Kantor on 17 September 2011
Permabans only happen when:
1) You're a hit spammer (we would know this immediately)
2) You have joined recently and do nothing but troll/flame/etc (same as above. You're also probably an alt)
3) You actually ARE an alt, and we IP check before that
4) You have been repeatedly banned (and thus getting up to 90 day bans) over a relatively short period of time and the whole mod team takes a vote that the site would be better off without you. This almost never happens. It used to happen a few years ago when moderation was much stricter and trolling more rampant, but now both have improved so it is rarely necessary.
(Former) Lead Moderator and (Eternal) VGC Detective 
