Lol, getting banned is a 'punishment'?? My, my, I feel sooo bad. An Internet forum blocks me from posting (but not reading) for two days. What a gruelling torture. What a tragedy.

Grow up people...

The only true punishment here is the symbolic meaning of a ban. The implication that a member has poor manners and judgement. Then there is the shame of being publicly castigated. I can find 101 ways to get around a ban if I wished, but that is not the point. Punishments have little to do with their physical nature, as long as the intent is carried out.

Anyways, that's some mighty interesting ideas people here have about punishment...



Take perma-bans for example: many banned individuals come back. Mods seem to only mind when the returned person causes more bedlam. Even if the mods did actively seek out those alts, registering on a different computer, under different e-mail should do it. Especially when the browsing is carried out from a different IP address (change yours/ cover it under a proxy). So, what is the point to perma-bans? Well, mainly the fact that the old account is gone, with all the friends, posts, seniority, background, etc. One can create a new account, but it will not be the same.