Right now we have different ban durations but we don't tell the users how long every single one is exactly. We only communicate it very subtle by using words like for "a few days" or "some time".

The idea behind this tactic is that we want the users to remain in uncertainty about this. This should lead to them not being sure when and if they will get back so they "fear" the ban more. Giving them the exact timespan could lead to them thinking "Ok, I will simply wait it out, it is not that long..." instead of "shit, when will I be allowed back in???"

On the other hand this also leads to quite some confusion and redundant work for moderators getting unban requests from users that will get back in soon anyway. I also work on a better communication of our moderational system right now and want to be quite open about stuff but normally no specific numbers.

What would you consider a best practise and what would you advise me to do? Also did someone already changed from one to the other? How was your experience?

Right now we have different ban durations but we don't tell the users how long every single one is exactly. We only communicate it very subtle by using words like for "a few days" or "some time".

The idea behind this tactic is that we want the users to remain in uncertainty about this. This should lead to them not being sure when and if they will get back so they "fear" the ban more. Giving them the exact timespan could lead to them thinking "Ok, I will simply wait it out, it is not that long..." instead of "shit, when will I be allowed back in???"

On the other hand this also leads to quite some confusion and redundant work for moderators getting unban requests from users that will get back in soon anyway. I also work on a better communication of our moderation system right now and want to be quite open about stuff but normally no specific numbers.

What would you consider a best practise and what would you advise me to do? Also did someone already changed from one to the other? How was your experience?