FWIW, it's gone downhill. Steady decline over the last decade or so as the site (like every other social media) goes for quantity and ad revenue over quality. So really good discussions are not nearly as common as they once were.
That said- I get a lot more bad discussions here in the Fediverse than on Reddit. By that I mean people who spout talking points but the instant you challenge them with facts, they go for personal insults.