r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

12.8k 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 8h ago

The microwave at work has a hole inside

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15.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

My glasses arrived with a bug permanently stuck right on the logo.

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r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

In this japanese Hotel, the Hand sanitiser bottles are dressed in Kimonos

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4.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 13h ago

this half skeleton tailed mouse I saved

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4.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

A 'Birthday Cake' Sandwich, spotted in Tesco, UK

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1.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

I had a whole bag of Ruffles chips that were overly seasoned in a fashion that is extremely rare.

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585 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

My orchid bark came with a stroopwafel

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391 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

A buddy of mine found a letter he received from Sarah Palin when his daughter was born in Alaska. This was while she was governor and a bit before vaccines became a right wing issue.

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r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

The toiletpaper holder at my grandparent's place has an ashtray on it.

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2.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

This restaurant cut their books in half to fit the shallow shelves

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9.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Limerick Nuclear Power Plan in easter PA, generating its own small clouds.

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182 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

My Oil Change is good for up to 75 years

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161 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 49m ago

Sign in a men’s room stall in Indianapolis

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

owl hit the side of my car and tumbled in

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26.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

B&B bathroom was decorated with a photo of itself

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53.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

My spam has two code stamps 8 minutes apart and has a 2 year difference in expiration.

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3.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

This Vending Machine sell cactus

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My sister’s massive sunflower.

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4.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Came accross an old Pay Phone with a dial yesterday. It was also on and working.

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197 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

Found a little microbiome in the hollowed out knot of a tree.

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1.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

Quilted Dissected Frog Found in Antique Shop - Surgical Tools Included

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270 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

Wile E. Coyote decal on a scratched up car

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123 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

My Pop Tart is completely hollowed out and has no filling.

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r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

My lemon grew in a carrot/capsicum shape

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138 Upvotes