@dms614

You miss the point. If it were really free to play, that should mean I can reactivate my personal already established account at a starter/F2P level and be able to play my characters that are below 20 with restrictions to my leveling, crafting and money gathering without having to make another account. I'd also be able to start groups with friends, if me and my friend both had these trial accounts, neither one of us would be able to group and work together to complete quests as a group or run instances. The only hope is to find someone with a paying account under 20 who will group you up. And if you're a high level in the game trying to get a friend to play, aside from tells(which the high level would have to send first btw) you'd really have no social interaction. Beyond that the restrictions, while I truly understand why they're there, really take away from the social aspects of the game which I believe is a major draw. This is nothing more then the already existing trial accounts with no time limit.

F2P models allow for you to a la carte your experience in the game, higher levels, additional races/classes and so on with microtransactions much like real F2P games such as LotRO, D&DO, and Champions Online, beyond that the game is completely enjoyable and social.

Trial models force you to enjoy the game with heavy restrictions in the hopes that you will sign up for a full and active account in order to enjoy the rest of the content and take part in the social interaction and other ranges of content.