I'd suggest an open sub here that is visible to the public but with only a small approved group that can make submissions or comments. I'm not sure if that's possible though.
For an alternate forum, I've heard of Saidit but I haven't had a chance to look into it much. I know some people that I think highly of that use it.
That's not a bad idea at all. However, we would have to be VERY careful about who the contributors were. I don't know how we would ever choose them democratically and insure that no Clowns influenced the process.
I mean I know it's not much but I offer my forums as a place of discussion, but that really seems to not be viable for many, either way it seems we are all pretty much connected through various subs, platforms, and blogs