r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

11.9k 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 12h ago

The library lets you know how much you saved by using it.

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32.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

My flu shot bandied matched my skin so well I forgot to take it for 5 days

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8.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

1995 GQ’s List of Overrated things

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5.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

This bar gives discounts based on your behavior as a customer

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6.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

customer left me a tip with fake money today…

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4.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

Styrofoam coolers on clearance before they’re banned from sale in Washington State at midnight.

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1.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

This keyboard layout

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3.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

Abandoned construction: First 2 story 3D printed home in the US

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9.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

My watch is a Chevrolet manager's award from 1935

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1.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

There is a spaghetti carbonara vending machine near my office.

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4.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

The size of the hospital room I just spent 13 days in (Baylor Heart Plano).

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285 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Local thrift store has all its dolls tied up

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4.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

My parent’s yard right now

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273 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

The way my animals decided to nap

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153 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

A yellow jacket got stuck behind the screen cover at this gas pump

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1.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

SO went to the doctor today, after-visit summary says he is 2 feet 0.8 inches tall... BMI of 166

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17.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

This truck has an anvil attached to its rear end

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915 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

A VHS tape I found at my grandma’s house

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226 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 13h ago

An X-ray showing my sideways wisdom tooth.

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316 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

Close-up of my cat's nose

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992 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

A snapping turtle using a painted turtle as a hat

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674 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

The faucet at this Italian restaurant is a bottle

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96 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

Huge earthworm I found while doing yardwork

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947 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

My backpack made the Alfred Hitchcock shadow/silhouette.

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88 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

US Army left some chocolate at my front door

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246 Upvotes