Concerning "Ban Evasion" and Visibility of Bans NoonimCountry code: ponychan.png, country type: customflag, valid: No.13301[View]
So, a few days ago, I made the unfortunate discovery that, as it happens, the way bans are done on this site are unfortunately out of date. It is very easy to be banned, and never realize it, or to be banned and believe it to be revoked, only to get a massive increase on your ban for "evasion" that was never intended.
Now, a part of this issue could be solved by following a certain aspect of the "Site Staff Standards", but I'll leave that for another thread. Instead, I'd like to explore options to prevent these types of events in the future.
As it currently stands, the average user cannot be reasonably expected to abide a ban, when they may well not even know it exists, leaving off issues of assumed revoked bans. And, I can certainly say, getting banned for "evasion" and then worse having the lot remain despite explaining the ordeal to the administration breeds a helluva lot of animosity. I'd make the argument that it is not a healthy standard for a community.
So; how do we fix this?
It seems to me there's a few options, though unfortunately most would probably require some development.
The first, method'd be adopting a 8chan-esque "ban list", showing public bans and their duration, as well as, I believe, bans that've been revoked. Issues with this are, of course, that the bans are public. Might not be ideal, depending on your stake there.
Still leaves the issue with difficulty noticing the ban in the first place, but, at least, after you've noticed it you have a place to check. A "ban page" would also be a nice addition, as it seems currently, the only way to see the ban page is to attempt to make a post.
Another option is to link bans to names, as well. This'd be an optional addition, in most situations, I'd say, so you could obviously avoid it when made by a imitator, or an anon. This'd give you the application regardless of IP, which'd avoid issues for those of us with dynamic or multiple devices.
Another, probably shit option, is accounts. Bonus points for giving people a way to directly contact, but it's also a bit of a hassle, and goes against our usual imageboard standards.
