I hypothesize that one of the reasons the “collaborative storytelling” claim persists is that both RPGs and stories produce powerful emotions. Stories and games can feel the same or at least very similar. This makes them seem like the same thing but they have a crucial difference.
This is the most nitpicky thing I’ve ever read. TTRPGs are (or at least can be) a form of collaborative story telling and Travis Miller has Hasperger’s.