Im happy to see a little compromise here. Basically, you still retain the right to perma-ban, which of course is absolutely vital. 1 year, let alone 6 months is not long enough to stop someone who truly wants to spend their time sabotaging the site over and over.
But on the other hand, as long as the offences are small, and not overwhelmingly often, there can be a peace of mind, that no one who just breaks some rules all over the place, not so much maliciously, but by accident of time spent on the site, does not have to be banned just to follow protocol.
It of course still allows for reasonable banning as needed, and really gives the site more options, without reducing its power to keep things from getting out of hand.
I was wondering how this would end up. Pretty much a win-win, from any reasonable angle I think.