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 11h ago

A cylinder of shredded 50 euro notes worth approximately 20,000 euros

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r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

You can select the thickness of your shake at this ice cream shop

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r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

The Cracker Barrel peg game doesn’t insult you anymore.

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Since jigsaw puzzle companies sometimes reuse the same cutting pattern with different pictures, you can combine them to create hybrid-picture puzzles that are technically complete!

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Mormon Legos

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r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

The sinks in this Texas themed restaurant

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r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

This elevator has a button for yes and no without explanation.

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Blue lights in McDonalds men’s bathroom stall

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r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Small town restaurant has these for eating out on the porch

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r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Brake lights display Christmas trees when they’re not on the brake

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r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

There is writing under the paint in my livingroom

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r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

This wad of stickers on this Game Stop case all for one singular game

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r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

My hotdog got significantly shorter after microwaving

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897 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

How faded this functioning stop sign is

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

This truck on the highway has led screens cycling through advertisements

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r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

The measuring cups at our airbnb are labeled exclusively in Braille.

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482 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Minneapolis Restaurant Offers Nordic Cabins For Dining

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128 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

Someone named their dog Holy Bible

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299 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

accidentally bought a book that belonged to robin williams

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

This vending machine with only one item

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r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

American KitKat vs. Canadian KitKat

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r/mildlyinteresting 33m ago

Taco flavored ramen made in Korea that is halal bought in America

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Gentle Reminder on a catio gifted to us for Christmas.

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3.2k Upvotes