2004scape needs to really consider this

2004Scape
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Not trying to start anything, but figured I’d share a small take — black markets have always kind of fueled RuneScape, even if people don’t like to talk about it.

Degens are a backbone of the community, but this server is trying to appeal only to DIE HARD nerds, which unfortunately there is not enough of to keep this going. The economy is the heart of the game, and you have cut off a major supply line entirely with the super strict stance on black market activities.

Think about this, ask your AI’s for their take, this is a very real thing that you are cutting off and I promise it is the cause for decline in this server.

There’s a reason these rules are not heavily enforced in the main game, it would be so easy for Jagex to ban RWTers immediately, but they dont, because they understand the value of that black market and the degens within. I RWT’d over 40b back in 2016 in OSRS and never got banned once.

I can see this server is ran by guys who always did good and played by the rules, but Runescape is so much more than that, please lean in and learn if you can and seriously consider it.

Flower games etc would be crazy here. Underground gambling rings, etc. All this is fuel that you are missing.

The thrill, the hustle, the off-the-books deals… that stuff has always been part of what keeps the more degen side of the playerbase engaged. It adds that chaotic edge that makes the game feel alive. When things get clamped down too hard, especially with instant bans or no context, it can kill off that energy pretty quickly.

Not saying RWT should be allowed — just saying maybe it’s worth recognizing that this side of the game is part of the DNA. It’s always been there. Might be better to understand it rather than try to erase it completely.

That’s all. Just something to think about.

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Say Neigh to gambling!

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Yep, and look the other way

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I appreciate the perspective, even if we disagree on some things.

I’ve always attributed current Jagex’s lack of enforcement to their overwhelming population count, mixed with a financial incentive (membership/bonds/MTX) to not put much effort into the issue. Hopefully it’s mostly the former and not much of the latter…

Please remember that RWT ultimately lead to them killing their game in 2007, they were forced to make decisions so they could combat it and they were not well received.

We just want to preserve a slice of history. We have no financial incentive to encourage this, nor do we want one :slight_smile: I’m just happy people get to see what the game played like and that we’ll have it forever.

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Regarding gambling et al.

We are representing an IP we don’t own, and for the preservation server I want to be as respectful as possible in hopes they see our motivations in a good light. I’m really not here to take away from their game or give people a new money making method.

I won’t fault anyone for being a “degen” or addicted to xyz. We all have our issues. Old RS is a nice escape. It takes me back to simpler days when I was a poor kid who signed on before school and after school, just to explore with my brother and chat with everyone doing the same thing.

I did make all our code open source with a very permissible license. I encourage people to get familiar with the codebase and host their own forks - you can have any rule enforcement there!
Gambling, RWT, botting, the underground of RS all harm the real goals here: Making sure the game doesn’t disappear into the void and giving people an accessible way to play it.

P.S. many of us on the dev and mod team have been banned on RS historically (macros or bug abuse mostly)! We aren’t proud of it, but I mention that because the idea that we all played by the rules is ludicrous. We just grew up :slight_smile:

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It is a different perspective but I don’t think we’re necessarily missing degens, I think we’re missing content - which will come. There is guys literally only f2p rcing air runes and enjoying it, someone has over 100m wc xp, people developing new methods and new metas for things over 20 years old, these are the guys I want to game with.

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They only had to ban RWT because people were hacking credit cards and using it to buy gold. No one is spending any money on this game and the online payment industry is way different than in 2007. Even in OSRS now jagex has sanctioned RWT. You are remembering things incorrectly and or a little delusional. I see nothing wrong with allowing P2P RWT to osrs gp or other currencies I dont see how that would make jagex want to take down this server anymore so than any others.

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You sound like a reddit NuScaper. Runescape was all about pking and staking back in the day. People used bots for all that boring autistic stuff you seem to enjoy.

The game population is dieing for a reason thats all Im gonna say.

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This thread has run its course. Thanks all for your contributions.

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