So currently the RC are handling bans with the view that people should be able to go to a GP or a CommandFest or their LGS, sit down at a table with complete strangers and everyone should be able to have fun. They ban cards that they believe will detract from this scenario. That's why they have a ban list despite the lack of sanctioned competitive play. I agree that rule 0 does
undermine this somewhat, I just don't see it as that much of an issue. I can definitely see credit to the argument that rule 0 makes the ban list pointless if you're just going to house rule it anyway.
I'm sure we can all agree that this method of banning based on fun presents its own issues. It is a far from perfect system.
Furthermore, while I do think this is a system that has the potential to work, I also think the RC are doing a poor job of implementing it.
Their biggest issue in my opinion is a lack of willingness to listen to the community as a whole. It seems that their ego regularly gets in the way. They seem to adapt a "We are the Rules Committee and we do what we want" kind of attitude.
cEDH exists, and ignoring it because it goes against there philosophy for the format seems very petulant to me. I get that they want to keep it casual, but I don't see an issue with listening to those who play less casually and assessing their arguments. In their recent ban announcement they stated that there were no cards of interest that they would be looking at (the quote is "In terms of cards, there were no consensus threats to players’ enjoyment and we’re not making any changes at this time"). This to me shows a lack of interaction with the community as a whole.
On the subject of
Flash, I think a ban would be fine. It sees very little play in more casual circles and is largely ruining one aspect of the format. Banning it would appease a lot of people and annoy few. Having a combo that is near impossible to interact with and can consistently be played very early in the game takes a lot of the fun out. It violates their own philosophy for the format as much as it does the competitive diversity.
I also agree that a lot of the ban list could comfortably be unbanned.
Ultimately, I think that the way they are handling the ban list currently is a breeding ground for contradiction. There are so many cards on that list that are banned because they allow degenerate combos but so many still exist. The RC needs to go one way or another. There are still many two card, game ending combos that are incredibly easy to put together. Lab Man is still a ludicrously easy win. I think they need to be firmly in one camp or the other.
"What are the criteria for banning cards according to you people?
For me, it has to create a lot of outcry from casual players; it has to make gameplay uniform, boring, uninteresting, lock people out of the game, etc."
Personally I think Lab Man and it's variants fall in to this category and I've heard a small amount of noise around these (though not so much recently). I don't think they are ban worthy, but they do make for boring, repetitive game play.