I feel I'm more on the conservative side of this as I disagree. Maybe it's because I see the banning process differently than others, or may it's because I've been Sr. Staff, but I think unbanning people is a really not good idea.
The way I see a permanent ban is this: A permaban is not supposed to teach you a lesson. While temp bans act as warnings to not do a particular kind of action, a permanent ban is much more final. When a person is perma banned, we're telling them we don't want them on the server. They had their chances, and they still wouldn't change. When a person is perma banned we're telling them that they have too much of a negative impact on the server for them to continue playing. I'm sure people can change, but if previous bans didn't help, than a permanent ban that can be eventually bypassed won't help either.
I've also had the privilege of working behind the scenes as a sr. mod. I've seen first-hand the underhanded, inappropriate, and incredibly rude attitude some people adopt when they get banned. There's a lot that goes on behind closed doors that the community doesn't know about and shouldn't know about. These are the people who the community loved. These people appeared very kind and non-malicious to the general userbase, but in PMs or other private venues, they would act completely different from the side they showed the forums or teamspeak.
This is not a good idea, and would make me lose a lot of faith in the administration if they ever decided to implement it.
Fair points.
One thing that I believe was hinted at during a staff meeting or in the Mod chat was this:
Now that hacking is a first-offense permanent ban, they're seeking to improve the ban appeal process, because there's a much harsher consequence for hacking.
Now, I'm a staff member - obviously, I don't want rule-breakers on the server. That's why I applied for this volunteer position. However, I can also sympathize on a personal level with people who have been banned a year and a half ago, and are still unable to play with their friends on MCGamer because of their silly decision to hack or break another rule at the time.
I, myself, have been changing as an individual for the past three years, starting way back when I started playing Minecraft. At first, it was that I was becoming more mature as a staff member on small servers. A few months later, I was involved in clans and had to handle the competitive nature of players. The next year, I was one of the rising forum posters and was learning to think and look at situations in ways that I never had before. Now, I can see myself changing how I behave in social situations - I've become more friendly and able to talk to other people.
This has instilled a belief in me that anyone can change over the span of a year or more. Seeing my own personal development has proven
to me that there are people out there who can mature a great deal within that period of time, and I'm sure that anyone dedicated enough to go through the proposed Ban Forgiveness process would be someone that fully regrets and is apologetic for their actions in the past.
Think about the Age Exception Process: How many people have successfully gone through with it? An incredibly small number. Off the top of my head, I can think of two people that have passed the AEP.
With the Ban Forgiveness Process, I'm suggesting something that could be as rigorous as a scan of social media activity - with consent, of course. This would in no way be as simple as submitting an application and undergoing a short review by Senior Staff.
If implemented, a person hoping to be unbanned through this process would have to show that they can be a positive contribution to the community, in return for their previous actions as a negative influence, whether they were someone who hacked or did something chat-related.
People have tried to compare bans to jail-time before, and that's always shot down. So, here's a bit of a closer comparison:
If a student is expelled from school, there are ways to appeal it. It's supposed to be the most severe consequence aside from actually going to jail. You can appeal it to a hearing officer, and if that doesn't work then in many states there's at least two other ways to have it annulled.
While MCGamer isn't on a level that major, it still shows how in a justice system involving teenage kids, there are
options and alternatives. However, they're very drastic measures - and that's exactly what the Ban Forgiveness Process is meant to be! Something taken very seriously that only the most deserving can achieve.
I may not see things from the same point of view as you, but I'm trying to find a middle-ground.
