It's a bit more complex than all this, though. I think many RPers are hoping to have content specifically geared to appeal to the roleplay crowd at some point down the line, and official recognition from Square-Enix is the first step towards that. I doubt things will ever get near the level of, say, FunCom, who had persistent 24/7 in-character VIPs roleplayed by GMs and officially recognized volunteers and monthly RP'd faction meetings organized by FunCom GM characters to which RP guild leaders were invited, but acknowledgement is a further step towards more widespread acceptance and legitimacy. (Though honestly, the best way to make a roleplayer happy is with in-game lore and setting details, which EVERYONE can appreciate. We're not all that different from the non-RP crowd.)

I don't really get the RP-hate either, myself. Most of it is based on stereotypes that aren't even true, and it seems... flat-out silly for one socially "iffy" hobby to further subdivide itself so it can have someone to bully. It feels like the somewhat-marginalized "gamer" crowd is finding an arbitrary subdivision within itself, trying to establish some sort of baffling pecking order so they get to be on top of something. As for me, I prefer to hang out around RPers even when not RPing since generally they put more thought into what they type and I don't have to wade through an impenetrable shroud of text totes typed liek this k ttyl bai, lolz.

I hear complaints sometimes about RPers spamming up the chat channels with thees and thous, but seriously... nobody talks like that, in character or out, with the exception of a notable few and they're generally regarded as every bit as strange as you'd expect. And can you honestly tell me RPers have a monopoly on spamming the chat channels? Really? Most RPers I know tend to avoid verbose RPs in populated areas out of consideration for others anyhow.

Anyhow, moral of story: You want to find a subset of the population with disruptive, annoying habits? Sports fans. They start *@#&ing riots!
If you find that statement misinformed and retarded, congrats! You now understand how many of us RPers feel.