The onlt prob with player run shards is:
a) Con speed, some can be so ungodly slow. Since the guy is not making $$$ running it, he can't throw in a fat pipe (ie: T3).
b) Game ending exploits. Someone finds the achillies heel, and within 48 hrs the shard is dead. The guy(s) making the shard don't have the resources to test everything. The customer has no "skin" in the game (ie: paid account) so they can walk away.