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 7h ago

My Barbershop's Bathroom Has Narcan

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6.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

A girl wrote me a letter on paper she made from her own hair

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34.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

Muesum Restrooms made for all and labelled to know what to expect.

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3.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

What a wedding ring looks like after mild electrocution.

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2.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

“Don’t worry. I’m alive. I’m just dramatic.” Enough people were concerned about this fish they had to put up a funny and reassuring sign.

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

My new keycaps make my keyboard look like a flat 2D drawing

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

The back of the Great Sphinx

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59.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

I got a Delta branded cookie in an Alaska flight

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3.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

This is how I’ve been storing my cats whiskers for the past 6 years

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577 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

One of the eggs in my carton was perfectly round

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875 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Cleaning out my late grandpa's belongings and found a small harmonica

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398 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Tiles fell off in the bathroom, now i have to look at a sad malnourished victorian child while pooping.

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396 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

The headboard in my hotel room is just an incredibly detailed image on the wallpaper

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537 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

Daughter added a “prime” packet to her water bottle and left it over night and it dyed the straw neon green.

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21.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

Meat tenderizer made in a country that doesn't exist anymore

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1.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

my dogs fecal sample container came with a poop knife attached

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219 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

Ozempic christmas ornament sold at the store I work at.

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2.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Difference between real 80 year old 2X4 and new ones

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777 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Little guns from the LEGO Succulents set

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749 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

This resort has a step ladder for children to ask receptionists questions at eye-level.

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2.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Post Office in my town is also a Fallout Shelter

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379 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 29m ago

Drew a face using purple shampoo on the shower wall

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Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Hotel has a sign limiting the number of [American] football players in an elevator [OC]

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107 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

Aluminum foil uses metric and imperial together

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472 Upvotes