yes but making it so clients then have to update the game manually when they already have a system in place? thats just foolish. It isnt hard to change the IP address of the update sever just means you need a second one.
They did add an auto patcher into the game my memory isnt the best I remember having to download them and put it on usb stick to give to friends. We had bad connections back then.
Its going to be a lot of work hardware side to put new servers in just for this. It would be far easier and more practical to just setup a separate server with some restrictions on it rather than forcing updates (remember bandwidth costs money so making people re-download content thats really not needed isnt a great idea)
either way they will never do this. I wouldnt mind a hardcore server but im more than happy with whats on offer. As suggested its easier to get a few people and lock the xp.
I would prefer the old 40man raids get re-tuned for 25man/10man now that'd make more sense for this idea ;p