I understand the comparison. It is valid. There are issues with the viewpoint I've outlined and it isn't one all my characters share.

Something I run into, fairly often, is the mage who says "Wait till I hero, then I'll kill you easily". I get this even from some well played and otherwise good characters. Sometimes it is true. More times than not the character I was killing at 25 and 35 and 40 is still a character I'm killing at 51. Now they are 52 and I'm afraid?

Editted to add: I do understand the frustration that Neltouda is expressing. I run into it on a fairly regular basis (even more often than the situation above) where mid-ranked cabal enemy mouths off and implies they are going to easily dispatch my hero when they become one. Then they do, are killed, and continue spouting off at the mouth while a ghost. I am expected to handle this matter IC. I don't see why an Imm is any different in this regard (but with a vastly superior skillset). I get the frustration, I really do, and there are some people with enough "Internet Tough Guy Syndrome" baked into them that no amount of IC punishment or prodding will get them to wise up. I think at that point it becomes a rules violation. They aren't RPing a character. They are RPing an anonymous ITG.

If they really are rping their role, well... Roles don't protect you from the consequences of following them.