Why even level 1-80?

By giving away a level 80 character, Blizzard is saying that leveling from 1-80 is not needed to be a functioning member of the WoW Community.

Then why have people level from 1-80? If its not needed.

We're not "giving away" a level 80 character. We're boosting a single (already existing) character to 80 to help returning players be able to play with their friends. Leveling from 1-80 is still a perfectly valid and viable means of play that isn't being eliminated.

I'm going to close this thread since there are multiple such threads.