However, I suspect that the problem does not lie in the people’s attitude to the roleplay alone. I don’t doubt that it is the largest issue, as it certainly helps explain most of the uninteresting characters out there, but I believe that some people do not succeed in producing interesting characters simply because they do not have the skill for it.

I myself have often felt completely inadequate next to other roleplayers. My emotes are bland and repetitive and I sometimes find myself unable to keep up because I find my characters in complex situations in which I do not know how to make them react, or having to fake a skill that I do not really understand myself.
And then there is the issue of character building methods, and simply understanding how people think. Whatever my methods are they must be terrible. I often end up being very vague about my character’s backgrounds, even in my head, and unsure as to how they were actually formed by their background. Over time, after a lot of thinking, the characters end up crystalizing in to complete beings, but they never have the elegant structure of character that I see from far more advanced roleplayers.

I am still to figure out the greatest mystery of all. How have I managed to fake enough competence to be able to play with the masters themselves.

Anyway, I think this is a point to consider. The people behind Bioware are extremely capable at producing good characters. But we have to remember this; they are professionals.