thanks to nutomic for the follow-thru on this
more info on my previous post (see UPDATE in body):
https://hexbear.net/post/363393
if you have reason to believe there are still alts that are not banned, please contact nutomic via DM with info
The system ultimately worked!
It's pretty easy if they're small and you have experience moderating. The fash do it too, but it tends to destroy the sub if there wasn't already a political bent and support from the users