>>1813013I chose my words poorly. I wasn't suggesting they had ceased banning users, but instead simply banned the user silently, or banned the user and erased their thread or post.
Taking a page from the Futurama deities playbook "If you've done something right, no one will know you've done anything at all."
I double-checked the FAQ. I recalled reading in writing there that the 'user was banned' notification was discontinued. Turns out it said the message was optional and only used in special circumstances. So I guess there you have it.