The bot problem is huge because they shape opinions and often are very good at staying undetected by non-expert users.
HN remains one of the few places where, despite its size, moderation has kept the high bar of quality. I can respect a contrary opinion here because I trust an actual person wrote it after genuine thought.
A few years ago I predicted that as bots flood open platforms, people would retreat into smaller, closed communities sized by their capacity to moderate effectively. Although back then it was based on nothing else but a gut feeling, today I already see for myself that it seems to be happening. But this creates a discovery problem: how do you find these places? And there is a tension that healthy communities need fresh members and perspectives but growth makes moderation harder.
How do you find communities with HN-level discourse quality? I am not asking about niche specialist communities but this balanced discussion on a wide variety of topics, not only tech. Also please share your thoughts regarding my prediction about "walled-garden" communities and do you think my prediction is correct?