People will make an argument to justify their means or merit of their conversation in just about every instance, I don't believe saying, 'A lack of imagination,' is an adequate rebuttal.
That wasn't the entire post
I said I agreed with "so many of these points." Including this:
[Y]ou are no where close to the sort of mindset where imagination can take root in such a scene if you assume an OOC adversarial competitive spirit about the game rather than a collaborative one.
I'm not going to name names, but I can think of two players right off the top of my head who most everyone on the server would say are/were great RPers and great to play with. (One no longer "plays.")
I've interacted with both in what were
ICly adverarial relationships. But in both cases, these players and I were sending Tells to one another and cooperating to create the scene. I
trusted both of those players that our mutual goal (whatever our adversarial relationship IC) was to be creative and have fun.
It's role
play, in which any competition should not be about ganking the other PC...but seeing who can be the most imaginative, clever, and awe-inspiring as a storyteller/character creator. (Note well: No matter how great a star you are, if your supporting cast is terrible, the story is going to be pretty lame. Trying not to steal every scene, therefore, is in a player's own best interest.)
Sometime the creativity will be in coming up with imaginative ways to "win." Perhaps you are the best stealther on the server. Or you set some traps once and used them to incredible advantages. Or you came through with an awesome critical right when you were down to your last two hit points.
All of this expands, however, outside the scope of the topic.
To rein it in, I'll use an example that happened tonight in game. A PC was on the caravan with approximately six other PCs and stealthing. The rest of us assumed he'd missed the return trip. After we departed the caravan, however, he listened in on a significant conversation that occurred right at the caravan exit. At a crucial moment he revealed himself and conflict occurred.
It would be easy to say that this was just "unrealistic." How could he hide undetected in a crowded caravan with people actually looking around wondering where was. Perhaps he did this!
What I think CS's point was (and what I agree with) is that, rather than get offended at the PC's ability to stealth right under my PC's nose, "fantastical stealthing" is an element of the game--much like other fantastic elements. If it's become unbalanced, then perhaps it needs adjusting. But the limits of the game being as they are, we shouldn't all be looking for any excuse to cry "exploit."
(When I enter a doorway and am worried about being followed, you'd better believe I stand in it until I can get the door shut and preferably locked! If that's an exploit, it's news to me.)