I suppose a key element of hellbanning (which I interpret as banning without making it obvious, so for example they can still post comments which look live to t

I suppose a key element of hellbanning (which I interpret as banning without making it obvious, so for example they can still post comments which look live to them, but dead to the rest of us) is not publicising that hellbanning happens. From a spam perspective, it's great and I wouldn't change the current process (real people can request reinstatement, and I believe it's a fairly straightforward and fair process). But some people have been deaded, changed their ways and could add value, and as you say don't seem to have realised. I know that if I get a run of comments with no vote behaviour (up or down), I'll log off and see if I can see them, to ensure I'm still alive and haven't jumped a shark somewhere.