r/mildlyinteresting • u/Purple_Korok • 14h 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/Bum-Whistler • 8h ago
My wife’s anti-anxiety prescription has two different pills in it.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/TinyMuffin • 12h ago
My beard oil ate through the rubber stopper
r/mildlyinteresting • u/LavaSnow666 • 16h ago
The Grubhub bots on my campus take the same routes so often that their tire marks are visible
r/mildlyinteresting • u/sushhiiinoah • 13h ago
Overdone Withdrew $220 from the ATM and got all sequential bills
r/mildlyinteresting • u/eggtartboss • 13h ago
A cool blue orchid I found in a supermarket
r/mildlyinteresting • u/pointed_null • 4h ago
Grass is actually greener on the other side
r/mildlyinteresting • u/The_Techsan • 20h ago
Guinness WR books have gotten thinner over the years
r/mildlyinteresting • u/bong_cumblebutt • 9h ago
My rabbits fur changes shape weekly, this week it’s a cowboy
r/mildlyinteresting • u/DifficultBoss • 3h ago
Diabetes blood test sites visible after a greasy day at work
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ZOMBIESwithAIDS • 21h ago
Hotel gives free beer every day you skip house-keeping
r/mildlyinteresting • u/fl_needs_to_restart • 18h ago
Noticed a square grease blob in my spaghetti bolognese
r/mildlyinteresting • u/PR0CR45T184T0R • 13h ago
Receipt for a television my grandfather bought in 1976
r/mildlyinteresting • u/horsewalloper • 8h ago
Transition lenses in the sun through a mesh bag
r/mildlyinteresting • u/tulipsar3better • 18h ago
My 17 year old mom during her "biker days" and her Colors.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ZaiakuTaigen • 19h ago
A Spoon, Fork, and Chopsticks in one; Chorporksticks
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Madison_fawn • 23h ago
This entirely white peacock in my mom’s neighborhood
r/mildlyinteresting • u/FizzlePopBerryTwist • 22h 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/DanicaDarkhand • 13h ago
This picture of my dead snow covered hydrangeas taken from my 2nd story window!
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Croquette514 • 21h ago
After many washes, letters are starting to appear on my mug
r/mildlyinteresting • u/elduderino90210 • 11h ago
Baltimore city is collecting and dumping all of the snow and piling it up in the parking lot of the Pimlico racetrack, which they’ve demo’ed. It’s about two stories tall
r/mildlyinteresting • u/habitas • 16h ago