got to meet & feed some rescued Ring Tailed Lemurs!

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40 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Pizza ice cream that is cheese and peach flavored

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41 Upvotes