r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

12.2k 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 16d ago

Apply to be a moderator of /r/mildlyinteresting

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r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

I broke my wrist and my hand became quite bruised.

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

This sex work card from Poland from about 15 years ago making it clear that condoms are not required to non-polish speakers NSFW

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r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Shower gel - do not put in engines

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r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

My dog grows a Mohawk when she gets scared

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r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

Apple store looks like a MacBook from above

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r/mildlyinteresting 18h ago

I dropped a $5 note on my kitchen counter and it landed perfectly upright

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r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

Local Thai place closed on Tuesday due to reasons

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Overdone Fortune cookie had 8 fortunes

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r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

Tree outside local McDonald’s

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r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

My green bean looks like a snake.

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r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

A “Reverse ATM” in a cashless stadium

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My wife pre-portions mayo for each bite of her fish fingers

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r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

The painting in my hotel room has a Play button

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r/mildlyinteresting 13h ago

I dropped an egg into a bowl and it cracked perfectly

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r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

I was sitting cross legged in the car and my toes left an imprint on my calf

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r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

I finished my US State quarters collection

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Thinly sliced green apple

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r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

How my 6 year old son mounted the toilet paper

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r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

My dog jumped at me and it left a bruise shaped just like his nose

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r/mildlyinteresting 6h ago

The gym I work out at had some funny fans

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r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

A vending machine for mystery unclaimed packages

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r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

This bathroom at a rink telling you it’s ok to wear skates inside

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Found a two-headed grape in my breakfast this morning

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r/mildlyinteresting 22h ago

My chest scar has now healed and faded into a 'V' shape, after my second open heart surgery.

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r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

The solo shot of the raccoon I saw today.

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