To be fair, this game isn't horrible. The graphics could be better, but the gameplay is something else. I have tried nearly every good free MMORPG out there, and runescape remains towards the top. I kind of got spoiled because I played Runescape first and then tried out all of the others, making it a little bit more challenging to fit my needs for a good MMORPG. I have made a list for all of the good things in an MMO and Runescape had them all except for 2. Here is my list

1. An open world- Linear MMO's just aren't fun. You need a world to explore to get used to the controls,the world, and the other players.
2. Good Communication- This is a problem most MMO's have. In Runescape, you were able to type and the message would be above your head. While this works in some MMORPGs, most don't even bother. Along with that, bots pretty much dominate the entire chat screen. They fill it up with advertisements to a bot site or gold for real life cash etc.
3. Not a hardcore grind- Face it. ALL RPG's WILL HAVE A GRIND. It's part of leveling up your character and if you don't like a grind, you won't want to play any rpg's in the first place. Having said that, most of these MMO's have a picky way of leveling up. In Runescape, you could do quests, fight monsters, and do around 20 other skills to feel a sense of progress in the game. It's what keeps the players motivated to log on and try to do it again. Yet, on other free MMO's that I've played, they basically revolve around the quests. If you decide that you're bored of doing a quest, you can't just go out and fight stuff because you'll either get slaughtered or you will end up fighting 10 hours to raise up a single level. It's uninspiring and annoying to log on to see that, even after a month of playing, your character is still level 5.
4. Graphics- This is one of two things that Runescape did not have. I am one to understand that graphics aren't everything in a game. But when the year is 2010 and all of these other games have such detail and yours has yet to have a sky , something needs to be done. Runescape actually had better graphics before the update to "Runescape 3". The avatars look cartoonish and lame. My intimidating character with a strong stance and dragon longsword is now a wussy skinny man with a drunk sway and giant round balls for hands.
5. Good Camera Angles- Runescape did however have a good camera angle because of its ability to stay directly with the avatar. Nothing really got in the way of traveling because of your other ability to use the minimap for navigation. Many MMO's have this problem. The camera has a horrible habit of zooming in really far when drug too close to the ground on some. WoW and Runescape have the best I've seen so far.
6. A "noob-friendly" start- For a lot of games, noobs, or new players, are simply dropped right into the action and have no clue on what to do or how to play. This is another one of those elements that make the game uninspiring and boring to play as a starter. And if you never start, you never play. Mainly, they want you to do a huge number of quests (which mainly consist of killing monsters) instead of you just going out and fighting you way up. Combine that with a slack chat system and you have no way of communicating sucessfully with other players. Runescape and World Of Warcraft and Guild Wars all do an exceptional job of teaching you the basics, and with that, keep you playing. This is the reason they are so successful in gaining players.
7. A friendly coummunity- This is the final and last thing that Runescape didn't include in it's amazing presentation of an MMORPG. Jagex went overboard on their attempts to rid the game entirely of bots and real world traders. They completely cancelled PvP (which was what most players played for anyway) and trading and staking. The 3 things that were used for making money were gone. Trading had a 3,000 dollar limit, which ruined merchanting. Player Killing was gone which got rid of the ability to fight for fame and money. Staking was gone so duels weren't as fun and involving anymore. As time progressed, they brought more features, such as a higher trade limit and a new PvP style, but it just wasn't the same game. When they got rid of it all, a majority of the mature players left the game. All that was left was a bunch of annoying obnoxious children (including myself).

I could go on a long time ranting about how Runescape needs to get back to the way it was (late 2007 before Grand Exchange was where it was best), but the fact is it won't change Jagex's mind. There was a time where this was the best MMORPG out there. It's still a possibility... but a low one.