I love SR and hate the rules. I have read the books several times and I'm still not sure how magic works. I played in several long lasting games by chat and they worked since our GM took the place of the computer in the games - we told him what we wanted to do, he told us how to get it done using as few rules and dice roles as possible.
I knew it was seriously broken when a troll archer shot an arrow clear through a car, totalling it. I don't care how strong you are that should not be possible. That same troll survived a direct hit with a missile to the chest.
What I enjoyed in SR was the problem solving aspect - I enjoyed coming up with my own solutions and designing my own drones.
I didn't realize how much that GM mediated the rules for us untill I tried playing with another group. I could bearly follow :(
If I could play without worrying about the rules that would be way better game experiance :)