Condensed re-post using ideas and criticism from a previous post. This is how I would fix the loss of socialization server wide. Many people are attracted to WoW as a social game. Playing with people you WANT to play with makes the game more fun.
Problem:
Server socialization has vanished.
Why?:
Cross server random dungeon/heroics.
The idea is sound, make wait times less and dungeons more accessible.
Which it did ten fold but in doing so it removed the need to be social in the server.
From Vanilla to the end of wrath pugging people on your server forced socialization, gave your character a presence in the game.
That presence made you more a living part of the server. People learned who was good, bad, or trolls. Friendships and guilds sprang up based on who they could count on. It also created laziness and less patience which in turn created apathy.
In a random heroic with people, odds are, that you'll never see again you did not have to be polite. It didn't matter if you NEEDED off spec then left the group because the consequences have been removed. In vanilla and BC if you were deemed a ninja you couldn't get into a good guild. Many people were forced to transfer off server or faction because no one would take them, which was a good thing.
Random dungeons has also created a new problem of pugging raids. Due to people knowing less people on the server the players have turned to such mods as "gear score" or "item level" as a soul base or invites. If you have free time or gold you can get either of those.
Pugging people on server is how guilds were formed. You found people you enjoyed playing with, either for personality or skill, and wanted to continue to do so. Being good at the game landed you on friends lists and brought you into the social aspects and personality of the server. With the Random Dungeon this has been removed.
How to fix it:
Change the way Random Heroics work.
Have unlimited from level 1-84 using the entire battlegroup. It is a great tool for leveling and finding a group on server at random levels is difficult especially on low population servers.
1st level 85 (+ heroic) should use a 5-10 minute set up timer. The system would first try and fill the group using pugs from the server. If after 5 minutes the group is not filled the players who are in the group are moved to the battlegroup system and the rest are filled in there.
2ndly the buff "Luck of the Draw" is revamped to the "Home Team" Buff which works like this;
3 people from same server = 5% buff
4 people from same server = 10% buff
5 people from same server = 15% buff (and maybe to even entice more a 5% more justice/valor for full 5 from server)
3rd Servers with low population be merged to proper levels.
Conclusion:
One reason wow grew so well was the human connection. For WoW to continue to grow the social aspect of the game must be returned. I do not want to remove the ease and convenience of the random heroic system, but it could only help if it were changed a bit.
Thank you all for your time and criticism. All constructive criticism is welcome.