My work (and Jeff's, but in a different way) is language. In this thread, a semantic diversion is warranted. Pardon my verbiage in advance and feel free to ignore.

The context of Facebook and Twitter (much less Reddit, Tumblr, et al) is to provide immediate access on topics of current, popular interest to a very broad audience.

I think most of us can agree that, aside from sharing photos of new purchases, the purpose (or context) of this community is to share insight, commentary, and musings that require a bit of thought. Speedy input and distribution of ideas does not suit the study of vintage timepieces very well, does it?

The depth of shared knowledge in the OTD community is highly specific, too. Popular online communities appeal to anyone with internet access and a way to type and click. I have observed that we are interested in experts whereas most other online communities are interested in sharing. When an expert weighs in on a topic on a popular online community, (s)he is often ignored, sometimes ridiculed. We do quite the opposite.

I like OTD because it is refreshingly different from most other forums. I actually enjoy reading long posts by people who know more than I. I also enjoy perusing topics that are not necessarily what I like—I learn from these. On this forum, I respect the opinions of those with whom I disagree because they are part of a community that shares the love of Heuers, timepieces, motor sports, and history. What a nice break from Facebook-like communities!

I think the context of OTD is perfectly suited to the long, rambling series of posts that can be viewed at random or in order. Things are just fine here, thankyouverymuch.