[MaxikCZ]

>and I have a strong distaste for the kinds of social circles that it breeds

This feels like "dog bit me once, so now I will hate all the dogs".

Discord is a platform for comunities, and its your choice to choose amongst them. Many of such are of superb quality you cant find anywhere else. The key is in moderation.

[Firmwarrior]

Can you recommend any interesting groups? I use Discord all the time, but in my experience it's all just noob programmers, cryptocurrency people, gamers, and troglodytes. (What it says about me that I'm in these groups, I'll leave as an exercise to the reader)