I'm down with...
...following the rules, but not rules-lawyering.
...house rules, but not obfuscated rules.
...balanced classes, but not "samey" classes.
...niche protection, but not roles (i.e fighters that either defend or "kick-ass", but not both)
...roleplaying and story, but not at the expense of action.
...combat, but not if it takes most of the session to finish.
...interesting NPCs, but not ones that overshadow the PCs.
...evil PCs, but not Chaotic Stupid ones (or Lawful Stupid, for that matter).
...players who are focused on their PCs, but not to break/win the game.
...dungeons, but not nondescript holes in the ground.
...sandboxes, but not ones without cool toys (or sand, for that matter) to play with.
...save or die/suck/drain, but not all the time.
...linear warriors/quadratic wizards, but only with varying xp tables, race/class prerequisites, and random attributes to balance them (the three pillars of old school class balance, if you will)
...gelatinous cubes, but not week-old jello at the table
