You are what your friends are, etc.
This has always been the case. Upvote/like systems reinforce that "hivemind" effect. However, even a system that is fully anonymous and sorted by oldest first (as posts in a threads are) isn't exempt from it: ultimately, if most people agree on something, and you post something contrary, and you get 4 (You)s calling you a faggot, that's negative reinforcement. If you make a thread and get 50 replies agreeing/going along with the subject, or you make a random post and get a couple of (You)s agreeing, then that's positive feedback. And when you see someone post an opinion and get either positive or negative replies, that's also indirect feedback.
Sure, some people intentionally bait, but when there's a clear majority consensus template then bait also becomes templated - it's just the opposite of that.
Another point is that most of the time, there's no particular point being discussed. Rather, someone's spamming memes, or posting bait, or posting shitty opinions. Most interactions have happened many times before, and so it would be a complete waste to try to come up with entirely new replies and arguments every single time. Sometimes you pick a discussion to have, but most of the time there's no reason not to post "dilate" and move on, for example.
If you want truly original posts there's always
>>>/r9k/ ^:)
