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BLW's Jailbreak is dying

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Mr. Cubano

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Mr.

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Hello everyone.
This post here is dedicated to understand the reasons behind the downfall of US JB. I hope that the discussion in this thread, if any, is respectful, and that the admins do not interpret my post somehow as a threat, but rather as a moment of reflection.

I'd like to tell you my history:
I started playing Jailbreak almost 4 years ago, back in December 2020 when I randomly decided to give BR JB a try. I still remember as if it was yesterday. The map was space jail, there was around 7 players, and I could not understand anything because I had voice_enable 0, so I kept dying over and over again. Someone told me to turn that on, and boom, now I get what's going on.
Jailbreak quickly became an addiction to me. I used to play on BR JB basically everyday, as all of this happened during the pandemics, and so did hundreds of people. There simply wasn't a moment where the server was dead, everyone loved playing Jailbreak.
However, the older players were slowly starting to abandon JB, but we didn't cared that much, we still had a bunch of new players joining.
We felt something odd while playing, like a piece of a puzzle that was missing. We realize that one of the things that made Jailbreak so special was the community aspect. We weren’t just a bunch of random people hopping in and out of games - we were a group of players who shared the common goal of having fun and we had a unique sense of humor. It wasn’t just about a gamemode, it was about creating moments of chaos, fun, and goofiness that made Jailbreak what it was. But over time, as I said, it felt like that energy started to fade. The newer players, without the guidance of the old ones, started to lack the deeper knowledge of what made the game so enjoyable.
People stopped logging in as much, and the servers were quieter. It wasn't like before anymore, where the server was a bustling community at all hours of the day. More and more, I found myself logging in to an almost empty server, wondering where everyone had gone.
It then reached to a point where we only joined BR JB when our friends groups called us to goof around on the server. We dictated rules our own ways, since there were zero Staff members willing to supervise the server. Turned out the best way to have fun on BR Jailbreak again was by breaking all of these complicated rules. But that was simply all. Pandemic was ending, people's lives slowly began to turn back to normal, back to school, back to their jobs, college and hobbies, back to life. The server was completely dead. All of that happened between early 2021 and late 2022. Tried playing LA and US JB a few times, but then I took a long break of Jailbreak, because of life's obligations and also I couldn't find the fun I had in BR anywhere.
Two years later, I still see BR JB dead, like a body that was forgotten to be buried. Then I hop in US JB, and realize that's everything I have. So I keep playing and familiarizing myself with the community. It felt like fresh, a fresh community, similar to BR, but unfortunately not as fun. US JB was thriving, server was full most of the times and people enjoyed playing there. But just like BR, all the magic that united the community was starting to fade out, and the old-school players were also abandoning the server. Again? Why?
Then we get to nowadays, where the peak number of players during the week is 12 out of 32, plus most times the server is basically empty. What happened this time?
Well, JB isn’t what it used to be anymore, anyone can tell that, and I can’t help but wonder what happened. Taking everything I said into consideration, was it the lack of support for veteran players? Or simply the natural course of things, where everything has its peak and eventually fades? It’s hard to point exactly why the magic disappeared, but it's clear now that it’s not the same fun gamemode I fell in love with all those years ago.

And again, I’m writing this not to complain, but to reflect. To understand why it all started to unravel and what could have been done to prevent it. Maybe there’s still hope for a revival, but I feel like the roots of what made JB as a whole so unique have already been damaged. If we’re ever going to see a resurgence, it’s going to take a lot of work, and a whole lot of passion, from everyone involved.

What do you all think? Have you also noticed the same things as I did? Or is it just me getting nostalgic for something that’s long gone?

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.
- Sincerely, Mr.
 

INGSOCISTWHIP

Truly Feared
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I know a solution, make a well edited Blackwonder JB video, no adverts, link the server IP as a pinned comment, and we've got ourselves a new loyal fanbase
(Better yet, maybe convince SpaceGuyOnline to make a video)


There's also the fact we're on working days and even on weekends most people would rather do something else for fun or revise for exams/do homework depending on what school schedule you're on
 
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INGSOCISTWHIP

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I'll be honest though, I think TF2 as a whole needs some sort of new popular meme that will boost the player numbers or atleast get people talking about TF2, and get increased popularity as a meme spawning from the US election season
We blackwonderers should create a new meme on the discord server, post it on Reddit, Youtube or X, and reinvigorate the TF2 player count once again now that the bots are gone, TF2's livelihood practically depends on memes and its meme status as its playercount stimulus
 

Chris TCC

Blackwonder's Own
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Jailbreak was never meant to be a community server gamemode. It was started as a social experiment, and is best played among regulars/close friends, who trust each other and know the limits to which they can push rule infractions.
As a community gamemode, it's filled with a mix of people with different preferences, ranging from those who are sticklers for rules, to those who would look the other way if it's fun and doesn't prohibit the gamemode, and those who want to sabotage and ruin the experience.
Rules were put in place to try and keep those expectations in line, but it takes away from the original charm of the gamemode, back when it was a social experiment.

My personal conclusion is that JB is a mistake of a gamemode, and it will never become mainstream because of it.
 

INGSOCISTWHIP

Truly Feared
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Jan 7, 2022
Messages
163
Jailbreak was never meant to be a community server gamemode. It was started as a social experiment, and is best played among regulars/close friends, who trust each other and know the limits to which they can push rule infractions.
As a community gamemode, it's filled with a mix of people with different preferences, ranging from those who are sticklers for rules, to those who would look the other way if it's fun and doesn't prohibit the gamemode, and those who want to sabotage and ruin the experience.
Rules were put in place to try and keep those expectations in line, but it takes away from the original charm of the gamemode, back when it was a social experiment.

My personal conclusion is that JB is a mistake of a gamemode, and it will never become mainstream because of it.
But its more fun with strangers because theres a chance that someone will be an MFKer..........
 

Bubblez

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My Opinion on why it’s dying because 1. People don’t have the time to play during weekdays due to school or work, thats why the most people i see on is during summer. But the main thing i wanted to point out is People hate each other so much sometimes it makes no one want to come back cause the community is toxic for Ex. When its a kid as warden people just fire bro like he did something, or just in general that two people hate each other and it makes not fun for them cause they are getting the hate that they really don't deserve, i mean some people report a-lot but can you really blame them for a MFK actions or a person that doesn’t follow the rules. Its just the amount of toxicity that people have for each other is crazy to me, I’m going to be honest if you going you hate someone over a game its a sign you need to stop and realize that hating someone that you don't even know in real life is just plain immaturity, Playing Jb and getting hate from certain people help me realized theres no point of saying something back and just let it be, cause in the end its 1 a game and 2 you prob never going to see then anymore since you personally don't know them.

The conclusion is don’t hate it isn't worth it for you and the person that you’re hating over. Cause it shows why people rather see jb die then come back
 

Mr. Cubano

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As a community gamemode, it's filled with a mix of people with different preferences, ranging from those who are sticklers for rules, to those who would look the other way if it's fun and doesn't prohibit the gamemode, and those who want to sabotage and ruin the experience.
In my honest opinion, the rules are overly complicated for the average newbie to understand all of it's nuances. I mean look at this:
1731683904770.png

How do we expect for the new players to spend ~15 minutes to read all of that, if they even understand most content that is there?
In my honest opinion, we could simply remove things that are already covered by a bigger rule. I created an example, although not perfect, taking the "Warden rules" section:

Warden Rules​

No Kill Orders:
Don’t order direct kills on Blus, nor order Blus to kill non-KOS Reds.

Consistent Orders, no Tricky Commands:
Avoid conflicting orders, don't use deceptive and/or tricky commands, days are regular orders and can be overrided. Repeat instructions when asked for a repeat when you've been overtalked or your mic is inaudible, mute players if you need so.

No Pardoning:
Once KOS, always KOS. Do not pardon Reds.

Friendly Fire:
Do not activate Friendly Fire (FF) in any situations unless it is Cell Wars, Meat Grinder/Arena or Hunger Games. Do a previous warning before turning it on.

Don't Lie:
No lying when giving orders.

Minigames:
Max of 3 rounds of the same minigame in a row; don’t start with Meat Grinder/Arena (Cell Wars does not counts as minigame for this effect). Do not impose progress limitations, such as no speedrunning; Reds must make progress together or stay with the group, etc.
See Jailbreak Wiki for Minigames and other definitions.

Special Days:
Max of 1 round of the same special day (Hunger Games, Warday, etc.) in a row.
See Jailbreak Wiki for Days and other definitions.

No Warden Hogging:
Don't force Warden for more than 3 times in a row, besides obvious situations such as AFK Blu or if you're the only Blu. Let others be Warden too.

Granting Last Requests (LRs):
Only give LR to the last non-rebelling Red, unless you have specified beforehand that Reds had to finish the minigame to be eligible for LR. If you're the last Blu, you are obligated to go Warden and give the LR to the last non-rebelling Red.

Use Line Laser Responsibly:
When using or giving the line laser, do so carefully.
 
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Mr. Cubano

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My Opinion on why it’s dying because 1. People don’t have the time to play during weekdays due to school or work, thats why the most people i see on is during summer. But the main thing i wanted to point out is People hate each other so much sometimes it makes no one want to come back cause the community is toxic for Ex. When its a kid as warden people just fire bro like he did something, or just in general that two people hate each other and it makes not fun for them cause they are getting the hate that they really don't deserve, i mean some people report a-lot but can you really blame them for a MFK actions or a person that doesn’t follow the rules. Its just the amount of toxicity that people have for each other is crazy to me, I’m going to be honest if you going you hate someone over a game its a sign you need to stop and realize that hating someone that you don't even know in real life is just plain immaturity, Playing Jb and getting hate from certain people help me realized theres no point of saying something back and just let it be, cause in the end its 1 a game and 2 you prob never going to see then anymore since you personally don't know them.

The conclusion is don’t hate it isn't worth it for you and the person that you’re hating over. Cause it shows why people rather see jb die then come back
That is also very true, Jailbreak is full of immature people that get angry over the simplest things. The way I deal with these people is by completely ignoring them, or saying something like "okay buddy" or "chill out it's just a game" As you said, it isn't worth trying to deal and convince toxic people of their mistakes.
 

Chris TCC

Blackwonder's Own
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the rules are what they are now through years of dealing with internal arguments of the JB community.
If there is a potential to abuse a loophole, they will do so. We have to strike a balance of being clear enough that people can't abuse loopholes, but not too detailed that it'd be excessively complicated.
 

Mr. Cubano

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the rules are what they are now through years of dealing with internal arguments of the JB community.
If there is a potential to abuse a loophole, they will do so. We have to strike a balance of being clear enough that people can't abuse loopholes, but not too detailed that it'd be excessively complicated.
I guarantee most of these "loopholes" could easily be solved if common sense was actually a enforced rule and players used common sense.
 

10000 Cold Knights

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I guarantee most of these "loopholes" could easily be solved if common sense was actually a enforced rule and players used common sense.
I mean it is, they just don't lol.

I could give you a thousand reasons for why jb is struggling right now. People are back in school, Treyarch finally made a half-decent game, the Covid and Bot Crises are over, maybe it was the big bad 10k smiting an innocent player after putting all the other regs to the sword because he didn't like them. Thing is, I don't think I need to worry about that, because the fact that we're still going at all is incredible. Blackwonder's been around for almost a decade, longer if you count the Blueprint prehistory, and throughout that time we've maintained an active jb presence. And we are still going, numbers may be low but the community's still active in other ways. I'm confident we'll rebound over the summer.
As for the players themselves, we still have plenty of interesting characters if you just look around a bit. We've got Reyn, Respecter of Wardens, Moose the self-proclaimed Bad Guy, Kimmel the Forum's Advocate, Mimsy the Comedian, Whip Gaming the Hole Sacrifice, even you, the Mass Reporter from a Bygone Age and Distant Land.
Don't lose hope Mr Cubano, things may still get better. And if they don't, well, don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened, and that you got to be a part of it ;p
 

Kimmel

Face Melting

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It's hard to figure out exactly why people left, but I've heard people on the server say: "The server is dead so we don't play", "There are too many kids and freekillers", and "The admins are not active enough". There are a lot of things we can do as players of USJB to recruit players. Seeding the server is an important part in keeping a population active. If the server is dead already there is less of a chance a user in the server browser will join. Joining the server while you browse youtube or discord, inviting your friends from elsewhere to play, go to a SZF server and and invite them to jailbreak, hell recruit people from Casual. The more people hop on with low numbers, the more randoms will join. This can only do so much in retaining people, unfortunately if it is not a good experience than they won’t return.

As for the children, jailbreak has always had a huge child player base and there's nothing besides banning kids that’s going to stop them. The only thing we can do is educate them and teach them how to be a proper blue. Same deal with freekillers. The type of freekill that happens most often is accidental, either through ignorance of the rules or through a simple misfire. I think I've mentioned this before but having server messages that come up explaining out common misconceptions about the rules. "Latest Warden's Order Applies", "No Cheating is implied on this server", "Cell wars are only allowed with 4 blues or less", ect. Perhaps a command can be implemented that can act as a hand book of sorts on being a decent warden. Really it’s up to the user to acknowledge the rules and abide them, but putting it right in front of them is sure to help. Clearing up the warden menu and locking FF behind the !wff command could also help rouge Wardens.

Staff being offline from the server is decided by when a staff member can hop on and if they want to (duh). Staff are volunteers and are not being paid to do any of this shit. You can’t blame them for the servers dieing. Perhaps the inactivity is an effect of the low server population. However, an admin doesn’t have to be online to teach newer members how to act. Admins being admins don’t make the server more recognizable from the server browser. Although if staff were active it would add to the player count and make it more appealing. The name of the server and desc in the browser keeps changing too, which happened fairly recently iirc. Removing maps that are considered ugly and not blue friendly like snowballz, spy v spy, or sincinatti would be good too.

It is impossible to come up with all the reasons exactly why USJB is losing popularity. I can speak to what makes the server enjoyable: The People. Whoever plays the game shapes and molds how each round will proceed. This variety and change is what makes each round fun. One round you might have a warden that doesn’t know how to deal with rebels, next a bhopping demoknight warden that you can’t even touch as a red. Each time you play jailbreak it will be different. If you play with the same people all the time, you’ll know the tricks, you’ll know the secrets, and you’ll know how they’ll act; this gets old fast. Each player has his mark on the server. Some people leave bad marks and ridding these people from the server/blueteam would benifit everyone. Toxic people and those who use blue team as a way to regin control are terrible for the moral of the server.

TL;DR
I don’t think the server will ever die completely unless it gets deleted. Many people simply prefer the rule set to other servers, me being one of them. I think the rules are fine, but could use better presentation and make it easier to digest as a new player. I don’t think children on the server are a factor in the pop decline, I think many current active members can say they were children when they started playing jailbreak. Admins don’t play a lot; help this by giving mod to more active players. Invite friends and invite people from casual and other BLW servers. Good and welcoming players are the main source of a good server, be the change YO!...
1731715603538.png

I live, I die, I live again. Witness me, brother.


Its just the amount of toxicity that people have for each other is crazy to me, I’m going to be honest if you going you hate someone over a game its a sign you need to stop and realize that hating someone that you don't even know in real life is just plain immaturity, Playing Jb and getting hate from certain people help me realized theres no point of saying something back and just let it be.
I think since covid people are more aggressive online and tend to say terrible things because of this guise of anonymity. And yes some people are just not worth dealing withFor some reason a lot of people dont know about the in game mute... It could also allow for automatic unmutes when the muted person goes warden.
 

Mr. Cubano

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I mean it is, they just don't lol.

I could give you a thousand reasons for why jb is struggling right now. People are back in school, Treyarch finally made a half-decent game, the Covid and Bot Crises are over, maybe it was the big bad 10k smiting an innocent player after putting all the other regs to the sword because he didn't like them. Thing is, I don't think I need to worry about that, because the fact that we're still going at all is incredible. Blackwonder's been around for almost a decade, longer if you count the Blueprint prehistory, and throughout that time we've maintained an active jb presence. And we are still going, numbers may be low but the community's still active in other ways. I'm confident we'll rebound over the summer.
As for the players themselves, we still have plenty of interesting characters if you just look around a bit. We've got Reyn, Respecter of Wardens, Moose the self-proclaimed Bad Guy, Kimmel the Forum's Advocate, Mimsy the Comedian, Whip Gaming the Hole Sacrifice, even you, the Mass Reporter from a Bygone Age and Distant Land.
Don't lose hope Mr Cubano, things may still get better. And if they don't, well, don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened, and that you got to be a part of it ;p
I appreciate the kind words, 10k. I just wish I could enjoy all of that experience once again. But, as my Discord bio says, all things will pass, and so will this amazing community and ourselves.
 

Mr. Cubano

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I don’t think the server will ever die completely unless it gets deleted. Many people simply prefer the rule set to other servers, me being one of them. I think the rules are fine, but could use better presentation and make it easier to digest as a new player. I don’t think children on the server are a factor in the pop decline, I think many current active members can say they were children when they started playing jailbreak. Admins don’t play a lot; help this by giving mod to more active players. Invite friends and invite people from casual and other BLW servers. Good and welcoming players are the main source of a good server, be the change YO!...
For us the rules are fine because we have been playing here for years, so we know what is right and what is not. But think with the mind of a random guy, who never played or only played JB a few times, do you really think these people will spend their time reading a ton of instructions on what they have to do and what they cannot do? They want to hop in, have fun without having to think too much, hop out. I suggest a renovation of the rules, simplifying things, like the example i've gave. We don't have anything to lose anymore. Why not just try it?
I think I've mentioned this before but having server messages that come up explaining out common misconceptions about the rules. "Latest Warden's Order Applies", "No Cheating is implied on this server", "Cell wars are only allowed with 4 blues or less", ect. Perhaps a command can be implemented that can act as a hand book of sorts on being a decent warden. Really it’s up to the user to acknowledge the rules and abide them, but putting it right in front of them is sure to help.
I love this, but I also got a suggestion. We could use the same system as the LRs explanations use, you click on the LR you want to know and it pops up a simplified text explaining what the LR is. Then we separate four commands for general rules, red team rules, blu team rules and warden rules. That would make the access to rules far easier than having to browse for the server rules forums page.
taff being offline from the server is decided by when a staff member can hop on and if they want to (duh). Staff are volunteers and are not being paid to do any of this shit. You can’t blame them for the servers dieing. Perhaps the inactivity is an effect of the low server population. However, an admin doesn’t have to be online to teach newer members how to act.
Well I never really demanded admins to be active all the time, I know they are volunteers and I understand they want to supervise the server on their own pace.
As for the children, jailbreak has always had a huge child player base and there's nothing besides banning kids that’s going to stop them.
I never had problems with children, and I agree with your solution. That is something we need to spread among the community.
 
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