Assuming we are talking about the four leaf clover website, I wish that people would stop painting that place like you do. Anything goes? No, there are pretty strict rules that are actively enforced. The hard part of the "hunt for fresh and original content" is because this website is mostly used by the same people all the time. If anything it's not a cesspool, it's a giant circle jerk. Wild West feeling? There's not much wild west, mostly people repeating the same talking point over and over again, or talking about their hobbies.

> It's also given me a thick skin in online discussions. I've been called every insult in the dictionary.

That's something I can't understand too. Most of my discussions there are relatively civil. Most of the time when things start getting polarized discussions get not constructive at all, but this is true of HN too. There are lots of insult thrown around but it always goes both ways and it's easy to avoid it.