It is nigh impossible to get permanently banned from this game. You really REALLY have to try to get one and I've only seen one person banned permanently except those who multicheated.
As for Crixus, he did get suspended for like a day or two. If he was suspended for a whole week, his account would have been paused thus resulting in loss of all titles. So it would have accomplished the same thing but slower.
If people want to quit along with Crixus, there isn't much people can do to stop him. There are just too many ways to contact others. But would have been pretty good to suspend him for a week like you said to give people some time out.
It was just unfortunate that some people decided to quit but it isn't new. He had some people who were attached to him and they decided to quit along with their other friends.
As for strategic secession, to be honest it is always a wise idea to talk to a dev before pulling one unless it is a peaceful secession. If it is in the grey area, you definitely should talk to one to iron things out. Crixus admitted he was trying to gain advantage with the move and made it very clear that he knew everything.
It is probably for the best that people just move on from this distasteful event. It is all around just a lose-lose situation.
