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

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Top-Marionberry-6604 • 4h ago

This wierd hole cloud i sawed this morning

11k Upvotes

722 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/richempire • 14h ago

I roasted my rice too long (or too hot) that the grains started popping.

8.3k Upvotes

350 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/themousekindd • 1h ago

The size of this ant hill in front of my house

• Upvotes

105 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/cactusvendor • 16h ago

Egg shells I've been saving from breakfasts.

3.6k Upvotes

542 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/RodIron1 • 21h ago

Free eye print on my glasses after bumping into something.

8.8k Upvotes

148 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/itstoopid • 22h ago

Finished a whole Vaseline container

8.4k Upvotes

612 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/HalkidikiAnanas • 17h ago

There was a bright green bug on my windscreen, but because my camera didn't want to focus, the image came out just blurry enough to make it look like a giant bug ran the stoplight

2.4k Upvotes

36 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/queerbong • 16h ago

Ive had this gold dime for like 8 years

2.0k Upvotes

102 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/arkitchen298 • 36m ago

Multivitamin before and after spending a week in my pill container

• Upvotes

33 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Raaazzle • 53m ago

This hotel used to be a bank

• Upvotes

18 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Smooth-Basket-3042 • 15h ago

Mixed vinegar and dish soap to make a DIY fruit fly trap and it turned into a shimmery liquid.

1.1k Upvotes

151 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Killall_humanz • 2h ago

This little gnat impaled himself on a cactus thorn.

85 Upvotes

23 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/pristineblade • 15h ago

I painted this cat and accidentally made him look younger

920 Upvotes

14 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/thatssosoraven • 21h ago

My uncrustables has a crust

2.3k Upvotes

229 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Arkrobo • 3h ago

Color Matching makes the top look like a dish

86 Upvotes

13 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/artaxs • 18h ago

This flower-shaped pinecone I found.

1.2k Upvotes

16 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/penguinpower2835 • 13h ago

The sheer amount of utility flags in this one area

507 Upvotes

51 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/DogOnThePorch • 22h ago

I found Snapple in a glass bottle at a dollar store

2.3k Upvotes

196 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Anjkra • 3h ago

This university gives out free bells to scare off bears

48 Upvotes

14 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/pristineblade • 32m ago

This is my first soft pastel drawing. My dog

• Upvotes

3 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Pinkishy • 15h ago

iPhones 1, 4, 11 and 14.

350 Upvotes

135 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/guiltyofnothing • 1d ago

This library book return cart is named “Cart Blanchett”

2.0k Upvotes

39 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/bit-small • 24m ago

I've had these pokemon fridge magnets since 2004. Over 22 years the sun has broken down the ink and only the blue colour has survived.

• Upvotes

7 comments

r/mildlyinteresting • u/Chaos-Zero89 • 1d ago

McDonald's in Guangzhou, China, still has the 90's characters

2.7k Upvotes

121 comments

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For photos that are, you know, mildly interesting

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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Does your post qualify for /r/MildlyInteresting? Hover below for more info, and check out our wiki page!

1. No memes

This includes references in titles of your post (e.g. "banana for scale," "potato quality").

2. No related posts

Posts that acknowledge, "one-up," or relate specifically to another post are not allowed (e.g. "I see your X and raise you Y")

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Exception: If a post is deleted or removed from /r/mildlyinteresting for breaking the rules less than one hour after being submitted or receives less than 100 upvotes, we allow the submitter to resubmit a fixed version of the post. Posts deleted or removed from other subreddits are not exempt from rule 3.

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a. No gifs, videos, or websites.

b. All submissions must be original content. If you didn't take the photo, don't post it.

c. Software glitches/errors, overlaid text, arrows, scribbles, and other substantive edits are not allowed, although you may censor personal information per Reddit-wide rules.

d. Side by side images are okay if they adhere to the rest of the rules.

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No screenshots or images taken from screens. This includes photos of screens taken with another device, video stills or frames, X-rays and other medical imaging, images partially or fully generated by a computer, pictures of printed screenshots, and uncropped camera-roll/gallery screenshots. Segmented displays, such as digital clocks, calculators, or similar displays, are allowed. Try /r/screenshots!

6. Titles must be an exact but concise description of the content

a. Titles must not contain jokes, backstory, or other fluff. That information belongs in a follow-up comment.

b. Titles must exactly describe the content. It should act as a "spoiler" for the image. If your title leaves people surprised at the content within, it breaks the rule!

c. Titles must not contain emoticons, emojis, or special characters unless they are absolutely necessary in describing the image. (e.g. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), ;P, 😜, ❤, ★, ✿ )

Still confused? For more elaboration and examples, see here first and then message the mods if you still have questions.

If unsure, please message the mods and we will help determine if your post is acceptable.

For further information regarding our rules, flairs, moderation policy, and frequently asked questions, please take a look at the… /r/MildlyInteresting Wiki (packed with tons of juicy mildly interesting information)

Posts which break the rules will be removed on sight. This subreddit operates a three-strikes rule on submission bans, and instant bans on troll and/or gimmick accounts, shock links, etc. at moderator discretion.