There is a lot of confusion regarding this subject. Some consider the ethics to be rules, and some consider them to be boring guidelines. The end result is that both the alliance and the horde suffer because of "those ganking bastards on the other team" does whatever they want. As a consequence, noone wins. Hoping to bring you some understanding of what the ethics bring to the game, I will explain some of the ramifications of poor judgement and playstyle.