I have been down that road....
I know how wonderful online contact with others can be (I met hubby on the internet) but I also know how addictive and dangerous it can be.
I think theres no harm in WOW, provided you limit his online playtime to no more than 6 or eight hours a week (he could go it all in one fest, or spread it out a hour or so a day).
This has to do with breaking the addiction. He has got to let go of the idea that WOW is a bigger deal than food/sleep/bathing/real people etc. I totally stopped eating properly (lived off chips and coke), never bathed for more than 5 minutes, saw no sun, slept 8 hours in three days and changed clothes once a week. If he is already spending all his time online, hes been bitten by the bug!
I would say that he is going to see and hear troubling things, no matter where on the net he goes, especially if he is fond of chatrooms and forums, so playing on WOW is no different. The game itself is fairly harmless...its the fellow gamers that may be a problem. Like they said...stick to a RP server where the moderators will keep serious freaks in check. I don't think he'll see or hear anything he doesn't already take in from TV or schoolfriends.
My hubby and I have already decided that if we ever have kids, we won't allow a PC/TV in the bedroom to cut back on addictive behaviours. We know how we were.....
We will have a study with all the goodies, and access to the study will be controlled as a reward for good behaviour. Our kids WILL probably sneak into the study at every opportunity...but thats still more effort than just falling out of bed onto your bean bag and surfing till sundown while unbathed, unkept, unfed, and dressed in four day old clothes. They have to get up out of bed to break into the study, lol!
At the moment, we have no internet at home (GOD BE PRAISED! WE HAVE A LIFE!)
We have no games except Tetris!
An extreme solution...but we almost needed a 12 step program to kick the habit.
We visit an internet cafe on off days about once every two weeks, and play WOW/Diablo2/Sims2 etc. or just chat/surf all day.
Works for us!
Just keep an eye out for the pitfalls.
Gaming/Net addiction is just like any other addiction, and can be just as destructive
