Would be a more elegant solution to #3438, though does not completely replace it.

Like "strikes" as in "3 strikes and you're out", or "points" as in "they have 2 points on their driving license", or "cards" in soccer. I think some software calls this a reputation system.

Presumably staff would draw up some standardised chart to show how many demerits particularly actions warrant? Like swearing is maybe just 1 demerit, but abuse is 3, and willful non-compliance with mods is 5?

I was thinking more on the lines of points on a driver's license. However, it could theoretically be used either way; for a strike system, staff could assign one point/demerit per warning (re-translating it to the word "strike").

Reputation is different as it involves upvotes / downvotes / ratings rather than punishments, though some reputation systems do consider punishments and reduce reputation when someone gets punished. I have an idea for another addon for a reputation system; but my thoughts on it are not concrete enough yet to present it on the tracker.

My thinking also is that as you mentioned, staff would make or follow a guide that dictates how many points / demerits to assign based on the warning and the severity of the warning.

I've ultimately decided to close this issue. I believe the upcoming karma addon for v11 will be enough to suit the needs which this idea would have also targeted. And having both karma and demerits will introduce a bunch of confusion.