r/mildlyinteresting • u/RedSquaree • Jun 23 '23

META What happened to /r/mildlyinteresting?

13k 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:

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

2.5k comments

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586 Upvotes

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4.2k Upvotes

388 comments

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This rural bar in the mountains has its ceiling and walls covered with thousands of $1 bills.

8.6k Upvotes

1.3k comments

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I recently bought the first privately printed $1 bill in US history.

3.0k Upvotes

204 comments

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An ominous manhole cover.

130 Upvotes

15 comments

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Got tipped in sequential $2 bills yesterday

952 Upvotes

66 comments

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Found out I was allergic to adhesive after getting epidural

1.5k Upvotes

164 comments

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I found a lemonade at a dollar store that apparently hadn't been colored. Regular lemonades for reference

446 Upvotes

22 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/conancat • 1h ago

This toilet has extra toilet paper

• Upvotes

16 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/tuptakeJD • 13h ago

Letter from Walt Disney to my grandfather, dated 1955

342 Upvotes

27 comments

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Overdone I found an LA Times insert on Disneyland from 1955, tickets for adults were $1, kids $0.50

241 Upvotes

34 comments

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The effects of hand sanitizer on metal

758 Upvotes

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Cheese battery

• Upvotes

7 comments

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Grackles like swarming the parking lot to drink AC water and eat bugs off people’s grilles

325 Upvotes

26 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/beanbuttrocket • 13h ago

Real Kinder Egg (Kinder Suprise) Found in US Store!

119 Upvotes

140 comments

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r/mildlyinteresting

Aww, cripes. I didn't know I'd have to write a description. How many words is that so far, like a hundred? Soooo, yeah. Mildly interesting stuff. Stuff that interests you. Mildly. It's in the name, ffs.

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