Yes, it is.
That doesn't mean that the ban couldn't be lifted, but (other than spammers) it takes a lot of work to receive a permanent ban, so it'll take at least that much to get it lifted. There had only been one person who's ban will absolutely, positively not be lifted.
We have 3 categories of Bans now. One is the permanent Hard Ban with no expiration. That's the hardest one to receive. You've simply worn out your welcome with a clear demonstration of an inability or unwillingness to get along with and play well with others. You will generally need to accumulate multiple warnings and/or suspensions for the same offenses to get a Hard Ban. With a Hard Ban you can read the site only if not logged on. You cannot participate in any way.
The second one is the Soft Ban. It is the same as the Hard Ban except it will have an expiration date. It's also a tough one to get. It should be considered your one final last chance.
The third kind is a new type, the Suspension. A Suspension will expire after a few days, weeks or months. It prevents you from participating in the forums, however what makes it different from the bannings of old is that you can still make use of the Private Conversation features of the site. That way communication isn't totally cut off and you can still make your case, apologize, whatever, to the Moderators, as well as remain in contact with the other members of the community. If a disruption occurs in the forums, that disruption is going to go away, but I don't want to be a total dick about it and cut off all communications when that's not necessarily warranted.
You can use that communication opportunity to redeem yourself, which many do, or you can use it to escalate things to a Soft or Hard Ban, which a surprising number of people seem to want to do.
Getting mad for being suspended and then yelling and calling me or the Mods names in a Conversation is not unlike the van driver who walked from the security guard his to his van, waved at me and said they don't open for 2 more hours, then put his van in reverse and slammed into the front of my van, and got mad at me for parking behind him.
