Standard Slashdot has a mod-filter set high and you'll get both very smart and very funny comments. The aggregate intelligence is actually higher on Slashdot because there's more users, but it's hard to engage in that community properly without having to plow through the tripe.

If there was a mod-filter here, or an upvote/downvote categorizer like there is at Slashdot, things would change. The direct payoff of humour is pleasure, with insight being of a different quality. There's more variety at Slashdot, and people can be more of themselves, for better and worse, and the modding style and layout promotes that diversity. Here, people downmod anything that doesn't add value to the discussion (or strongly opposes one's point-of-view) because you have to look at it, but on Slashdot, participation has it's own inherent value because of the filter.

Furthermore, if people here were identified by their real names, can you imagine how straight-jacketed most would feel, not wanting to be perceived as weird or 'funny' at any point?

Just takin' a stab.