Those sources tend to attract people who view them as creative writing exercises (well, certain subreddits significantly moreso than others, but still).
It's quite helpful for certain hobbies, as a quick and dirty example, as well as a dedicated forum space for a lot of works that otherwise don't have dedicated forums. A lot of the bigger, super mainstream ones can be annoying, but I treat those like YouTube - ignore the comment sections and they're a lot better.
A.) Happy mothers day to yours!
2.) I am in love with the phrase "the Ook".
Aye, ours is in May.