OP, Your comments and insights really struck a chord with me. I was an intelligence analyst for 27 years, and the most important training I was given was CEOAD: collect, evaluate, organize, analyze , disseminate. Evaluation requires source evaluation (why do they think that, why are they telling you that, is their information accurate, etc). What you described was textbook intelligence source evaluation.
I cannot emphasize enough that source evaluation is important for any form of information, especially if it is derived from the internet. OP nailed it, as some posters are trollers, some educated, some have different preferences. Research and time will help you determine who gets invited into your information loop.