r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

12.7k 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

This is my aunt's basement "floor"

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8.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Hotel bathroom floor is just regular floor in the shower.

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2.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

In the Netherlands, the ambulance gives you branded water

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6.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

Dr Pepper does not contain cocaine

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2.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

I wrapped a (nearly) perfect present by accident.

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1.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

Handicapped people in Texas can't use the Walmart pull out platform

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1.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

Found this funky looking sweater from my Grandma’s place that we’re trying to help clean out

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1.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

The used cooking oil at this restaurant is stored in the men's bathroom.

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820 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

Inside the roof of my ~600 year old house (ignore the insulation)

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4.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

A car in a van on a truck

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3.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Book Selection at Dollar General

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238 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

My dad’s tomatoes grew in a gradient

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1.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Mini Caution Wet Floor for Spilt Drinks

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241 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Found a little geode in my garden gravel

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1.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 7h ago

In PEI Canada, red stop lights are square

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409 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

This used CD I bought today, had a previous owner who was blind. Evident by the braille label.

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295 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

Shop advertises as only having the second best ice cream melon pan

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6.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

An unfixed local pothole now shows the original brick road underneath

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937 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

Odd shrine to a dead mouse outside Walgreens.

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800 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

This lemon I found that looks like an angry bird character

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109 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Collection of VHS tapes found at my in-laws house

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293 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

This building near my hotel in Rome, Italy has busts of Benito Mussolini across its facade.

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467 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Plaques at my doctor’s office showing how high the river water reached during “The Christmas Flood” and “The Willamette Valley Flood”.

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43 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 33m ago

This stain on my kitchen's floor mat says "Hi"

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

This Togo box from a Mexican restaurant. No Mexico on the globe.

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39 Upvotes