Meta: IMO part of the problem is the way the site handles opposition, passive-aggressively making unpopular opinions gradually near-impossible to read doesn't support the concept of high-brow, adult, conversation.

I think pg was wrong to endorse "down-vote for disagreement"; downvotes should be for poorly made arguments, ad hominems, memes [on this site] and other low value comments.

My ideal is something akin to what slashdot has, multi-axis voting that allows users to select to their preferences.