Some members are judged on merits of their contribution to the forum over the years, this could result in a lower ban, with restrictions of signature space possibly,
• If a user makes an error on imputing the site link, this would also be considered by the mods, sometimes using quite tags, or simply "" "", is usually enough to avoid any punishment.
• The intent is also considered, was the user wearing a signature when the post was made? Does it bring them any form of benefit, or were they just excited about sharing some new information.
All these and more are considered, but these cases make up a minor part of rule breakers, majority simply broke the rules, cause they do not care about the forum.