Roleplay... But Nothing Happens?

Okay I just saw an example of this and it's really bugging me. I love roleplaying, even though I've never experienced it. I might say the same thing about sex. But back to roleplaying, this scenario is just ridiculous, but I see it happening time and time again; a flaw in the system of having a GM.

John strolls with his companions down the marbled pathway, taking in the carefully sculptured ornamental trees, the slim buttressed arches. Suddenly a shadow crossed his eyes and he dropped into a crouch, eyes darting quickly to some concealing underbrush just off the trail.
WolfAlpha stops and unsheathes her sword. Growling, she waits for any signs of danger or trouble...
Lou pulls out his extendable staff and activates the glowing runes, sharp eyes peeking out from his concealing hood eyeing for trouble...
Sue pulls out her equally contrived weapon and waits for something to happen...

This is all well and good, if John has some amazing and thrilling plot in mind, and has fully planned what dangers lurk in the bushes. But notice that neither WolfAlpha (I hate names like that), Lou or Sue actually contributed anything to the scene. All they did was pull out their weapons and wait. For John's player to do all the work. That is how 90% of roleplayers act.

I think the reason is manifold. Those three players didn't contribute anything because

They are lazy, and want John to do all the work.
They are afraid of ruining John's secret plans and losing continuity.
They are taught that only one person (the GM) may advance the plot

I hate to say this folks, but it's a bad way to do things. Imagine how much better, faster and more exciting the scene would be if it went like this:

John strolls with his companions down the marbled pathway, taking in the carefully sculptured ornamental trees, the slim buttressed arches. Suddenly a shadow crossed his eyes and he dropped into a crouch, eyes darting quickly to some concealing underbrush just off the trail.
WolfAlpha continues blithely on, not noticing her companion John pausing. Suddenly ninjas jump out of the bushes and slam into her side, before she can draw her weapon!
Lou curses and falls back, aiming his palm toward WolfAlpha and the ninjas and praying to Malakar there is enough time. At his murmurings the air itself solidifies, stopping the ninjas, but trapping WolfAlpha too.
Sue looks around furtively for more ninjas, then strides forward confidently and grabs the hood of one of the ninjas trapped in ropes of air and pulls it off. "Gasp!" she gasps, "Kindly old Ms. Applebee?"

You see, unless John is the established referree, and this was agreed on by all parties beforehand, then the story itself can grow spontaneously, by the intentions of each player. If John really really wants there to be cowboys hiding in the bushes instead of ninjas, then he can say so OOCly, either in dialog or on a separate forum/IRC channel/thread

John strolls with his companions down the marbled pathway, taking in the carefully sculptured ornamental trees, the slim buttressed arches. Suddenly a shadow crossed his eyes and he dropped into a crouch, eyes darting quickly to some concealing underbrush just off the trail.
(OOC) Sue: Thinking to hide in the bushes, John?
(OOC) John: No, there's something hiding in there, but I don't have time to warn anyone.
(OOC) WolfAlpha: Are we talking evil cowboys or evil ninjas hiding in the bushes?
(OOC) John: ninjas, definitely.
WolfAlpha continues blithely on, not noticing her companion John pausing. Suddenly ninjas jump out of the bushes and slam into her side, before she can draw her weapon!
(OOC) Lou: Wolfalpha, can I trap you in an air bind spell?
(OOC) Wolfalpha: Be my guest, Lou. :)
Lou curses and falls back, aiming his palm toward WolfAlpha and the ninjas and praying to Malakar there is enough time. At his murmurings the air itself solidifies, stopping the ninjas, but trapping WolfAlpha too.
Sue looks around furtively for more ninjas, then strides forward confidently and grabs the hood of one of the ninjas trapped in ropes of air and pulls it off. "Gasp!" she gasps, "Kindly old Ms. Applebee?"
(OOC) Sue: Just kidding. What should we make the ID of these ninjas to be?

And that is how you should roleplay. None of this, "So-and-so waits around like a deadbeat, waiting for someone else to do something so I can react and look soo cool." I hate that kind of roleplaying; is a big pet peeve of mine. Unless one person is agreed upon to be Teh Official Referree, then everyone should contribute stuff, and make sure there's an OOC channel for double checking with the others. Even if someone is a referree, I'm sure they will appreciate players making things interesting, as long as those players can be trusted not to confiscate the plot. If you don't trust your roleplaying partners enough to do that, why are you playing with them?

I am tentatively calling this annoying reluctance characters have of interacting "twink backlash syndrome."

Roleplay... But Nothing Happens?

Journal started Nov 5, 2004