I agree with Simmy's sentiment as that sort of behaviour should be discouraged. The infraction system that's currently in place has proven to be useful but I think there's room for improvement. I believe the current 2-3 day banning system that allows users to view the public forums is flawed and leads banned users to become desensitized from further warnings and infractions. Amending the current system should allow such users to take such notifications a little more seriously.

Yeah I guess if you've been banned for flaming then simply not being able to post is hardly a punishment more of an inconvenience.

There are communities out there that when a user is logged in while banned they cannot view the forums, but can easily be avoided by clearing their internet cache. The forums would still be viewable because the user wouldn't be logged in and as a result would still be able to see the forums. I can imagine Citrinate doesn't want to do that because it would encourage banned users to make alternate accounts.

The only alternative is if guests couldn't view the forums but that would be over the top, as there are users out there (including myself) who like to read forums before they sign up rather than register for something they cannot see.

Well, in this case... A ban that makes the user unable to view the forums (won't work for some, but at least it will for most of them) = IP Ban. (Like Primo suggested earlier)

But IP bans affect any brothers/sisters who would play under the same IP which would be unfair on them

I mean, I'm fine with either way, and I'm not saying the IP ban would be given right off the bat. Maybe at the 3rd ban.

Anyway, the fact that there could be other people using the same IP doesn't stop other places (be it forums or not) from handing out that type of ban. It's an 'extreme' measure, yes. But that's just another reason for the user to value the site rules a bit more.

The reverse is true also. If one brother/sister got banned, it would be unfair for the other to give access as it essentially negates the effect of the ban in question.

At least the IP ban would prove to be a more effective deterrent in that situation as there would be more incentive not to act out of line.

There already is an IP ban. Any user that is banned has an IP ban for as long as they are banned.

How often are they given out, though? How much would it require, as of now, for someone to get an IP ban?

A normal ban is an IP ban. If you are banned, you still can view the forums but you may not create another account or log in with another account. The IP ban stays until you are unbanned. If you are permanent banned, you have a permanent IP ban. If you are banned for 3 days, you have a 3 day IP ban. A determined user can still get around it (which is against the rules) but it helps to ensure people don't use multiple accounts to evade bans.