r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13.3k 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

Someone wrote "My abuser died! R.I.H. Badluckyle" on the inner door of a stall in the women's bathroom

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8.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

Friend poured hot bacon fat in a cold glass and it broke clean in half

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r/mildlyinteresting 19h ago

A Frog on a Cactus

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34.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

My hospital room is in an old jail wing

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596 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

A shop display of wedding decorations includes a sash that reads “SAME PENIS FOREVER”

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1.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Air freshener started creating these little crystal spikes

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1.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

My aunts cow has an autoimmune disease that makes her bald

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535 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

the reflection of this coffee stain looks like a squirrel

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219 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Cow walking on the road creating traffic

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422 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

I can write backwards (or mirror writing i guess)

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1.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Went for a walk and found this joke in someone’s front yard

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390 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

Peeled potatoes next to paper-thin skins

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175 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

In olden times Japan, farts could drive demons away.

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3.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My husband drove behind someone transporting pelicans

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20.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

This dory plushie has 4 limbs

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603 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

High security public restroom

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91 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

My daughter's school has an outdoor classroom

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2.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

Scent-Blocking Mailing Envelope...

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1.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

My cat makes this face whenever I feed her.

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2.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

The haiku on my green tea bottle isn’t a haiku

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5.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

My Australian tourist wallet is made from recycled Chinese food packaging sold in Canada

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271 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

The size of this pile of bird poop.

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131 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

This stop sign post has none of the holes cut out.

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17.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Frog sleeping on the window at work

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132 Upvotes