It’s a pity that this thread came to a stop, but it serves the purpose of highlighting some cases where a ban was reversed or commuted for a signature ban: [BAN APPEAL]UPDATE: Total table + Ban status .There is therefore a chance to revert at least part of the penalty, but that is going to apply when either the case is a clear-cut mistake (very rare in general), or the account is considered a net positive to the forum. That delimits the scope broadly.

Now the real question is why anyone would resort to plagiarism to begin with?

It doesn’t seem to me like a natural thing to do, and often the action seems intended rather than accidental. By accidental, I include cases whereby people want to bring a given content to the forum, copy/paste the content, and are unaware or forgot to add the source link. The practice is nevertheless, unless it’s a dire matter (i.e. VIP warning), generally aligned with a pretty much lazy attitude, and one should at least try to summarize the content provided which is originated in another source. Giving a versed opinion is a plus.