I think the difference is, back in usenet times the weirdos were also technical professionals. There wasn't the same need to be concerned for professional reput

I think the difference is, back in usenet times the weirdos were also technical professionals. There wasn't the same need to be concerned for professional reputation so you'd get things like diatribes for fringe political beliefs strewn in among deep technical discussions. I used to lurk in alt.fan.warlord and watch Bram Moolenaar make fun of people's ascii pic signatures. It was a mess, but a technically informed mess, which somehow made it more interesting.