The more the topic of permanent bans is brought up, the more I think that, most of the time, they aren't really be considered permanent (with the exceptions of things like doxing/ddosing, darkwolf level abuse, or repeat offenders - we usually already note that in the ban reason, something like "Do not unban"). For most things (massing/leaving, abuse, whatever), it's simply a matter of forcing them to make an appeal, show that they've matured or whatever - not that any of this is a bad thing. Most people who come on the servers are between 13 - 17, and people tend to change and mature quickly around that time. So even something like 6 months after a ban, it might be reasonable to give a second chance (of course, depending largely on the offense, previous bans, have they/are they willing to change, attitude, etc.). More than anything though, its good to keep in mind that bans are all different, and should mostly be treated on a case-by-case basis - so I don't see that one ban protest should set a precedent.
However, one thing your posts got me thinking about @Forest, is maybe we should have some kind of a minimum time (6 months, a year, idk) before someone can appeal a permanent ban (unless they think the ban was unjustified in the first place). It'd be a nice way to ensure to set a hard limit on minimum time, and can't appeal it until they've at least had some chance to mature. I'm not certain about preventing people from becoming xG members again, but these are all topics for another time/thread. (if someone wants to make a thread in the admin forum, we can discuss it there)
Moving on to this specific ban, I understand the arguments for not unbanning people who abused, especially who did so as a way of saying "goodbye", but it has also been 4 years. Like I said earlier, most people here aren't even close to the same person they were 4 years ago. Given that and the (apparent) sincerity of this thread, I'm going to go ahead and unban you - but don't expect to be able to become a member/staff again, and don't expect anything past a second chance.