I must admit... I have lost a lot of faith in the power of online 'conversation'.
I used to see it in terms, not dissimilar to that DS9 episode where Nog talks about the Great Material Continuum - You dip into other people's ideas and you let them carry you along.
I feel that the late '10s really put an end to that as it seems like sharing ideas ends with you getting yelled at by people who either can' t understand or have a vested interest in not understanding.
@SJohnRoss I have definitely learned quite a bit... Often from people who have walked similar paths to me in the past and are in a position to say 'look at x'
I used to believe in the power of people hashing stuff out en masse (bigger spaces = more participation = broader range of ideas) but I just don't anymore.
Good stuff can happen but I am a lot more aware of the risks and the emotional load of operating out in the open.