And it seems that the only way I can have fun with my characters, or indeed TL in general, is to step on as many toes as I can - maybe I need the fact that everyone else is pissed off with my ideas to function. That, given the conversation this post has produced, would not surprise me.

If people have issues with some of what I do, I cannot do any of it. In my character histories (I don't know whether or not this is the case with other peoples ones, if they have them), most things are tied together, and if a quarter of what I have down is not allowed, it makes plot holes in my history that makes the rest tentative at best and more often downright incredulous. I am better served re-writing the entire thing, and I really can't be bothered with that when I created the character around something entirely different.

I can see that I cannot change the system on the basis of what I want, because I am in the minority. This does not mean that I do not have a problem with it, that I find it reasonable or that I particularly enjoy roleplaying in the system. From having a lot of fun when I started, it has got down as far as being close and easily available, and is fast losing that.