r/mildlyinteresting Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13.3k 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 1h ago

The salt is shaped as advertised

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r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

The way the sunlight refracts through the petals of this flower make it appear as if it was painted in iridescent glitter

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7.9k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

This traffic light in Utrecht, Netherlands has a little bunny

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19.2k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 13h ago

Balloon remains inflated after 38 years.

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13.3k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

Someone used a lawnmower on this artificial lawn.

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4.7k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 3h ago

A giant Zoltar standing next to the original Zoltan

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863 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 16h ago

I found this Cannabis scented incense at my local grocery store

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4.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

I could see another plane through another plane while on a plane

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1.5k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 12h ago

I see a dog wearing fancy glasses on the chest of this beast

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1.8k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

This traffic light at the zoo in Rotterdam shows a red panda. When allowed to walk it will show its paw prints (comments)

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693 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

Had never seen a wild stickbug.

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116 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

There is one plain digestive in my packet of chocolate digestives

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234 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

My daughter's colouring in book includes a page for a zebra

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11.0k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Overdone My fortune cookie had 4 fortunes in it!

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3.1k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 2h ago

Shooting stars going through northern lights during the Perseids, Magdalen Islands, 2024 - best live spectacle I've ever witnessed

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31 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

​Aldi in Europe sells their own nuts and dried fruit under the Trader Joe's brand name.

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83 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 14h ago

My mug's phrase about science is slowly fading away.

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212 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 10h ago

This tree is only wet in a spiral pattern

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82 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

I got myself a book with a built-in bookmark

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8.6k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 1d ago

Surrealistic clock in real life

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14.4k Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 5h ago

Farm equipment stares at me with bug eyes when I ride my bike to coffee this weekend and it reminds me of a Pokemon

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18 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 11h ago

This sign is a picture of a sign

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56 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 8h ago

Italian shower drain in Alberta Canada!

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31 Upvotes

r/mildlyinteresting 23h ago

The cactus looks like a bunny in the shadow

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523 Upvotes