[Jazuela]

So it's your fault. The entire topic is ruined because of you, and because of MMOs. On Topic: I think people get turned off from RP because it's so much easier to be toons and sims, and not submerge themselves into a 3-dimensional persona other than themselves. It's a lot of work, RPing hardcore. It's mentally draining, and can be emotionally draining too. Playing a toon or a sim is - fun. In a non-committal kind of way. No one will get upset if you log out. No one will accuse you of wrecking the scene if you go linkdead. No one will feel slighted if you can't attend their Special Auction Of Awesome Blue Stuff.

Intensive RP can be so draining, that it just seems to make sense that the burnout rate would be higher. Not to mention all the other things people have said, such as "these games are over 10 years old, and most of the players were already in their early 20s when they started. Now they have families and children and full time jobs and lives, and the 8-hour marathon RP sessions simply don't fit in their personal plotlines anymore."