it seems to me that you’re twisting the stitches when you purl. It tightens the stitch and makes it slightly more difficult to knit into on the next row. There are patterns that call for twisted stitches and it can be very effective in ribbing or aran knits.
This tutorial shows the twisted stitch and also the way stitches are usually seated on the needle with the right leg of the stitch toward the front.
Here’s also a video for twisted sts (it shows twisting them by knitting through the back loop but the effect is the same).
That said, there are people who knit this way all the time because they prefer it.