Here is one of the rules attached to the games forum:
Do not:
* Do not give links/talk about/show off private or cracked mmo servers - this is piracy
Here is the content of the agreement page you have to agree to before you can enter the site.
I'm no professional, but they clearly haven't got permission from Jagex to use this and have disallowed anyone connected to Jagex or anyone who might pose a threat to them to visit their page. This is blatantly piracy, and I'll be looking through the
Computer Misuse act 1990 for the next half hour. Shame they didn't quote a section of it.
Emps-Scape
Entry Agreement
By continuing you agree to all of the following statements:
* You are not an employee, lawyer or contractor of Jagex Ltd, RuneScape, FunOrb, MechScape or Adlex Solicitors, and are not a family member or acquaintance of the aforementioned.
* All of the information on this site is solely for learning purposes, as the main purpose of this site is to instruct people in the art of programming.
* All programs provided for download from this site are entirely programmed by the members of this community and are not the intellectual property of any business or organization.
* No profit is made from this website: all proceeds go directly into server costs.
* The authors of this website are in no way responsible legally for its contents, or the content that users post on it.
* Nothing is sold (i.e. ownership transferred) on this website. Only the service of updating our database is provided.
In no event shall the authors of this website be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.
If you understand and accept the terms and conditions, please click 'I Agree' below. If you do not understand, or do not accept, click 'I Disagree' and you will be taken away from this site. Please note, this is a binding contract under law. If you breach this contract, it will be legally disputed.
If you do not agree to the statements above and click 'I Agree', this means you are accessing the website without authorization. This is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and is punishable by law in the UK with a fine and up to 6 months in prison. This also applies in all other countries where similar laws exist.
Nope, it's a little loophole that was found ages ago, private servers are not legal or illegal as long as you don't use them to make a profit or modify the games main files, I'm serious.
If Jagex wanted people to have their source, they'd release it. Private servers that take in any income, even if they're just donations, exist illegally as far as I'm aware. While they say that all the money goes to server costs, it's highly unlikely that it'll be true.