I think the biggest issue is that any general discussion site which simply clones reddit's conversation model (e.g., voat) might do better at transparency and free speech and community relations and so on, but is still probably doomed to end up with the same middlebrow discourse and groupthink that exists on reddit.

Does there exist good, empirical research on how different discussion models (linear vs. trees of comments, up/down-voting systems, etc.) affect quality of discourse, for some definition of quality?