Mostly to quiet the people shouting that those of us who like this layout are unfamiliar with any style other than this, which is something that I find immensely irritating.

I have been an active forumgoer for the past seven years. Active meaning spending over an hour a day online on message boards. And I'm saying "over an hour a day" because actually disclosing how much time I spend on these things would be incredibly embarrassing. In that time, I've amassed several thousands of posts on a variety of message boards, all with their own styles. I've been a regular on phpBB boards, I'm more familiar with image boards than I have any comfort being, and my general browsing has exposed me to a huge variety of commenting systems that don't fit into any neat category (Slashdot, Gawker, &c.). And that's just message boards. I'm leaving out chat rooms.

So let's get this nonsense out of the way: there is a very, very slim chance that I am less familiar with these things than you are.

Now, on to actual reasons why this message board is nice. The largest thing that you've left out, which other people have hinted at but haven't actually said outright, is that the structure of our board allows for much less moderation than phpbb. The linearity of normal message board styles means that threads that go off-topic either have to be written off as a loss, meaning that the OP goes without his/her topic being discussed, or locked by a moderator. This is why most fora have a "serious business" section, where topics are strictly moderated so that they don't go off the rails.

This has its benefits. It allows for an intense discussion of the topic. However, it also means posts can get lost in the flood, and very little actually ends up getting said. Because one isn't allowed to go-off topic, it's rare that really interesting discussions happen. Here, where discussions evolve more naturally, you can see a healthier flow of conversation.

To sum it up briefly, RAFO is the only place I know of where threadjacking is an honored tradition, as opposed to something relegated to a "random" board. The reason you've encountered such vehemence (aside from the fairly snide tone you've taken throughout this discussion, which at the very least has put my hackles up) is because the threadjacks and Friday Cafes were things that really drew people close together on WoTmania, and they can't exist on a phpBB board in the way they exist here.