Not only is this completely and utterly wrong, but also…
It’s literally a WotLK feature. So you’re saying WotLK = retail.
Utter and complete nonsense and these past years of classic is the proof of it.
People changed and the nature of online communication changed.
WOTLK with a cross-realm dungeon finder that teleports you to instanced pve content is not Classic. It doesn’t matter when it was introduced. It’s not classic.
lol. i love finder too 
Okay, so the most populous expansion in all of WoW history is retail.
Glad you cleared that up.
Just effing accept that RDF with cross server and teleports was in half of WotLK.
Stop changing our game for your deluded excuses.
The turning point was when RDF was introduced into this game. That’s when the game experience split into to Classic and retail. At that time there was only retail. Today we have Classic and we have retail. RDF is not Classic. RDF will never be Classic. RDF can never be a Classic experience. It’s the opposite of a Classic experience.
Okay, so at the point where the game kept gaining subscribers is when it got worse?
Not the thing that was added the following year and started costing it subscribers?
The turning point was when RDF was introduced into this game. That’s when the game experience split into to Classic and retail.
This is what I said. Not a word about good or bad, better or worse.
The amount of subscribers have nothing to with what makes Classic, classic.
A cross-realm group finder that automatically creates a group and teleports you to an instance can never be Classic.
Okay, since you’re ignoring the facts.
How is RDF a “turning point”?
Have you done ANY dungeon in classic where RDF hasn’t been present?
Oh, I see, so this is just entirely “this is what I feel classic is, my feelings trump everything”.
Yeah, this makes sense.
And it’s completely pointless.
Let me add further to this conversation.
I like apples.
That’s when we went from manually creating groups and traveling to dungeons and experience content with players from our own realm that we can form social bonds with to
having an automated cross-realm group finder that automatically creates a group and teleports you to an instance with players you can’t inv to your guild or add to your friends-list.
We went from a Classic MMORPG experience with a specific kind of social experience to a new kind of social experience.
No, this is not about feeling or opinions. This is about the specific tool that is a cross-realm automated group finder that teleports you to instances with players you can’t add to your friends list or guild.
You just described RDF.
How is it a turning point?
Once again, have you done a single 5 man in classic?
This is 100% about your feelings cause you ignore absolutely every fact thrown at you.
I pick my nose btw.
^ this is every bit as valid a reason to have RDF in the game as your reasons for not having it in the game.
Yes, RDF is the turning point when the game split into Classic and retail.
That’s when we went from manually creating groups and traveling to dungeons and experience content with players from our own realm that we can form social bonds with
to
having an automated cross-realm group finder that automatically creates a group and teleports you to an instance with players you can’t inv to your guild or add to your friends-list.
Cross-realm pve
Automated pve
Teleportation to pve
These are the specific things that are the turning point.
In classic we don’t have that. In retail we do have that.
Not really sure what you are trying to do here. I have done Classic dunegons for 6 years now. Thousands. Not once have I ever felt that the game would be more fun with an RDF. More convenient perhaps but never more fun.
Again, this has nothing to do with feelings. It has to do with the specific mechnics of RDF.
Cross-realm pve
Automated pve
Teleportation to pve
You can love them or hate them, that’s irrelevant. They are what they are and what they are is not Classic.
Why?
And no, repeating a description of RDF doesn’t answer the question.
WoW came out in 2004.
Facebook came out in 2004.
The iPhone came out in 2007.
WotLK came out in 2009, RDF came out in 2010.
Do you think, perhaps, that online communication changed a tiny bit over those years? Just a smidge?
And is it possible to get you to accept that massive talent changes, a terrible storyline, a revamp of an old and dear world and a complete design shift is a bigger contributor to the game you hate oh so much than RDF could ever dream of being?
Who effing cares about cross realm with server sizes today?
Who effing cares about not seeing someone scoot over at 310% speed, I’m sick and tired of having to summon you RDF haters cause you stand in town and spam “123” over and over.
Pro RDFers are even willing to give RDF a try without the above 2 points just so we can get to the last one. It’d dramatically change the available players to group with, but we’re willing to give it a try.
And the automated part is the entire point. It doesn’t gatekeep.
Classic released in 2019. We’re in 2022.
And again, why is this a turning point.
Reminder: we’re talking about 5 man dungeons.
edit:
Another reminder: WotLK never turned from classic into retail cause it was retail all along. This is mindbogglingly stupid.
Private servers was available for many years before Classic.
No cross-realm pve
No automated pve
No teleportation to pve
-Turning point-
Cross-realm pve
Automated pve
Teleportation to pve
Do you see the difference? Between them are the turning point.
But decidedly not classic.
Okay, let me rephrase.
How is:
cross realm pve
automated pve
teleporting to pve
A turning point when:
cross realm pvp
automated pvp
teleporting to pvp
isn’t?
Yes they where much more Classic that Blizzard Classic will ever be. The simple reason is that they didn’t have shading/layering and they used the original authentic client. They could never get the data perfectly authentic but they did hit the feeling pretty spot on. The game felt much more Classic. They got that feeling right. The game behaved like you expected it to behave (often).
You don’t seem to understand what a turning point is:
the time at which a situation starts to change in an important way
They are both part of the turning point. You need both to have a turning point.
cross realm pve
automated pve
teleporting to pve
This is Classic.
Turning point:
cross realm pve
automated pve
teleporting to pve
This is not Classic.
You may like them or hate them. But it’s a specific change, a turning point, to the game when the game went from one thing to another.
And you claim it’s not about your feelings lmao.
Good lord.
All of this was added in patch 1.12.
So I guess vanilla doesn’t deserve the monicker “classic” either.
It’s incredible clear you’ve never played the original game at this point and that your only experience is on private servers.
Let me tell you what lead up to the release of RDF.
People did at most 1 heroic per day and it was the daily for the advanced emblems.
Outside of that 5 man heroics were dead.
5 man Northrend normals were dead.
5 man heroic Outlands and 5 man normals were dead.
5 and 10 man group content in Azeroth were dead.
It was dead content that was completely revitalized by RDF.
And we’re steadily approaching this point in WotLKC as well as people’s mains get geared. If you’re not noticing fewer groups being formed for non-daily heroics you’re not paying attention at all.
That was obviously a typo. Talking about PvE here.
I started to play in TBC. Enjoy that witout RDF. I also enjoyed WOTLK pre-patch, Naxx, Ulduar and TOC without RDF. I also experienced ICC with RDF and it was convenient for sure but not fun at all. In fact I have some really grim memories from RDF and what it did to the whole experience back then. Really grim.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that you are 100% correct in your claims.
It is irrelevant.
RDF is not Classic. No matter how dead something was or wasn’t. No matter how many people vote in a poll. No matter what data you can show or claim.
It is not Classic.
RDF is not Classic 
Ye man, it was so horrible that people would actually be able to run dungeons, esp for Vanilla and TBC zones, which were completely dead during WOTLK. The same thing will happen to WOTLK dungeons later in the expansion. But hey who cares, right?
Correct, this is irrelevant even if it was true. I know for a fact it isn’t true based on my own personal experience. But even if it where true, it would be irrelevant.
RDF is not Classic.
Kinda sums up people like you. All they care about is themselves, screw everyone else who is unable to do dungeons while levelling.