Yes, but the truth of the matter that most roleplays don't go very long and generally crash and burn.
Most are just quick scenes with players who come in, fight and then disappear. If you look at the old archives you see a lot of that.
As Gunslinger pointed out, the difference really has to do with the regulars who post here. These are people who want to role play and are willing to commit to it over the long haul. This is not always easy. We can go weeks with few posts and then days were there is a lot of very intense writing.
My hope for this board, and why I sent up smoke signals other boards, was to be to attract people of similar mind- who are willing to commit to a long term project and take pride in what they write (like Rogue and Gunslinger) or are capable of being machines that can pump out a lot (like me) to keep some of these role plays going.
The trick is getting people who are committed and dedicated. That's a question of character.
That said, there is a lot of room for new players to get their feet wet, to try it out, to sample alternatives. THis could be a good idea. And it might be a learning tool for PS here.