Over the course of the pandemic I had an opportunity to reconnect with a lot of my old SL friends who had previously moved on from the game. A lot of these folks were banned at various points over the last eight or so years. Some left the game behind entirely once they were banned but most have continued to come around on 'alt' accounts that usually only last a few days before LL bans them again. This post isn't a defense of any of these players. I am sure in some or all cases these people were banned for breaching TOS and may have hurt other players in some way by doing so. However, I am curious what my fellow SL players think about banned players being offered a second chance, years later?
For context, a lot of the people I am thinking of came to SL when they were quite young (late teens and early twenties) - specifically when SL trolling was quite popular on Youtube. Many came to SL without any regard for the inevitable friendships they would make. I certainly had no idea that eight years ago I would start playing a game and end up making some of the most meaningful connections of my life. Or that I would find myself investing in creative hobbies that SL introduced me to. A lot of these banned players are the same. They came here to mess around and eventually found the game quite meaningful.
Lastly - for the banned players who have a deep desire to return as 'unbanned' players, it's because they have a real interest in investing financially and communally to the game in ways they can't banned. They want to buy from creators, own land, create hangouts, make things. They can certainly continue to make new accounts every few days but that serves no one. If a banned player simply wanted to come on SL to hurt others or create chaos, doing so as a banned player is almost easier - less to worry about, and zero consequences. However, by giving these folks a second chance, after they've learned their lesson and matured, you actually give them an incentive to be better citizens of SL.
What are others thoughts on this? And again, I am not defending what these people may or may not have done and I do not want this discussion to become about that. Thanks!