World of Warcraft private servers have existed ever since the game's conception in late 2004. They offer gamers a chance to play outside the "real world" of World of Warcraft and are wildly popular, particularly with those that might not be able to afford the $15/month subscription fee.

Many people do consider playing on a private server "stealing", as you are effectively playing for free. The game is relatively easy to obtain via P2P sharing networks (although it may end up costing you from your ISP's bandwidth charges), so many gamers out there are actually able to play WoW without even spending a dime. Playing on a private server is borderlining piracy, but many will argue that Blizzard have no right to incur additional monthly charges on a game that is already overpriced.

I beg to differ. World of Warcraft is unlike any other game, or any other MMORPG. It's a world that even the most hardcore of players are still exploring, and it is continually updated with new content. That alone justifies the subscription fee. Besides, what other game will keep you occupied for months? People will pay $60 for a game that only holds their attention for a week, after which it is joined by the ever increasing mountain load of "been there, done that" game boxes.

The only real advantage of playing on a private server is the unique playing experience. You're given god-like status and abilities and are able to level beyond the cap of 70. Unfortunately, the majority of private servers will suffer severe connection problems, so you'll either experience extremely high latency or be constantly disconnected from the server. Hardly "fun" if you ask me.