Both sides are talking past each other. While you see strict adherence to the rules as "suck[ing] the life out of RPGs," someone like me sees strict adherence to the rules as the most fun way to play the game. We are both achieving our goal of having fun. If you will permit me, I am going to blend my two favorite hobbies for a moment, Tabletop RPGs and Fighting Games. The FGC has a similar debate on Playing To Win vs Playing For Fun. A former colleague in professional gaming, @Sirlin, wrote a series of articles and a book on the subject of "Playing To Win," of which part of the articles/book discuss the concept of players who don't want to just chase fun, but derive their fun out of playing to win by pushing the boundries of what play can be within the strict rules of the game. It is a short book, and WELL worth the read, if for nothing more than understanding of why some people push their understanding of the rules to the limit, and how that can be a rewarding and fun way of playing the game. I post this in hopes that it will help us to come to an understanding of why some play RAW, and encourage others to do the same, and hopefully we (the hobby) can stop talking past one another. sirlin.net/ptw The entire book is presented online, for free. I do encourage a purchase of the book, however, if for nothing more than to support gaming as a whole and the people, like David Sirlin, who create within it.