I just have to be that asshat that pipes in about how difficult Star Trek RP actually is. I 100% realize you were just using it as an example, and for that it was effective - but sheezus, the contradictions between shows and the arguments over what is considered canon actually makes it a bitch of a universe to RP in.
I can see that.
"Your Vulcan is freaking out! Vulcans are logical, they wouldn't act that way!"
"They would too! Pon Phar!"
"No! Pon Phar only takes place within ten light years of the Vulcan home planet!"
"Not true! Remember when Spock was crying on the planet of the Ancient Romans?"
"That doesn't count! He was under hypnosis!"Maybe the problem is 'human nature'.
'Bang Bang! I shot you! You are dead!' 'Nuh uh! You didn't shoot me!" I remember the 'rule book lawyers' back in the day of paper and dice Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying. These players would argue at every turn that their characters/ the monsters/ the rock formations of caverns of Chaos wouldn't 'really' do those things, because of reasons X, Y, and Z. The only game mechanics at the time were the dice and the rulebooks. If you didn't like what happened to your character, well, maybe there was something in the rulebooks to get you out of it.
Roleplay in EVE is a different kettle of fish, since my character can do something you don't agree with, and it only affects you if you acknowledge it. In 1PG, we had a policy of "Only those of pure Amarrian blood, or Ni-Kunni or Khanid ancestry may join." I took this to mean "Space Nazis", which for me, was a fast track to mustache twirling villainry.
One member of our corp started roleplaying as having a Gallente father, and the rest of the corp just....pretended she never said that.
I suppose it could have made for an interesting sub-plot, examining the in-game racist hiring policies of an Amarrian loyalist corporation. On the other hand, it just seemed like 'work' and 'drama' in the chat channels. There was no reward or risk involved, and it was something which distracted from the main objective, which was the almost entirely mechanical aspects of Factional warfare.
It's also hard to roleplay as a villain when you fly solo and suck at combat.