To me, sandbox has to do with the amount of choices a player can make and the amount of control a player has over the game world. Think of an actual sanbox. There is sand in a box. There are very few rules about what you can do in the sandbox (although they may very according to the location of the sandbox and who is around). The thing that makes a sandbox fun is what a person chooses to do with the sand and what "tools"/toys the person has to use in the sand. As long as the person stays within the rules, there is really no right or wrong way to play in the sand (Is it wrong to dig in the sand versus building a sand castle? Is it wrong to make "mudpies"? Is it wrong to bring in a toy dump truck or other toy cars? Who can prove that one way of playing is better than another when it is about personal preferences and mood at the time?).
In MMOs,runescape 2007 gold, the degree to which a game is "sandbox" varies which is part of the reason why people argue over whether or not a game is considered "sandbox." It is also a reason for the conflict when someone says they want a sandbox game and others say "are you supporting current sandbox games?" or "there are sandbox games already in existence." For example, people have pointed out Vanguard as an example of the failure of sandbox games. I have played Vanguard but it is not what I'm looking for in a sandbox. Why? Players are limited to one class and are leveled. Some of the features of Vanguard that make it a challenge are things that could be considered sandbox but not something that makes a sandbox appealing to me. Add to the varying degrees to which a game can be "sandbox" all the other features that can vary in a game, and it leads to those who enjoy at least some degree of sandbox complaining about the lack of games with sandbox features. For those who enjoy straight "themepark" games, there is such a large amount of themepark games available that there's a better chance of finding at least one with the features they want.
For an example of a "game" that is an ultimate sandbox, there is Second Life. The majority of the content in the game is player made or player provided. The company provided some of the building blocks. The potential problem with a sandbox to that extreme is there is a lack of uniformity across the "game" world and it becomes many games with the same launch point. It also leads to more abuses of the system.
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