i thnk some of the feeling that the threads are of higher quality my be artifactual for the f ollowing reason: Bad thread gets a few comments first couple days then dies a quiet death. Good thread gets a lot of comments, then continues to get brought up again and again, sometimes over years to live a longer and therefore more highly visible life through repeated referencing, or even (trumpets sound) receiving that highly coveted "sticky". Good threads have a highly visible and everlasting life, Bad threads are a flash in the pan.

So to answer your original question, "yeah, it's probably just you!"