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Thankfully, we have wildcard rules allowing us to mod people for repeatedly toeing the line, even if they can claim with a straight face no individual line has been crossed. This is rarely used, unless someone has been consistently obnoxious, or low level obnoxious while just avoiding what they perceive as the threshold for mod action.
Regarding Hlynka's second chances (all 25 of them), in general we give additional leeway to longterm users in good standing.
If you have multiple AAQCs, a history of quality posts and are generally in good standing, then if you have an off day, the mods will consider that and go easier on you. A ban might be shortened, or converted into a warning. A warning might be replaced by "knock it off" that doesn't go on the record.
But the leeway extended is not absolute, or infinite. Hlynka pissed me off to no end, beginning with unwarranted personal attacks and casual racism, so if I hadn't recused myself from moderating him, he'd have been shown the door ages ago. But this ban came when his friends in the mod team, people who had worked alongside him for years back when he was a mod, had enough.
Re: racism, I just realized that's funny that he was somewhat racist to you, considering the recent topics he was arguing in.
He's gone to other extremes to demonstrate his hostility against me, including impugning the validity of my medical degree.
Thankfully the medical registration authorities of two different countries respectfully disagree, but if I ever end up working for the VA, his back pain, tinnitus and so on will inevitably turn out to not be service related, and good luck getting anything stronger than motril.
(For legal reasons, this is a joke. Leaving aside that's how the VA does things by default)
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