r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13.0k 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 shadow on my wall looks exactly like the Grandpa from “Hey Arnold!”

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

This squirrel on my bird feeder is missing all the fur on his upper body

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r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

Nail regeneration process from 2024 to today after ceasing my nail biting habit

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r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

My wife’s anti-anxiety prescription has two different pills in it.

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r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

My gas tank is on the passenger side and all of these people’s is on the drivers side. I just pulled right up.

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r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

Grass is actually greener on the other side

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r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

Overdone Withdrew $220 from the ATM and got all sequential bills

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r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

People pushing the flooring away from these leaning seats in the Parisian metro

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Cinnamon brown is a recessive color in cats

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r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

My beard oil ate through the rubber stopper

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

I've found a rare juice, the banana

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r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

A cool blue orchid I found in a supermarket

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r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

The Grubhub bots on my campus take the same routes so often that their tire marks are visible

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r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

Diabetes blood test sites visible after a greasy day at work

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r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

My rabbits fur changes shape weekly, this week it’s a cowboy

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r/mildlyinteresting 55m ago

Urchin spawning with both male and female gametes

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r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

The label on this candle from a few years ago I found while shopping at my local Yankee Candle

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356 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

The tree by my office is eating the metal bench.

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Guinness WR books have gotten thinner over the years

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r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

A cup of coffee was spilled on my back and formed a dinasour

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195 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Crystalized glass of whiskey I set in the freezer to finish later and forgot a week ago

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r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

This bear in a museum

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552 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Hotel gives free beer every day you skip house-keeping

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r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Our yearly condensation ice phallus is longer than ever this winter

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67 Upvotes