Different strokes... for different folks. The world is made up of all kinds of people. I personally will play my role and interact with people in-game in a friendly and IC manner. I don't see the point of having a complete 3D world and all of the mechanics the devs work on, if all you are going to do is essentially IRC. That is me, and I am not trying to start a flame war. I am simply trying to clarify my point of view. PS is a game, and the flavor of the game comes largely from interaction with other players, but it is still a game, at least to me. If my primary goal is the game, there is a point. If the primary goal is just to chat with people, I prefer to do that face to face.
Not saying i'm right and others are wrong... that's just my 2 trias.