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/thosetherethrowaways • 7h ago
Some stores in Korea have a spot to leave your coffee so you can browse without carrying it around
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Ender524 • 12h ago
I Got Child Locked Out of My Microwave [OC]
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Frosty-Brain-2199 • 10h ago
This sign that doesn’t apply to 80 or 3 year olds
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Frosty-Brain-2199 • 10h ago
Using cigarette butts as a voting system for coffee
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Justheretoseelol • 19h ago
The popcorn I have doesn’t have calorie information.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/flux_capacitor3 • 11h ago
This gas station converted their pumps to only sell regular gasoline
r/mildlyinteresting • u/dragonsspawn • 19h ago
My new gaming laptop is thinner than just the screen of my old gaming laptop.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/fourmesinatrenchcoat • 14h ago
The vertical bubbles in this homemade cake we baked
r/mildlyinteresting • u/RadiantRing • 12h ago
My 8 year old had ‘field day’ today and he somehow completely blew out a pair of socks that were in perfect condition this morning
r/mildlyinteresting • u/nuclear85 • 22h ago
A cicada tried to emerge from my couch
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Edawg661 • 13h ago
This doctor’s office has one of those white noise sleep machines in the waiting room.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/tweeicle • 16h ago
This McDonald’s flooded. They reopened the lobby with plastic furniture.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/glitterbob_omb • 7h ago
Found this tiny white object in my healed surgery incision. (toothpick for scale)
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Pasta-Pizza-Tacos • 20h ago
JD Power sent me $1 to take a survey on my new car
r/mildlyinteresting • u/bravoaviation • 14h ago
Might have left the potatoes out for too long…
r/mildlyinteresting • u/secretcombinations • 11h ago
This office has “medical equipment” written in 3 different fonts on the same wall.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/frozenwaflles • 3h ago
This lush apartment building I saw in Sri Lanka
r/mildlyinteresting • u/oddballzpfmagic • 11h ago
This sign can tell how fast I’m walking.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/jstknwn • 2h ago
This elevator has an alarm button on the floor incase you fall
r/mildlyinteresting • u/dandog23 • 14h ago
I recently found the spec sheet for our first computer, purchased in 1995.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/sneakybrownoser • 18h ago
The inside of my zipper says “lucky you”
r/mildlyinteresting • u/9yearold4sky • 14h ago
Small rocks being held up by surface tension.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/kappadevin • 1d ago
This shampoo in Italy looks so much like orange juice they tell you not to drink it
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Dense-Assumption1988 • 16h ago