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It appears to me that threads are locked for review when there are too many reported posts. When I read "Locked for Review", I think "Okay, it'll open back up when the reports are all handled." But then it seems to stay locked. Forever. Please excuse the hyperbole in that last sentence.

Is there a way to ban people from threads instead of shutting down the entire topic?

Unfortunately, blocking someones access to a given topic/thread is not possible. Sections of the forum and the forum itself - yes. Individual threads - unfortunately not.

Wouldn't it be possible to redtext someone in a thread, warning that if they post again it will result in a Ban?
I'm sure there's more than a few posters, that would be happy to hit "Report", if such Thread Bans were broken.
(now, whether the Moderation wants to go down the road of handing out Thread and Topic Bans, well...that's for the Moderation to decide.)

Possible, but I dont think feasible. It's a: easier for you as a poster to add someone to your Foe list and/or b: or you can just report them either way.

There is no real way to ban a person from a specific topic/thread.

I think what's being suggested is using an sort of honor system. Here's how it works:

Snuzzles: "Only a dyslexic trout or a moron would vote to re-elect Gov. Wooly!"

NMI: "Snuzzles, you're too worked up. Thread ban. Do not post in this thread again." Then, NMI leaves to get an apricot wrap and manicure.

At this point Snuzzles has a choice to either respect the mod's decision or to ignore it. If everyone knows that ignoring a thread ban = a 1-2 week ban from the site, then they are less likely to thumb their nose at it. Also, if the person does choose to post there again, they know that everyone is going to flag them.

This technique is used on another site with great success.