I would just prefer to put "points" on a license for accidents/bans. The drivers license would follow you from server to server. Server admins could set minimums so that those with many points on their license could not join their server.

Those with points would be forced to work off their points through offline racing\tutorial\racing online cleanly on a no point restriction server.

A few things that come to mind...

Server admins should have the option to turn off point recording. If someone wants to try a little banger racing on one of the servers set up for that they should be able to.

Points could be recorded for contact with another car. This will obviously result in a lot of points being tallied. Therefore server admins should have a "only allow a safe driver setting", but not allow these settings be too stringent. You could have many of the relatively innocent being banned every time their is incidental contact. Points should decay as safe laps are driven.

Another option would be to put in a minimum total mileage driven on a certain track. In order to race online on a track you have to turn 50, 100, or what ever amount of pre determined laps to join a server.

A few of many things that could be done to help promote clean driving.

Quote from tristancliffe :

People want stuff to be easier. Which is why something like 70% of Americans are clinically and dangerously obese.

Don't play LFS if you want it easy. Play GT4 :P

I have played a ton of different games\sims over the last 25 years. The problem with a purist mindset is that it assumes that everyone has the same amount of time to devote to a sim as the upper 10%. This is great for the upper 10% because they can wag their finger at those that aren't as accomplished in the game and tell them they need to practice more. It is a mindset you see in every game community. Those that have the time and inclination to put hundreds of hours into playing will always scoff at those that do not have the time.

I think getting people fast as quickly as possible will truly add the most challenge. Is it more of challenge to beat the competition by putting more time into practicing, or is it more challenging to come out ahead in a field full of very talented drivers on the track? I prefer the later.

The ghost is not the only way to approach this. We could use a real time split between current time and best ever/WR/or any other time you wanted to load in. You would be able to see how far you are falling behind or getting ahead by looking at an instantaneous split while you are driving.

Finally, I realize it is in vogue to take shots at Americans. It may be fun to think of us as fat and lazy, as your comment implied. I would recommend you push away from your TV set\Newspaper\magazine and actually go out into the world and experience a little of it yourself. Travel abroad, live some place new, talk to people that challenge your thinking, etc you would be amazed how much you learn. I can assure you it is quite different from what you read and see on TV. They have a job to sell advertisements, the truth is secondary.

I work in an International Fortune 500 company. My coworkers overseas average 4 to 6 weeks of vacations a year. They also have about double the holidays. I have not had a contiguous week of vacation in over 7 years. Most Americans lead a frantic hard working lifestyle. I would LOVE to spend more time improving my lap times if I had the time. I am not off eating cheese burgers, I am earning a living for my wife and children.

Please take these comments for what they were meant to be. It may be worth your time to consider another point of view. In the end, it was not meant to be a flame or a personal attack. peace