My original touring bike wheels were built on some Campy Mirage 8spd hubs using 36 13/14guage butted spokes. The replaceme wheels on Shimano LX hubs used std 14/15g butted spoked.
After one chain derailment the spokes got damaged and they started popping very quickly. I had similar damage to my older, thicker spokes with no degradation in performance.
I like thicker spokes.