Breifly, IMO, The best way to RP is to get to the point where your ingame toon/avatar/person makes ingame freinds, without even asking for, or knowing, any RL information about their "owner".
Many RPs will be monologing, acting as actor, director and writer. I have seen quite a few go to IRC to explore their RP, and ends up being several, if not all, talking without listening to the others. Kind of funny, in a sad way.
Whether you are letting a kikiri chase you, or playing hide and seek in the Laanx Dungeon (good times) or just talking with your Yliakum freinds, as your avatar, not as you, I think it makes better RP. Note, I do not believe every RP needs to be epic. In fact, how many times can you save the realm?
Case in point, how many times has someone taken the time to help lolitria (sp?) with her clan symbol? Nice epic quest, but can not be played ingame RP, because just about everyone has done it. And if you rant about how she must have enough clan symbols to build a house, and all of a sudden people think you are NOT RPing it "right"
I find, the more they try to regulate RP, and the more epic people expect it to be, the harder it is to do it. When I was at the height of my RP, I would log in, chat with Bamko's freinds, and make swords and mine ore... and have a good time. Then I was told I do not "really" rp...
Really? Let me ask you this... how do you RP your real life, IRL? If you behaved the way you are expected to here, you would be carted off to a padded room. But ingame, unless you are a brain damged Emo sociopath, you just are not trying hard enough? Yeah... No thanks.
(note, If you enjoy that kind of RP, good for you. Or if you are willing to keep being the director of epic RPs, even better. But remember, Good RP CAN be just being a normal citizen.