@LethalCandyman
A ban basically means that they can’t ‘write’ to the site in any way. That includes sending PMs or leaving comments or adding tags.
Ban lengths start at a half day or a 24 hour period, and then escalate depending on how many times someone’s had to be ‘timed out’ for the same problem.
The site’s been here long enough that people giving ‘lifetime bans’ 10 years ago have graduated from high school and might have careers by now, so we try to keep the ban length to something that doesn’t keep someone off of the site forever, unless they’ve been really obnoxious.
Eventually, Ponies will probably outlive us all, and at some point we all have to get along.
So, if someone is harassing others, we try talking to them about it, and if they are banned they can still come to support and talk with volunteers about what’s going on and maybe might be allowed back on the site.
Often, when people find out that they’re dealing with real people here, and not some sort of automated algorithm, they settle down and become good members of the community.