This really depends on the forum. Yes, most had some eccentric people, but this was a small price to pay. More strictly moderated platforms or "modern media" tend to show you more ads and questionable content that is overall more harmful than someone being a bit too blunt. Also, there were extremely helpful forums too that had a much, much better atmosphere than your standard discord channel or other large social media platforms without it even being a competition.

I don't want the internet to be kind everywhere, some artificial culture. If I don't like the tone of the place, I can go elsewhere. Strong moderation comes with too high a price in my opinion.