> We thought anonymous people saying what they thought in a public forum would lead to the best idea getting shared the most

This is true in some parts of the internet, such as Hacker News and Reddit. The key seems to be good signal/noise moderation and users able to amplify content with cardinal voting (upvotes/downvotes).

I'm constantly finding great, new ideas between the two websites (especially when combined with search) and sharing them with others.

On other sites.. it seems as though the drive to engage users ($$) and a lack of a "downvote" option allows the flame-bait/low-brow/spammy content to take center stage. Which eventually drives users away (-$$).