[b]@Sevaree:[/b] Interesting. To me, there is a certain degree of professionalism required in any format of collective assignment if you wish to be taken seriously and be respected, and return such expectations. Role plays have responsibilities, some require certain levels of skill in one way or another, and so on. Even if the agreement itself is unwritten, when one signs up to join an RP, it's generally recognized that they have thus agreed to the responsibility to post in that RP, follow the rules, and attempt to stay in character while typing posts in the IC. Players should treat each other respectfully and follow the GM's rules (not unquestioningly, but when the GM puts their foot down, it's generally considered poor practice to spit in their face and fight them on it anyway), and so on. This creates a cooperative and amicable environment.

That is, I have a certain series of expectations of players who wish to join my role plays. They don't have to be master writers (au contrairé, I love to teach anyone willing to learn), nor do they have to be the greatest role players of all time. I've even accepted the occasional Mary Sue if I saw even a little promise in it. It's the attitude of the player that matters a lot more to me. People who easily succumb to rage and impatience likely won't work in a format where openly constructive criticism and long posts prevail over slanderous compliments and rapid fire posts.

So, to me, it -is- basically a business agreement. If someone wants to pull out of it all they have to do is mention it, but they shouldn't be surprised if I'm wary to enter into another agreement with them, at least in the near future, due to their failure to uphold their own responsibilities on their end. (Extreme circumstances notwithstanding, like if a tornado blows up your house or both your parents were brutally murdered, I'm not going to expect you to post or stay in the RP, nor hold it against you, because... Well... I'm evil, not completely monstrous. :hehe)