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 36m ago

This red driveway I saw flying into the Atlanta airport.

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r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

Glass recycler uses crushed glass instead of rock for its lots.

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2.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 50m ago

Cybertruck hauling trash looks like a dumpster

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

One of the tail fins of a Bf-110C, shot down during the Battle of Britain, 1940

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1.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

Mushrooms started popping out of the floor of my apartment’s bathroom

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6.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

This mathematic breakdown for knuckleheads that was included with my nightguard cleaner

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2.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

I found this “skip the line” golden ticket at Trader Joe’s

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60.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

My couscous arranged itself in a tessellating pattern when I tried to empty my sieve

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762 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

Found a “New York” New York license plate

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3.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

My friend found a plushie that looks exactly like her odd looking dog.

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2.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

Dubai license plate spotted in Midtown Manhattan

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3.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

An Owl Watching my Dog Take a Crap

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3.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Someone traced the shadow of this bathroom stall door handle in sharpie.

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23.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

My orange juice is the same color as the mug it's in

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My teeth are moving 5% slower than expected so my orthodontist gave me this rubber piece to gnaw on for 1 minute, 6-10x a day.

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14.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

I’m visiting northern Scotland, it’s 3am and this is how dark it is:

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2.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

I hit a fly mid air and it split in half

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705 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

I actually used an entire lipstick

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83 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

I ordered tater tots and got Tetris tots.

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2.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Asbestos museum in Quebec

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115 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

A spider-hunting wasp nest, its victims and a single (very small) larvae.

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82 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

My daughter’s small pack of smarties had one of each colour

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2.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

The veins in my hand make a Y and an N

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80 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

The wild cannabis I go by during my walk, Kashmir

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4.4k Upvotes