This is why despite being a huge user of forums in decades past, I've essentially stopped posting anything on the internet. It's not just about the quality of discussion going down, it's just this... emptiness. In the real world, when you are talking to someone, you are exchanging ideas but also getting to know them as a person. That's a lot harder to find these days.

Then combine that with the relentless push to get everyone identifying themselves with a single identity tied to their real name... And the rampant abuse of people who do so... And it's just like... Why?

Making a real human connection requires some level of vulnerability. Someone can't get to know you if you completely hide who you are. But the level of doxxing, and harassing, and trading in personal data to spam you with ads for crap you aren't evenly slightly interested in, that's the price you pay now for being open. And in return, you get to have "discussions" with drive-by commenters who you'll never hear from again and may just be deliberately antagonizing you. Or they may just be bots trying to stir up rage.

Obscure communities solve some of these problems, but they are still open to drive-by trolls and privacy violators. There is simply no space on the public internet where you can find a real community and make real friends without a real risk of being abused by random people outside of that community, using your posts to target you for advertising or harassment.

And this doesn't even get into "likes" and this insane idea of being literally judged for everything you contribute to the community. This isn't how human community works at all. So I've all but opted out of using the internet for anything but consumption.