Ban

A ban is the denial of a person or group's access to a service or resource. Bans are typically enacted by people in positions of authority in response to rule violations committed by an individual. The ability to ban is sometimes satirically referred to as "the banhammer".

In the Halo community, bans are administered by Bungie staff members when users break the rules for in-game conduct. Furthermore, the term "Banhammer" takes on a new meaning in the context of Halo gameplay.

The Banhammer
Bungie's banning system, commonly referred to as the "Banhammer", is an advanced anti-cheat mechanism used to regulate user activity in Halo 3. A July 2008 Weekly Update stated that the system was being upgraded; the same update announced that the presence of modded content on a File Share would result in a ban. It also may have hinted at the then-unfinished "Ultra Ban".

A Bungie Weekly Update in August announced that the Banhammer was upgraded with new features designed to crack down on File Share violations. The update also elaborated on specific File Share-related rule violations.

Halo 3's September Title Update introduced the "Ultra Ban", which was applied retroactively to those who had committed severe rule violations in the past; the ban is documented in more detail in its section below. Various other anti-cheat systems were also introduced, though they were not elaborated on; an additional weekly update identified the system as "Banhammer 2.0".

The Banhammer is capable of administering bans automatically and it keeps extensive records both when a ban is administered and during the course of normal gameplay; records taken in the latter instance can then be analyzed to detect cheat-related behaviors. It is also known that Bungie employees can manually strike with the Banhammer.

Matchmaking Bans
Matchmaking bans prevent players from participating in Xbox Live matchmaking.

EXP Bans
An EXP ban prevents players from earning EXP from ranked playlists in Matchmaking. Such bans are usually temporary.

Voice Bans
Voice bans may be administered when users misuse or abuse the microphone during a game. Excessive vulgarity may result in a voice ban. Such bans prevent players from using the microphone to verbally communicate with other players.

File Share Bans
Players can also have their File Shares taken away.

Console Bans
Severe offenses may result in a player's Xbox 360 console being completely banned off of Xbox Live itself. In some cases, the ban may be temporary, though permanent bans can also be administered.

Ultra Ban
The so-called "Ultra Ban" was introduced in Halo 3's second Title Update. The ban prevents players from playing any form of online Multiplayer, including Matchmaking and even Custom Games; it also prevents players from organizing parties in the Theater lobby.

Offenses
There are a variety of actions that can result in a ban. Note that this list is not comprehensive.

Gameplay
EXP boosting, skill boosting, level reducing, habitual quitting, cheating, and standbying are all easily detected by the Banhammer and usually result in either Matchmaking or EXP bans. Achievement boosting is not a formal offense, but the Banhammer often mistakes it for EXP boosting and bans it as such. Attempts at EXP boosting by playing with inactive guests (that is, additional controllers without additional people) can also be recognized by the Banhammer and will result in EXP bans.

In Halo: Reach, quitting three matches in a row will put a player on quit probation for three days. Every time a player on probation quits a match, they will be banned from Matchmaking for fifteen minutes. Players who quit excessively -- to the point that "the normal quit probation punishment is obviously not having an effect" -- will receive more severe bans.

Modding
Authors of modded content will receive permanent Matchmaking and File Share bans, as well as one-month console bans if the content is uploaded to a File Share. Note that this applies even if the content is uploaded by someone other than the author; also note that when a player renames a file, they become its new author. Uploading modded content to a File Share will result in a File Share ban, even if the uploader did not create the content.

The above policies were enacted during July 2009.

Offensive Content
Uploading offensive content to a File Share can result in a File Share ban. This includes, but is not limited to, racist and pornographic content.

Modding
Contrary to popular belief, uploading screenshots and film clips of modded content will not result in a ban, provided that the screenshots and films themselves aren't modded. As of August 1, 2008, there are no rules against downloading modded content to one's Xbox 360.

Trivia

 * An anonymous US gamer using the gamertag "Scar" managed to unwittingly download Halo 3 Epsilon. He played the game with his console connected to Xbox Live, and quickly came to the attention of Microsoft. On September 2007, his gamertag and console account were banned until December 31, 9999 (a permanent ban). Some see this as unfair, due to the fact that the download was accidental and Scar probably didn't mean to do anything wrong.
 * If enough bans or complaints are given to a player, he/she could possibly be kicked off of Xbox Live completely.