I don't think it's possible to have it both ways. A commitment to free speech means you get more garbage and conspiracy theories, but in exchange you get more intellectual conversations for adults, something you increasingly can't find on Reddit due to its overbearing moderation. Reddit itself has a good track record of banning subs, with only a few exceptions, but it's mostly the moderators and Reddit-enforced mod policies that have caused its decline.
As far as recommendations, it depends what you're interested in. I'd generally agree with the first two and disagree with the last two, but they are all high-quality reads (for me).
Thanks for those examples, I will take a look at them.
I do disagree with your premise though. From the examples I've seen in the past, "free speech bastions" usually drive away a significant portion of their users and discourages deep discussion with insults, name-calling, derailment, thread crapping, etc. Are there examples I may have missed that take this approach and are better for it?
I personally think some limits on free speech are required to nurture healthy discussion in a community.
> Are there examples I may have missed that take this approach and are better for it?
Substack isn't a social network. Discussion is just a function of a post's comments, which can always be disabled. If you don't like a blog, you can leave and go to another. There's no real cross-pollination. I suppose the "bad" blogs could hurt Substack's reputation, but they're willing to bear the reputational damage rather than shut it down, which I respect.
Since you initially brought up Reddit, it's worth examining whether healthy discussions are happening there. If you've ever used reveddit, you can see the types of censorship that happens on popular threads. Activist moderators are everywhere. The only reason discussion looks healthy is because anything remotely "controversial" is nipped in the bud before 100 others had a chance to upvote or agree with it. A thread's apparent civility is not always an indication of healthy discussion.
My point is there are negative externalities no matter how far you move the dial on moderation/censorship. Not enough moderation, and you discourage real discussion but encourage toxicity, harassment, and trolling, i.e., 4chan and Parler. Too much moderation, and you also discourage real discussion but encourage censorship, intolerance, and groupthink, i.e., Reddit in 2023.
As far as recommendations, it depends what you're interested in. I'd generally agree with the first two and disagree with the last two, but they are all high-quality reads (for me).
https://www.slowboring.com
https://jessesingal.substack.com
https://freddiedeboer.substack.com
https://fakenous.substack.com