I don't know how I feel about this, I really don't. I'm trying to think in the perspective of a banned player, but at the same time, still avoiding being biased, because let's face it- if you want to apply for moderator, and you've been banned, of course you want to find a way around that ban.
Now, to apply this to real life- let's go with applying for a real life job. If it's a big job, they take everything into consideration. Let's say you did something in the past- something small- maybe it was an accident- but they found out about it, and now you don't have the job.
Same situation here.
Accident, mistake, "no big deal"- you did it, it happened, and now here it is, affecting you.
The reason past bans affect moderators, is because you broke a rule that a moderators job is to enforce. Increasing gamma is against the rules, and whether you saw the rules or not, it's one of those things where it was available to you, and whether you read it or not is completely up to you.
Too be honest, I can't think of anything that could genuinely be an accident and would result in a ban. Minor things like caps should be warned, and kicked for first, unless severe, and caps are the only accidental thing I can think of. There's a swear filter for a reason, advertising another server doesn't make any sense, not abusing other players is a no-brainer, and changing any settings, or installing mods has, and always will be bannable.
There is honestly no legitimate thing I can think of that would be an accident.
Now, I do realize, people change, and people mature, but it happened. You did it.
Accountability is really what comes into play in this situation. You are completely accountable for everything you've ever done, here, or just life in general. Everyone matures over time, but it doesn't make past actions any less evident, or you any less accountable for them.
People who go to jail for things like drunk driving will always have that on their record, and when they apply for a job, it'll be there, even five years after the actual event took place. They could be an advocate against drunk driving now, and have completely turned their lives around, but they still did it, and it will still be there.
While drunk driving is a much more serious thing, that analogy fits this situation well in the sense that no matter how much you've changed, and no matter how much you've matured, what you did will always stick with you.
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Well, that's about it for my opinions on this. I hope I don't sound like I don't want you to get mod- I wish the absolute best for you, and anyone else dealing with this situation, this is just what I think about the situation in general.
If there's anything you can do- talking to staff, doing whatever you can to get this ban to be overlooked in an application, I wish you the absolute best of luck, and I hope you can find a way