Breakfast Topic: The Importance of Lore

One of the reasons the world of Azeroth made a decent starting place for an MMORPG was its long history in the Warcraft series of games.  Azeroth already had a detailed history that potential players were aware of and that could be built on in the construction of a larger virtual world.  However, as WoW's appeal has broadened beyond the traditional gamer demographic, we're seeing new players who may be visiting Azeroth for the first time – with no knowledge of the world's history.  What do you think – is the deep history of the world an important part of your play experience, or is it all about the gameplay?