Hi everyone,

I'm a business and finance student in Dubai, and my group and I are working on a university project about how small food businesses operate here. Right now we're looking for a cafeteria owner (or manager) who'd be open to a short interview.

We're still finalising our questions as a group, but they'll cover things like how you got started, what running a cafeteria in Dubai is like day to day, and the challenges and lessons you've picked up along the way.

The interview would take about 20–30 minutes and can be in person at your cafeteria or over a call, whatever works best for you. We're happy to fit around your schedule. Since our university requires evidence that the interview took place, we'd need to include your name and your business's name in our project, along with a video or voice recording of the interview (your choice). It's purely for academic purposes and will only be shared as part of our coursework.

If you own a cafeteria or know someone who does and might be up for a chat, please comment or send me a DM. We'd really appreciate it!

Thanks so much 🙏

There has been a fairly spectacular bout of moderator drama in the UAE (EDIT: United Arab Emirates) corner of Reddit involving r/UAE, r/ourUAE, three moderators, English beer, Reddit perma bans, two extremely short-lived replacement mods and, somehow, r/Acoustics.

The important caveat up front is that Reddit has never publicly confirmed that the three original moderator accounts belonged to the same person. That is the allegation at the centre of the drama, and the surviving moderator, u/ epiDXB, explicitly denied it.

What is easily verifiable, is that u/ CertifiableBee and u/ RamblingMan2 were banned by Reddit - and the story of that is outlined below.

With that out of the way:

Act I: three r/UAE moderators somehow take turns in the same beer argument

At the time, r/UAE was being moderated with full permissions by three accounts:

• u/ epiDXB
• u/ CertifiableBee (banned)
• u/ RamblingMan2 (banned)

Users of r/ourUAE noticed something pretty unusual.

All three accounts had appeared in the same quick-fire argument on r/dataisbeautiful, of all places, about whether English beer was the best beer in the world.

The exchange went roughly like this:

1. A user arguing that English beer was not objectively the best replied to CertifiableBee.
2. epiDXB then jumped into that same exchange.
3. The other user replied to epiDXB within the same hour.
4. The argument was then picked up again by RamblingMan2.

So, over the course of one heated, fast-moving conversation on an entirely unrelated subreddit, the person arguing about beer found themselves successively debating all three moderators of r/UAE.

Here is the original r/dataisbeautiful comment chain and the r/ourUAE thread documenting the exchange, including screenshots.

That led r/ourUAE users to suggest that the three accounts might actually belong to the same person.

Commenters pointed out very similar writing styles, similar formatting habits (breaking the post they replied to into quotes, and addressing each separately) and the fact that all three accounts were not just in the same comment thread, but were all taking the same side, against the same person in rapid succession.

At that point the evidence basically amounted to "this is a very strange coincidence" rather than proof that the accounts were alts.

Act II: two of the three original moderators are banned by Reddit

Not long afterwards, CertifiableBee and RamblingMan2 were banned by Reddit.

That left epiDXB as the only surviving account from the original three.

Over on r/ourUAE, moderators then published a post asking users not to brigade, harass or contact people involved, and reminding everyone that discussion of subreddit drama still has to comply with Reddit's rules.

That post is here: Recent developments on other subreddits.

Act III: two brand-new replacement mods appear — and both are banned within hours

With two of r/UAE's three moderators gone, replacement moderators were needed.

epiDXB added two new moderators.

Users immediately noticed something weird - both were created just few hours ago.

Given that the ongoing controversy was already centred around allegations that one moderator was operating multiple accounts, appointing two hours-old accounts as replacements was perhaps not the most reassuring possible choice.

The discussion is preserved in this thread:

Congratulations to new mods of r/UAE, our sister sub!

One commenter asked:

"Why did you accept 2 people with literal fresh accounts"

And then the situation continued escalating, as one after another, as the accounts were being created and added as mods with full permissions, they were getting banned by Reddit. All within hours.

In the thread, one commenter summed it up nicely as they were watching this happen in real time:

"I wonder why accounts that are only a few hours old are being made mods and subsequently being banned in rapid succession?"

The sequence was pretty incredible to observe:

1. two moderators get banned
2. two brand-new accounts are made moderators
3. both brand-new accounts get banned within hours.

Later, r/UAE added other moderators with more established accounts, although their permissions were limited to "Users, Flair, Posts & Comments, Wiki", with epiDXB retaining sole control over ModMail. Previously, all three mods had permissions set to "Everything".

Act IV: epiDXB personally comes to r/ourUAE to deny the alt-account allegation

Eventually, epiDXB showed up in r/ourUAE and addressed the accusation directly.

The response was later deleted, but its substance was preserved in this thread:

Accusations of using alt accounts to moderate r/UAE addressed by the mod

As epiDXB claimed (screenshot in r/ourUAE post) - they were three individual people:

"united by their enjoyment of beer"

The post contained a sarcastic recap of coincidences: all three accounts had moderated the same subreddit, all three had arrived in the same r/dataisbeautiful beer argument, all three had taken the same position, and users believed their writing styles looked strikingly similar.

epiDXB also threatened the OP with legal action - leading to the post talking about "inevitable jail sentence" for the OP.

One commenter noted:

"It's ok, we'll just say that you went away for family matters."

That became a running joke on r/ourUAE because "family matters" had previously been offered by epiDXB as an explanation for moderators disappearing.

Act V: the completely unrelated r/Acoustics subplot

Here's a plot twist.

RamblingMan2 was also the sole moderator of r/Acoustics

When RamblingMan2 was banned, r/Acoustics lost its sole moderator.

So the subreddit went under reddit admin control, and started a public search for new moderators.

Among the the people who submitted an application to become a new moderator of r/Acoustics was u/ epiDXB.

The sole surviving account from the original r/UAE trio applied to become a moderator of the separate subreddit that had just lost RamblingMan2 as its sole moderator.

Again, caveat: This does not prove that epiDXB and RamblingMan2 were the same person.

It is, however, an almost comically perfect epilogue to a story that started because the same two accounts, together with CertifiableBee, somehow ended up taking turns arguing with one person about English beer on r/dataisbeautiful.

What is actually established

The sequence is:

• epiDXB, CertifiableBee and RamblingMan2 were all moderators of r/UAE.
• All three appeared in the same rapid-fire r/dataisbeautiful argument about English beer, successively responding in the same exchange.
• Users accused the three accounts of belonging to one person.
• CertifiableBee and RamblingMan2 were subsequently banned by Reddit.
• epiDXB remained and explicitly denied that the three accounts were controlled by one person.
• Two fresh Reddit accounts were then appointed as replacement r/UAE moderators
• Both of those fresh replacement accounts were banned by Reddit within hours.
• RamblingMan2 had also been the sole moderator of r/Acoustics.
• After r/Acoustics lost its sole moderator and sought replacements, epiDXB applied to become one of its new moderators.

So we've got two broad interpretations being argued about.

One is that several moderators who knew each other had very similar interests and online habits, as well as identical writing style, sent each other threads, happened to pile into the same beer argument, later suffered unrelated Reddit bans, and that the surviving moderator also happened to be interested in taking over a second subreddit previously moderated by one of them.

The other interpretation is the one r/ourUAE users have spent several threads discussing.

Main threads

1. r/UAE moderator busted - all three r/UAE mods replying to the same /r/dataisbeautiful post
2. Recent developments on other subreddits
3. Congratulations to new mods of r/UAE, our sister sub!
4. Accusations of using alt accounts to moderate r/UAE addressed by the mod

Original beer thread

• r/dataisbeautiful comment chain

Hello everyone!

I’m curious whether the psychological services here in the UAE met your expectations.

1. Are there specific medical centres you recommend or avoid?

2. Were they governmental services or private clinics?

3. Do you go based on the psychologist’s expertise and where they work, or do you pick at random?

Please share your experience, story, and reasoning. You don’t have to go in detail!

I’ve heard good things about ACPN, and I know appointments at government hospitals for psychology are hard to get (sometimes up to 4 months before you can find a place).

مواطن إماراتي أحمل بطاقة مؤسسة زايد العليا لأصحاب الهمم، وأتقدم منذ قرابة سنة بطلب بطاقة أصحاب الهمم من وزارة الأسرة، ولم يُقبل الطلب.

الوقائع:

• أُعلن في يونيو 2025 عن بطاقة موحدة تربط الجهات المحلية بالاتحادية، وكان الموعد المعلن يناير 2026. تواصلت مع المؤسسة هذا الأسبوع وأكدوا أن الربط لم يكتمل.

• طلبتُ هاتفياً من الوزارة تحديد المعيار الذي لم أستوفه، ولم يصلني رد مكتوب حتى الآن.

• في زيارتي الحضورية بتاريخ 1 أكتوبر كان التبرير الشفهي أن التقرير الطبي يُظهر "تحسناً مع العلاج". هذا الشرط غير وارد في قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (3) لسنة 2018 بشأن التصنيف الوطني الموحد للإعاقات، والمادة (2) منه تحصر تعديل التصنيف بمجلس الوزراء.

سؤالي: هل واجه أحدكم رفضاً مماثلاً رغم وجود بطاقة المؤسسة؟ وهل نجحت معكم قناة بعينها (تواصل، مكتب الوزير، غيرها)؟

My hangry side is talking right now, but this is the 5th time this happens to me (yes I counted). The order gets delayed claiming its in the restaurant, I call they say talabat picked it up a long while ago. I call the guy he says coming for over HOURS. The food finally comes cold and messy and when i complain its always "rider fault".

This NEVER happened to be with deliveroo and Keta, which i have been using lately as talabat backup but will just uninstall this annoying app all together.

سلام لأهل الإمارات الكريمة 🙏🏻 حابة احد يوجّهني بتقديم شكوى على متحرش يخدر البنات من غير علمهم ويستغلهم (بعيد الشر عنكم). البنت الي شكت لي منهارة ومو عارفة تاخذ الإجراءات اللازمة وتحط نفسها بمسير مخافر وتوصل للناس او لدوامها والخ. انا مو بالإمارات ف ما عندي تطبيقاتكم للشكاوي بس خايفة على غيرها قبل لا يكبر الموضوع معاه الله يستر. ربي يحفظكم من كل شر ومكروه.

Dubai’s passenger rail network will expand on September 30th, 2026, when Etihad Rail starts its Dubai-to-Abu Dhabi service between Al Yalayis Station in Jumeirah Golf Estates and Mohammed Bin Zayed City Station in Abu Dhabi. Early project estimates cited a 57-minute journey, but the finalised live booking schedule shows an approximate travel time of 1 hour and 4 minutes.

As betterhomes reported: Jumeirah Golf Estates has the closest station, while Al Furjan, Dubai Investment Park, Green Community, Dubai Production City, Expo City Dubai and Dubai South are also accessible from Al Yalayis by road. Improved rail connections could make these areas more practical for residents who regularly travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Rail Dubai launched

• Al Yalayis Station started Dubai-Abu Dhabi service on September 30th, 2026.
• The journey between the two stations is expected to take between 57 and 64 minutes.
• Etihad Rail charges AED 39 for Comfort Class and AED 109 for Premium Class.
• A 400-metre walkway will link Al Yalayis Station to the Dubai Metro.

Etihad Rail Dubai to Abu Dhabi details at a glance

Detail	Latest information
Dubai station	Al Yalayis, Jumeirah Golf Estates
Abu Dhabi station	Mohammed Bin Zayed City
Launch date	September 30th, 2026
Journey time	57 to 64 minutes
Comfort fare	AED 39
Premium fare	AED 109

It’s been a year since the last time I visited my family.

Iranian passport holder, born and raised in the UAE, now studying in the EU…I can’t get a visit visa to go see my family like I usually always did.

It really sucks to be judged by your passport: even though you didn’t chose it. I don’t support the IRN government or shitty wars begun by politicians.

I am just a human being and am being punished, barred to go see my family for something I didn’t do.

Praying that the UAE gov starts giving exceptions to people in my case: UAE is my home and I love it but I can’t even get a visit visa to go visit family for 2 weeks.