In Ancient Rome, the citizens allowed to participate in the debates of the Forum were limited.  Women, for example, were not allowed, nor were Romans of lower classes.  The most objectionable presence in the Forum would have been those unfortunate souls forced to shelter beneath bridges, known as trolls.  

 Forum of Ancient Rome

In our internet forums today, however, it is difficult to keep out riffraff, as a quick glance at the comments section of ABC News immediately makes clear. 

If you cannot build your own private forum, then you must accept the difficult fact that you cannot educate these morons online. As Plato noted, Opinion derives from the shifting world of Sensation, a world you cannot yet convey by internet post. Knowledge itself cannot be recalled without the experience of the body.

—Shallow Sage

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