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I fear that the heart of some of the disagreement here revolves around the definition of what roleplay is, as Earthmother states in her insightful post.
Akraasiel would likely define roleplay as acting out a role in-character and playing a game expressly to act out that role. Earthmother would likely define roleplay in her game as staying within the theme of her character while doing other things, such as exploration and the like.
I don't believe that things are as cut and dry as people want to make them out to be, and I don't think that you can classify all RPI's together and all RPE's together, as one will discover many differences from game to game even within each category.
As KaVir wrote, everyone has their own preferences. Each MUD may tackle an issue such as roleplay differently. There isn't anything wrong with anyone's viewpoint or approach, just many different options for players to try out. As soon as you start branding every game with labels such as RPI or RPE or hack'n'slash, some people start going for each others' throats. I've played variations on all three of those types and found them all to be enjoyable in their own way, as they all provided different forms of entertainment.
Why worry so much about these labels and about hating "RPI fanatics" or looking down upon RPE players? Not everyone is so set in their ways. Many people can appreciate all different types of games and can judge the enjoyment that they might derive from them by looking deeper than a three letter designation.
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