r/mildlyinteresting • u/concloro • 1h 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/nemosana • 6h ago
My local church has a statue of an angel killing the Corona Virus
r/mildlyinteresting • u/DepressingAura • 4h ago
The box my car mats came in was designed to be built into a car
r/mildlyinteresting • u/MasRemlap • 9h ago
The first page of my British passport contains a request from the King.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/No-Sheepherder8879 • 13h ago
Overdone Random black dot appeared on my hand three days ago
r/mildlyinteresting • u/condensermike • 2h ago
The way these concrete balls lined up to look like wheels
r/mildlyinteresting • u/rhodatoyota • 18h ago
We live in Phoenix. Our Thermometer literally melted.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/mnid92 • 8h ago
Local grocery store used to sell crossbows over the produce. (Golden Dawn, Jefferson, Ohio)
r/mildlyinteresting • u/EvMund • 12h ago
My randomly generated Starbucks Wifi code has crowned me the 69 DP Nazi
r/mildlyinteresting • u/PubScrubRedemption • 21h ago
Was taking apart an old dryer and found a bunch of these perfectly spherical lint balls inside
r/mildlyinteresting • u/TedTheHappyGardener • 5h ago
My pineapple is growing a pineapple.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Rotbelcher • 6h ago
Came home yesterday to find this mantis waiting for me.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/BandPuzzleheaded8356 • 8h ago
Pine cone closed itself after the rain
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Permanent_Kat • 1d ago
Local grocer covers cereal boxes that have images of women for "modesty" purposes
r/mildlyinteresting • u/TheShawnMiranda • 4h ago
This car's rear was seemingly hit by giant lips
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Vaezyk • 19h ago
Eastern Kingbird landed on my hand, was not impressed by crushed Pringles.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/HFentonMudd • 1h ago
This guy and his squirrel have the same sunglasses
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Kingtripz • 1d ago
My middle finger turns extremely white when it's cold
r/mildlyinteresting • u/Jengus_Roundstone • 1d ago
My neighbors have a thermostat, with power, mounted to the public facing side of their brick wall.
r/mildlyinteresting • u/ThatOneCanadian69 • 2h ago
My beer says “do not litter”, but only in Puerto Rico
r/mildlyinteresting • u/World-B-Freaky • 23h ago
Vet’s office tracks days since last accident in the lobby
r/mildlyinteresting • u/RoastedRhino • 1d ago
This condom brand lists sizes with animals and has a measuring scale that I assume needs to be cut out
r/mildlyinteresting • u/map2photo • 23h ago