Quote Originally Posted by ChandraNoctis View Post
I think part of the reason that SE bans bots in big group rather than as they are found is to try to avoid bot makers from figuring out exactly what specifically triggers a bot ban (which is likely automated rather than GM determined). At least that's how WoW handles bots (with mixed results).
I believe SE leaves the bots active while they investigate because they can follow the flow of resources being farmed by bots as they are turned into gil via the MB or even vendor sales, and so on That allows the main RMT accounts for a given bot network to be found and eliminate. Once they've investigated and mapped out the accounts involved, they can take action. But if they were to simply ban bots immediately, or automatically, the RMT would simply activate new ones. The more important targets are the main accounts, the Bots are just a nuisance by comparison.