I think it's time everyone on the forums took a big step back, and just calmed down a bit. The last few days, the forums and chat have been nothing but flaming and trolling.
A lot of valid points have been made, and it would be better off for everyone if we all cooperated to make these good ideas come together coherently instead of destroying them with petty argument.
Really guys, next time you want to flame, say someone's post whoring, make a useless post, or type an incomprehensible sentence and just hit reply. The next time you watn to put someone down or bash their ideas, just take a minute, It doesn't take very long, to think about what other people are saying, to calm yourself and not hurl another insult back at the guy who insulted the size of your e-penis, or whatever.
It'll create a better environment, both in-game and on the forums for everyone. Let's try to be mature, to keep things sensible, and get something done to benefit all of us.
/Monologue
On the subject of this topic, I believe there should probably be a week limit to appeal a ban, and another week after you post your ban appeal thread (Assuming that thread is posted within a week of the time of banning). If, after a week from posting your thread, no verdict is returned, an additional three days could be granted, and three more, and so on, until a verdict is returned. After a user is officially banned, they should no longer be allowed to post on the forums or join mumble.
It really doesn't make much sense to have banned players around, contributing to the excess spam and flaming. Especially when they can't play on the server and thus have no reason to post about the goings on of this server. Everyone deserves a fair chance to defend themselves though, so a time limit seems fair in both respects.