Shifting Perspectives: When am I outside?

I am lame, a noob, and whatever else, but I still love my Entangling Roots, even at level 70. Give me a break people, it is the only crowd control I have as a proud dps kitty who moonlights as a tank. All the rogues have this wonderful sap that apparently brings all the boys to the yard in an instance. Cyclone lasts 6 seconds, which is nice, but doesn't "control a crowd" per se, not like Entangling Roots.

For some reason, Entangling Roots only works outside, and I am okay with it. That may seem like a simple and very ordinary uncomplicated statement. As a Druid, I feel it is my duty to complicate everything (a result of the "overpowered class" buff), so let us decide once and for all what this term "outside" means. Apparently Blizzard is confused about this whole "Outside" thing as well. It may not seem important to non-druids, but just think about having to pee and not knowing whether you are outside or not. I think you'd agree that this is a major problem, peeing or not.

Riddle me this, I go into the Caverns of Time, keyword here: Caverns. I mosey on through the instance to Old Hillsbrad Foothills, and while burning orc dorms I am decidedly outside, because my outside-only abilities work. I even target and try to entangle my own group in roots (no, not really) because I'm so giddy that I get to use my only form of viable crowd control inside an instance. Mere minutes later, I am in Hellfire Ramparts, only because a guildy needs it for some quest, and we need guild bonding. I lay out Kitty's Delight (TM) picnic foods and my checkered table cloth on Omor's cold dead hide, grab my lemonade and some sweet tunes while everyone else regens their mana. Despite the fact that I can feel the acid rain from wherever and see the twisting nether falling in the vast blankness and post-carnage that is today's Hellfire sky, I am not outside why?

There are plenty of other times when I seriously disagree with Blizzard (unleash the Fel Cannons on me, go ahead) that I am outside. I understand why I can't use Entangling Roots unless I am outside from reading "The Well of Eternity" by Richard A. Knaack (which I highly recommend by the way). Old skool lore FTW! Malfurion, the first Druid, had to call upon the trees of the forest and I imagine other portions of nature to do his bidding (more like ask the tree's permission to use their loose leaves to shred demons), thus the reason Druids go over to tree-houses for a spot of tree tea and almond bark on the weekends between raids. The forest and I go way back. Being tight with nature, but cut off by the four walls of an instance, I can't summon, conjure or channel the forces of nature to help me.

What I don't get is why and how Blizzard decided where outside is. In Darkshore, for example, I am on the walkway out the ships, and though under open sky, for about 30 yards, I am not outside. Perhaps that is a 3D model and invisible areas issue, I don't know, but seeing that familiar and annoying phrase "can only be used outside" is so aggravating sometimes, especially without knowing the reasons why I am not outside, when I can clearly see that I am. Do you have any insight into this thinly veiled anomaly? I am all ears. No seriously, all ears, bear ears, cat ears, elf ears, and even bird ears. No mongoose ears though, only because I am too ugly for words, but of course, I digress.