The back is moderately long and so is the tail, so pretty soon you have some additional length. A Plymouth Rock is "rather long" to give you an idea. long is long, long it is not medium or anything else. They say moderately long to define the length. . From what I have seen it should be very simple to get a short back in an Orp, since some are that way now. .. When these birds go for the qualifying meet they better have moderately long backs or they won't pass. Everyone who is not involved in that can make them with any kind of back that pleases them. The key word is....long however, if they are to meet the SOP description.
What you are seeing in the Imported Orp thread is not a always a way to judge what a US Orp is supposed to look like. You are looking at a picture not a Standard. Read the SOP and then look at the picture. A picture doesn't make the bird correct, the SOP description does...that applies to any chicken.
Walt
Walt