Is serious discussion possible in online communities?

Good question and I think the example of the White House website is fitting.

I think it's possible for online communities to have rational, reasoned discussions, albeit extremely difficult. The difficulty lies in trolls, flaming, community standards, and community enforcement. In addition, I think interest groups pose a problem as well. At least that's what Ive observed on multiple sites.

Imo moderators, curators etc, need to promote and enforce community guidelines, to whatever extent they're allowed. However that does not mean mods etc should be exempt from those rules. Personally, I think moderators should personify what it is to be a good, even-handed community member. ie, doing their best not to engage in flame wars, speaking in calm tone, and trying to see all sides.*

Of course, questions arise on how tough standards should be, how strictly they should be enforced and how they should be decided upon. but those ?s will always be up for debate.

Overall, I think it's difficult to have a serious discussion online, with anonymity and a lack of consequences contributing to the way others hold themselves. That said, it shouldn't prevent mods from doing their best or other contributors from promoting the guidelines. Call me idealistic, but i think most communities can create and maintain serious discussions if encouraged enough.

* I think mods should be able to express their opinions and be part of the community. As semi-prominent members in the community I feel it's their duty to show that one can disagree without being disagreeable.

Maybe all of this derives from my old school ideas on chivalry, honor and pride and is just a bunch of nonsense. but i think we should try to do the best we can, for online debate does affect politics outside the net.

Of course. The type of discussion able to be had is determined by the amount of site moderation. Many websites have a high degree of moderation and in depth discussions, but inevitably they become right or left biased. Current is user moderated with a moderate amount of site moderation and therefore the discussions tend to be less in depth but I believe a clear effort is made to include a variety of people's opinions. The trade off seems to be bias vs depth.

I can get immersed in very high quality but biased sites. I come here for the variety of opinions.

Yes, if only people would respect such oppositions and points of view...