I think that "quality discussion" was only an occasional side-effect of USENET, but that just might be cynicism talking (or the groups that I remember best). I

I think that "quality discussion" was only an occasional side-effect of USENET, but that just might be cynicism talking (or the groups that I remember best). In any event, a lot of those types of conversations can be found in the comments to various blogs, among other places.