Thank you for the advice @Goldeagle1221, though truly, I knew this prior to my inception of the urge to join this site and behold your presence as the presences of all others here.
But regardless, thank you.
So, an arena duel or voluntary crucifixion?
In all due seriousness, welcome aboard. You'll find a spattering of clicks and communities, each welcoming to others (or at least I can assume, I tend to run in the NRP section). Feel free to peruse and write to your hearts content.
First of all, I'd like to affirm--before anyone has even had the chance to post it--that the standpoint that a roleplay isn't really a roleplay if it has mechanics is idiotic. Anyone who has ever said anything to that effect is too stupid a moron to warrant taking anything that they ever said, ever, even half seriously. There is nothing more innately roleplay-ey about freeform roleplays versus structured roleplays. It's as hair-brained an idea as accusing limericks and haikus of not being true poems.
To answer your question: the ideal amount of mechanisms to add to your roleplay is precisely the amount that improves your roleplay. That quantity is going to be determined by the tolerance of your players to the mechanics, how much of a workload they place on you as GM, etc. There is no perfect anount of structure that always works for every roleplay.
I wholeheartedly agree with Nex. It is a situational basis, and depends on the factors of the roleplay, its players, its GM, and ultimately the theme and purpose of the game.
I'm not really a bird.
[center]-0-
Where did I play,
A land of twisted branches,
A kingdom of clay,
A swamp of memories,
A never-ending day,
Where did I run,
Across the dawn,
Through the sun,
Across the sky,
Through laughs and fun,
Where did I walk,
Pristine grass green,
White cliffs of chalk,
Pools of sky so blue,
Orchard stones that talk,
Where did I sit,
By the gates of silver,
Near endless pit,
By forever horizon,
You may remember it.[/center]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I'm not really a bird.<br><br><div class="bb-center">-0-<br><br>Where did I play,<br>A land of twisted branches,<br>A kingdom of clay,<br>A swamp of memories,<br>A never-ending day,<br><br>Where did I run,<br>Across the dawn,<br>Through the sun,<br>Across the sky,<br>Through laughs and fun,<br><br>Where did I walk,<br>Pristine grass green,<br>White cliffs of chalk,<br>Pools of sky so blue,<br>Orchard stones that talk,<br><br>Where did I sit,<br>By the gates of silver,<br>Near endless pit,<br>By forever horizon,<br>You may remember it.</div></div>