ok...in IRC a couple people are saying im reading into this too much, but i think im reading it properly...
QUOTE
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New DVD FW in dev/test - ixtreme LT (Lite Touch)
>> C4Eva announced he's working on a new firmware on IRC:
"[c4eva] new fw in dev/test - ixtreme LT (Lite Touch) - more efficient , minimal patching , all aspects of fw indistinguisable from orig, no more bans, No ETA!"
based on the highlighted it sounds like with the previous firmwares it was possible to see if the drive was flashed or not, it also says "no more bans" which means the firmware WAS the reason for these recent bans...