temp. banning and coaching?

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In a sense, it's all temporary anyway since the banned person can always come back with another name. And it would not need to be the same moderator who bans who also coaches. In fact, to get away from hard feelings it might be better to have a fresh start and also have a moderator who has some real and genuine hope that the banned person can come back in as a positive, constructive group participant.

And then, there's something else which is not a positive dynamic. And that's where someone gets banned and then WP group members really slam him or her either to get stuff off their chest and/or as some kind of misplaced building of group solidarity.

In my completely unprofessional and inexperienced opinion, this temporary banning and coaching model does seem like a good idea in theory, especially given the intended demographic of the forum. You also raise a very good point about many bans being "temporary anyway."

Out of curiosity, how would one expect such a system to be implemented? What does this coaching entail (are the moderators simply telling banned users that X is wrong and that they should do Y instead, or is this more of a rigorous course in forum etiquette, i.e. a prolonged dialog of why certain behaviors are more or less conducive to group harmony)? By which measures will a member be considered "redeemed" or "re-educated" enough to re-enter the forum? Are all banned individuals eligible for this coaching, or are some offenses, such as phishing attempts or threats against one's life, grounds for a permanent ban? How many "second chances" should a user receive; should a user be given the coaching after the third time being "banned"? The sixth? Should an entirely separate group of moderators be created and trained for the purpose of coaching? Does this even need to be moderators in particular, or could moderator-approved, volunteer members also take on the task of coaching if they so choose?

I would be very curious to see how such a system would work.

I think I may need a coach.