If i understand Draklar's post, PS was not originally a RP-only game. This "focus" has come from players who have claimed some ownership of the game and, from the tone of this thread, are a little overeager in their zeal for RP. I know that those players that do absolutely nothing but level grind are likely to burn out quickly and don't add much to the community per se. I see the far other end of the spectrum as worse. While the player that doesn't interact with anybody isn't adding anything, the extremely vocal, condescending, nitpicking strict-RPers are much more visible and give the game a undeserved reputation. In the end, PS is a game. This is not RL, but an escape from it for people to enjoy.
If you cannot possibly tolerate people in-game that are actually exploring game mechanics and not sitting in the tavern RPing the entire time they are in-game, then why are you here instead of on a mud or irc? There is room for everyone here from the so-called PLers to the so-called strict-RPers. I am not trying to start, yet another, fight here. I am seriously interested in hearing why the strict-RPers in the community are drawn to PS. From some of the posts I have seen where someone "interrupted" their RP, it feels like some would be happy with typing Shakespeare into their chat window in a prearranged exchange. Why do you need a very nice 3D world with game mechanics to do this? Should there be a RP server that contains no NPCs, no game mechanics, and 50 or so Taverns around Hyldaa plaza?