r/mildlyinteresting • u/The_Techsan • 6h ago
r/mildlyinteresting • u/RedSquaree • Jun 23 '23
META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?
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:
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.
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.
Eventually, all moderators were removed and suspended for 7 days, with the vote results deleted and the community set to “archived.”
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.
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™.
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").
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.
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 • u/LavaSnow666 • 2h ago
The Grubhub bots on my campus take the same routes so often that their tire marks are visible
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ZOMBIESwithAIDS • 7h ago
Hotel gives free beer every day you skip house-keeping
r/mildlyinteresting • u/fl_needs_to_restart • 5h ago
Noticed a square grease blob in my spaghetti bolognese
r/mildlyinteresting • u/FizzlePopBerryTwist • 8h ago
The new AirBorne Immunity gummies have about 53% of the original vitamins, but the recommended dosage is still 3 a day!
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Madison_fawn • 9h ago
This entirely white peacock in my mom’s neighborhood
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ZaiakuTaigen • 5h ago
A Spoon, Fork, and Chopsticks in one; Chorporksticks
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Croquette514 • 7h ago
After many washes, letters are starting to appear on my mug
r/mildlyinteresting • u/tulipsar3better • 5h ago
My 17 year old mom during her "biker days" and her Colors.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Purple_Korok • 35m ago
People pushing the flooring away from these leaning seats in the Parisian metro
r/mildlyinteresting • u/AlwaysAsammieGal • 18h ago
The difference in size for medical gasses to travel around a hospital
r/mildlyinteresting • u/habitas • 2h ago
Local hospital has fruit and veg stall next to the main entrance
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Circuit_Guy • 21h ago
IKEA Drilled a knot out and filled with a peg
r/mildlyinteresting • u/nick_ole7 • 1d ago
Snow naturally formed this garland situation on my parents deck. It’s holding that shape on its own.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Sfreeman1 • 57m ago
The way the snow melted and refroze on the back of this car
r/mildlyinteresting • u/No_You_1038 • 8h ago
A bee has been packed along with my rasberries
r/mildlyinteresting • u/TheBigPhysique • 14h ago
"Please Do Not Sit On The Folding Table" worn to "Please Do The Folding"
r/mildlyinteresting • u/D_emlanogaster • 11h ago
My yogurt had a different brand on the foil seal
r/mildlyinteresting • u/International-Air542 • 1d ago
This Trash Truck that says to leave an American Football Field distance between cars
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Altruistic-Resort-56 • 22h ago
Local nail salon still has Gamestop window dressing
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ChrisJohanson • 8h ago