(I just wrote this for an /r/self post, but I guess it fits here too?)
Anytime something happens on this site, speculation rules the debate. The millions and millions of users don't have enough information to hold a legitimate discussion, and -- frankly -- nobody really knows what's going on. Nobody knows the inner workings of the situation. Not me, not you, not this guy, not this gal.
So what fills the gap? Speculation: this is how it may work, this is what I imagine is happening, this is possibly what's going on. But nobody knows for sure, except for a few people who do have actual relevant knowledge. But the majority do not: the majority theorizes and speculates, and bases their arguments off that – but no one ever admits their speculating, and that's the biggest problem. No one says "I think" or "maybe" or "perhaps". Everyone's guessing, but nobody's admitting it, because to admit you're guessing is to sabotage your argument. You can't show weakness or doubt, so everyone sticks to their guns – guns they pulled out of thin air, through guessing and speculation.
Speculation leads to misinformation. Misinformation leads to conviction. Convictions clash. Tempers flare. Arguments erupt. People scramble to find any information to support their claim, ignoring any information that doesn't. Schisms form. Reactionary responses rule. In any debate, a voice on reddit has only two options: praise or destroy.
And nothing is solved. No progress is made, because everyone is speculating their own way, offering their own theories, gathered from their own experiences. No two people have drawn up the same information: everyone is working off their own individual speculation. So the debate never ends, never produces anything, except one of two results: a stalemate (where everyone is shouting equally loud), or an echo chamber (where one side is shouting louder).
And, I don't know, I just wish the discussion were better.
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” -- Mark Twain