Living in the same region tied people together on many levels. The geography and climate of any given area were conducive to certain crops and livestock, and that established common foods, recipes, seasonal activities, and even clothing styles. Residents with personality quirks were generally ridiculed by their peers into some level of conformance. People with deviant behaviors either learned to conform or were locked up, away from the rest of society. Today, odd personalities, lifestyles, or character flaws are viewed as symbols of uniqueness.
Many people try to accent their individuality and celebrate their status as an oddity commodity.
On the Internet, people on the tails of the bell curve can find one another. Every aspect of human identity, from size, shape, and color to sexual proclivities and intellectual gifts, comes in a wide range. Most of us cluster somewhere in the middle of most statistical distributions. But there are lots of bell curves, and pretty much everyone is on a tail of at least one of them. We may collect strange memorabilia or read esoteric books, hold unusual religious beliefs or wear odd-sized shoes, suffer rare diseases or enjoy obscure movies.