Oh, and for anyone confused about why JJ2 has this bizarre split between 1.23 and 1.24, I can perhaps explain it, since I was around before 1.24 was released.

Once upon a time JJ2 only had one version (let's just ignore 1.20). Then the developers started talking about something they called *IT* (asterisks required). *IT* was eventually revealed to be an expansion pack or something like that. Originally it was "Diamond edition", but eventually it became TSF and was a standalone addition to JJ2, rather than an expansion. Anyway, a lot of people were excited about it.

They released it in 1999. Just one problem: they only released it in Europe. Back then JJ2 had quite a few players in the USA and Canada, and for us, the only way to acquire TSF was basically either to download it, or import it. Importing was only done by a few hardcore fans, since really, the content of TSF isn't worth the effort to most people. And as for downloading it, that wasn't too easy back then. Search engines weren't as good as they are now, everyone had dialup, and warez sites were (as they are now) untrustworthy and more likely to give you a virus. These days you can get a torrent of any game you want; 10 years ago you had to actually put in a bit effort, and for a relatively obscure release like TSF it wasn't going to be easy.

Because of this, the community started to split. Generally it was agreed that 1.23 should be used for most things, since it was available to everyone (unlike 1.24). However, new players would sometimes only have 1.24 (due to it being standalone), which meant that whatever they created in JCS was 1.24-only, and in online play they were separated from everyone else. Older players mostly stuck with 1.23 due to this. I should also mention, that back then there was a larger fanbase west of the Atlantic, and there was also a bit of jealousy too. In any case, there was a very good reason for keeping 1.23 around.

So, new players played 1.24, and old players stuck with good old 1.23. It didn't take long for the perception to arise that 1.24 was for newbies. And it was true to a degree, at the time. Also, when newbies got a bit better at the game, and got to know people, they often "migrated" to playing with the 1.23 crowd. There are a few people on these forums who did that. Maybe people still do it today, I don't know.

So, that's how the "divide" started. The reason it still exists is because it's hard to make something like that disappear, and the old perception that 1.24 is for newbies has been carried on. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be though, and overall, I'd say most people have both versions of the game now. 1.23 is still being kept alive, but only because you can achieve maximum compatibility with it (host a 1.23 server with multiversion and anyone can join, make a 1.23 level/tileset and anyone can play).

It's not even a big issue any more, but it's still enough. As someone who makes levels, I have two options: make it 1.23 and have everyone be able to play it, or make it 1.24 and have almost everyone able to play. Not a big difference between the two, but it's still a question I (and I'd bet most serious level makers) consider. Especially since there's no way to tell which version new players are getting: depending on where you go, you can find all sorts of versions of jj2 available, and if you've just got the game you probably don't know the differences.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion people have. To sum it up: people who think 1.23 is better than 1.24 are being stuck up and don't know what they are talking about (it's 2009), but there is still a reason to keep both around.