It has been stated by Incarnate that this was intended but never pushed forward thanks to "development-happenstance" so this thread is to suggest a "mute ladder"

X mutes in X time = Y
X total mutes = Y

Figure out how many and how long among yourselves.

I think the current in-game mute function is as good as it can be. The only way to improve it is to add more guide moderation.

If, instead you are referring to forum muting, my interpretation from incarnate's recent comments is that it is evidently currently impossible to instantiate a permanent mute on anyone. And adding the ability to do so has not yet warranted investing the development time. That seems kinda strange to me, given my limited experience with various forum moderation and the seemingly universal ability to ban accounts and IPs. Nevertheless, I'll take him at his word that there is something "standing in the way" from making it a possibility.

I think we can all agree that if the development time to instantiate a permanent ban in the forums is of any significance that it's probably not worth doing in lieu of improving the game itself.

Incarnate's comment was specific to forum mutes.

It is possible at the moderator level to mute somebody at the thread level. We document the offending post and inform the devs when this happens. What Inc was referring to is that the intent was to be able to have a system for muting somebody from an entire forum section, which currently has to be done manually by a dev. I don't think this is necessary very often, so I agree with greenwall's thought that dev time is better spent on the game.

I'm pretty sure the forums, and communications in game are part of the "game"

This suggestion isn't just limited to the forums, or sections of.

Very well. The number of times I would expect to actually have to forum mute someone is very low, so I would not want the devs to spend time creating a system when they could be working on the numerous things that would have more impact.

I have a concern that banning based on a number of votes could be abused. I am unsure if a"vote mute" currently impacts forum use. I would not be particularly concerned about that, since the time limit is short and a "cooling off" period is probably a good idea. If it were longer I would be concerned about it being abused to silence someone in the forums.

I have been vote muted more times than I can count.

I seem to recall that you can not post on the forums while you are muted in game.

If a person is muted, there is no need to ban them from the game. They can still play, just more quietly.

There is also an /ignore command. In most cases, any time I vote to mute someone, I also ignore them.

There are some people that will vote mute liberally, and there should be thresh hold of votes before any action takes place.

You have not identified a specific problem that needs to be fixed.

I would reverse the ladder. The more people you have voted to mute, the less your vote counts for.

Thanks Roda. If your recollection is correct, that matches what happens if a guide or dev mutes somebody.

I can't imagine that the devs would ever allow someone to be banned by vote. It's a big deal.

You are correct, vote mute = forum wide mute

I do like that idea, of giving votes a value, Roda. Currently it's 5 subbed votes for 30mins.

I think it's a big deal that pilots like myself with more mutes than we can count get off pretty easy with the rare week mute or a stern talking to in support tickets.

There's an old saying, from the story Sword of Damocles, where "The value of the sword is not that it falls, but rather, that it hangs."

There's another old saying that goes "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

The mute system is fine.