Discussion forums for HEP theory?

I don't know of anything that feels comparable to the glory days of the old sci.physics.research USENET group. There is physicsforums.org, but it doesn't have the same feel. The pace of conversation is glacial. You're better off just going where-ever Baez & Schreiber are hanging out these days. But you've said you've sampled the physics blogs, and that they aren't really what you're looking for.

I'm not sure such forums really could operate publicly (or at least not prominently). Most professionals don't have the time or patience to put up with the cranks that overrun such forums. Cranks can be dealt with, but that's not a trivial effort. The best discussions I've seen lately have actually been on Facebook, but that's not particularly accessible.