Let me make a disclaimer: I understand there are certain forms of RP which are based around playing to win. That's the Arena in a nutshell after all: seeing who can describe their characters fighting in such a way they win a PvP fight. If that's your thing, you do it to it; beat the crap out of people in the Arena. But if I'm not in the Arena, I hate coming across a "playing to win" mentality from a player in the same thread.

See, I've always looked at roleplaying as a cooperative writing experience and a game of give and take. When you roleplay, you're working together with another person or with a group of people to make a cohesive story that's enjoyable for everyone involved. If your characters are opposed, you may still want your characters to come out on top, but you always have to remember that the roleplay isn't about you: it's about your character and every other character in the roleplay. You strike a balance between doing what's awesome for your character and doing what's awesome for the roleplay.

If you're playing to "win" in a thread that wasn't designed with "Let's compete!" in mind, you're effectively trying to steal the limelight of this cooperative experience for yourself. You're ignoring the fact that there are other players who are working with you to make a good story, or else you're acknowledging them but saying "I don't care" at the same time.

When I write an application for a Nation RP, for instance, I don't design a character or nation with "I gotta win this roleplay" in mind. Hell, sometimes I go in knowing my concept is going to be wiped out pretty early. What I do is make something that compliments or contrasts the other nations in the thread. I want to make something that brings about conflict or adds a new layer to the roleplay. I do not want to make something that will conquer all the known world because clearly this swarm of horse archers (who are for some reason blindly loyal to their demon overlord who crushes all rebellion and revolt with demon powers) is superior to all other armies on this puny map. That's just petty.

Moreover, the writing style that comes about from an "I gotta win" mentality is unnatural. What do I mean by that? I mean that it's a style of writing that feels awkward, clunky, is poorly paced, and doesn't get published for exactly those reasons. In a fight scene, for instance, I don't know of any author (or comic book artist or film director) that spends 3-5 paragraphs talking about the way one character fights so perfectly, then another 3-5 paragraphs about how the other characters responds to that so carefully, then... back and forth. No. Nobody does that, nobody except roleplayers.

What we should do instead is collaborate with each other for fight scenes. Get with the person you're having a sword fight with! Jump into a chatroom that lets you edit as you go! You can work together to make a paragraph that's fluid, that has good pacing, where characters are actually reacting to attacks as they happen. One guy swings and the other parries, stepping back onto a rock. He thrusts forward; the other guy takes a hit, winces, and trips the fellow off the rock. They move into closer range where one guy's shorter sword has an advantage, and the other guy has to struggle to get out of there, and... etc. It will read better than if folks just take turns writing four paragraph blurbs at a time.

Now, I understand the solution above isn't in the spirit of Arena roleplay, and I understand that folks have fun in the Arena just as much as folks do anywhere else on this forum. That's a totally legitimate way to play, and it has a forum sequestered off because it's very different from how most roleplay functions. Most roleplay is about cooperation, not competition, even when two players have characters whose goals are diametrically opposed.

When you join most roleplays, you should come in knowing you shouldn't necessarily try to be Johnny Badass. You should, instead, try to be a team player. After all, the thing that distinguishes roleplaying from a lot of other writing forms is it's a group effort. Roleplaying is multiple people working together to create a story. Shouldn't you practice writing in a way that's conducive to group play?