When a game has loot, dungeons, quests, character creation, level progression, and is touted by its creators as an action RPG (expressly or implicitly), I usually give them the benefit of the doubt and categorize it as such. I'm not going to scrutinize whether such factors are exclusive to RPGs or if there's other defining elements missing. The genre and its permutations are way too diverse to have any satisfying and consistent bright line rules. And, personally, it's just not a conversation I find very interesting.

It's cool if you guys do, though. Glad people are reacting to the thread.