> My criticism was not directed to the functionality or social 
> utility of adding themes to simulations -- just to point out that what 
> simulations and games do with their story elements don't amount to
storytelling.

Sitting on the bedside of my children - years ago - one of their favorite
storytelling-session was the democratic story: I started the story and they
were allowed to change the details:
Once upon a time there was a boy - no, a girl - OK, once upon a time there
was a girl...   They did like to change some details but did not want to get
really control over the story-line, that would spoil their fun in listening.


If the control of a storyteller is so important, would the introduction of
the character of the stroyteller save the IF?
 
> Poetics was not directed to the functionality of the works, 
> but rather to their efficacy in achieving that functionality -- the
science 
> (classical sense) of writing.  It is what makes a story catch our 
> breath, and makes it worthwhile the read.  We aren't doing 
> much of that in role-playing games these days.  Indeed, not much at all.
> 
About the word interactive:
Several years ago we filled a lecture-hall at our university with
videoconference facilities en WWW-computers on every student-desk. We gave
it the name "Interactive Classroom", for me a kind of joke about normal
classrooms: they still should not be very interactive... 
There are only a few people who see this joke. For all the others
"interactive" means "Doing things - in this case lectures - with the help of
computers."

Gallery of Interactiv geometry: http://www.geom.umn.edu/apps/gallery.html
Interactiv library: http://www.axciom.fr/interactiva/biblio.asp
Interactiv community: http://community.cnn.com/
Interactiv popstar-pictures??
http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/BritneyLand/germany.html
Interactiv consultatnt: http://www.interactiv-lee.com/
Interactiv multimedia: http://www.interactiv.ru/new/index.html
Interactiv map of MIT: http://whereis.mit.edu/
Interactiv citizin handbook: http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/

(Some of the hits of my search-engine on the word interactiv)
It seems to be what we call in Holland a container-concept: anything fits in
it, so the word becomes meaningless..

So, a better word for Interactiv Fiction. What do you want to express?
Soemthing with a kind of story in it, so that word has to stay. The dream is
that the reader can still change the story on the very very last moment...
Extreme late story? no suggest something else. An other aspect is that if
any user can change the story, it becomes unpredictable, fast moving,
nimble, agile... Nimble Stories ? Agile Stories?