Its pretty easy to SAY something stupid, espescially as a joke.  
What DmdBT wrote clearly went too far and even wasted some of HiTech's precious time, but I think it in no way compares to actually cheating.  I think a 1 month ban is reasonable, and should be considered a minimal punishment/deterant for such behavior.  It also sounds like he took it like a man.
I would like to say, however, that DmdBT's post was not the most stupid or destructive thing that I have ever read on this BB, not even a contender for the top-10.  
I don't plan on holding any kind of a grudge against him when he returns (Although a bit of teasing may be in order.)  

eskimo