Exactly how harsh are the chat rules?

[EagleDynamics]

Here's the scenario I've got going on. I'm another one of those wow refugees that came here sometime last year after Blizzard showed their true colors. I like to roleplay on my fantasy characters. Nothing extreme, no ERP, but light stuff, like character development. When I came over, I found myself amazed with all the people and the gameplay itself. But, chat was eerily silent for all the people around me. I haven't payed it much attention, but earlier today I saw people talking in /say, and I half jokingly made a remark. Well, this is what went down.

Are the rules really this extreme where people are afraid to make the social game... well... social? and if so, what in particular is causing this?

all i know is if you start talking about someones dps being poor because thats how you see it on your dps meter youre probably going to be talking to a gm soon.