Well, if the game was set up to actually have community consequences and wasn't an anti-social lobby game, then playing tanks would be more rewarding. You could do a good job and become known as a good player.

Instead, it is anonymous spam runs and people screaming and being abusive to tanks for any little mess up, or even for gear. It's not any fun. I ran an instance yesterday and told them it was my first time in the instance, and they said that I wasn't being payed to be a "mentally challenged" (used the r-word) player and to waste people's time.. so why did I insist on doing just that?

One player (the healer) was very nice and said I was doing great... and asked why they were being rude, and they said "Because I am not claiming to be a tank, but doesn't know what I am supposed to do"... FFS, I never lost agro, no one was dying... but that is what DF gets you as a tank...

Gee, I wonder why groups have to wait for tanks...

Of course healers and tanks are less represented... the game is set up so that people can be abusive and rude, so the roles with the most visible responsibilities have a giant target painted on their foreheads.