With the given that I have never seen any reddit protocols for temporary or permanent bans it seems like there is no protocol. It is really based on the individual opinions of admins. This is no different than the way it works with mods of groups. It is mostly a subjective decision.

What you can’t do is call another user a cunt or something similar without getting banned from that group. You will also have an issue if you call a public figure a cunt or something similar. You will never be able to use any form of argument to endorse violence or the destruction of property. Before a group mod removes your comment, other users might “report” it. And if enough do it will trigger the Admins seeing it and in my opinion this is what causes permanent bans. Not only did you violate their stated rules in a group, but now you have drawn the attention of an Admin who has the ability to perm ban you site wide.

One of the biggest changes I have seen is a greatly increased auto moderator. Many posts and comments never make it to any group where you can see them because they have automatically been removed. They have beefed up their filters that immediately catch things like “nazi” and even the word “violence”. Individual group mods then have the ability if they wish to “approve” posts and comments caught up in the auto moderator.

It has been asked how can I get a site wide ban for 7 days and then the next time I log in and I am permanently banned. Not sure but again seems subjective based on the amount of reports that were filed against you and the mood that day of an Admin