It's a different time, the net world changed forever after AOL got the "masses" on-line.

slashdot, kuro5hin, usenet, a few other choice places, all either gone, or polluted by willfully ignorant voices.

Or outright mean spirited, aggressive trolls, like Rusty of kuro5hin found out the hard way, poor guy.

You may find Metafilter of interest.

I'd be interested in other places as well, I never found a replacement for those lost treasures of the early net.

I still have my tattered original kuro5hin T-shirt, can't wear it, but can't bear to throw it out.