Depends on the user. If a long time member insults somebody that's a different matter. If a new user who has only about 100 posts makes a public thread for admin removal based on out of context screenshots, that screams to me that he was trying to incite drama. In conjunction with what he said about seeing reactions of DB fans, I wouldn't put him in the same league as "every other helpful member who ever insulted somebody".
A new user with 100 posts, who doesn't know the site's process or what warnings were secretly given behind the scenes, finds out about an admin's behaviour, which HR group agreed was bad and deserved a warning, and brings it to our attention. That's not something that requires punishment, it's something that requires explanation.
And yeah, I think it's pretty awful to ban members who are just getting started on contributing for an entire year based on a vague general insult. Look back through his posts; he's tried to learn about the system and contribute. If a person whose been here for months and only now made the mildest of slip-ups can get a ban that long, how many chances are we willing to give other users?
I oppose it but if, despite this, that's the route you wanna go, then whateva.
Also, I edited my post to share support to points made by AKM Sama. This is not a case of an active and contributive user having a snap, but someone who's so new and barely contributed, and targeting both a staff member to force removal and baiting a fanbase being the first two things
That is absolutely not what they did? Seriously, go back through their contributions. They've been in threads for months, asking questions, trying to scale characters, contributing to vs threads.
This assumption that this is someone who just walked in and instantly started harassing Damage is completely incorrect.
At least base your decisions off of the truth.