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 6h ago

The way the cabinet in my parents' bathroom yellowed with age except for the drawer

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4.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

The same guy on a men's vs women's magazine, same month.

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15.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

I accidentally left a pack of seltzer in the car in freezing temperatures. Of the 3 cans that exploded, each did so with a unique failure scenario.

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6.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

I went to wash some clothes for my sister and she had a chicken nugget in one of her pockets.

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726 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 21h ago

I visited the WW2 Memorial at DC and noticed on one bronze panel that petina on the dog's head was worn away from constantly being pet over the decades.

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27.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

This stain on my shirt that looks like a snail.

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1.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 20h ago

my hairstylist has a hair dryer that’s shaped like a revolver

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10.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 37m ago

My watch wants me to become an alcoholic

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r/mildlyinteresting 4h ago

The outlets in my office are orange.

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244 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

I work at a library in Uruguay, today I found 40 mexican pesos inside a donated book about the mexican revolution

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185 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

My new lamp came with gloves to unwrap it

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1.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

My fresh-out-the-package sponge is missing a chunk

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1.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

The calorie count on my popcorn is weirdly precise.

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108 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My cereal came in two small bags instead of one big one.

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12.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 17h ago

Aussie pyrex still uses borosilicate glass and not soda lime

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1.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

The Image On My Mug Is Disintegrating In An AmusingWay

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6.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1h ago

The gas station near my hotel calls crushed ice "chewy nugget ice"

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r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

Christmas card spell check fail

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64 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

I flew into Washington-Dulles and taxiied by this Russian government VIP plane.

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10.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 15h ago

My dollar says Epstein didn't kill himself

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449 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Frost pattern on trash can

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34.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

These cookies found in a French grocery store are labeled as an “American Experience”

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64 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

This odd Japanese book about “Putin and the heart of Judo”

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61 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

This is how our stainless steel bowl broke. We store the set in the cupboard and never exposed to extreme temperatures.

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3.3k Upvotes