Some technical details about the catbox of which many might not be aware.
Firstly, borging cuts off not only your ability to chat but also your ability to send private messages until the borging automatically expires. Further, the more you're borged, the longer this punishment lasts. It's a decently harsh thing.
Secondly, there is a form of punishment, rarely exercised, called chat suspension. This allows somebody to send private messages, but prevents them from chatting. Chat suspension is invisible to regular users except for the affected person and does not automatically expire.
Thirdly, there are additional rooms on E2. No one has proposed this option, as they are rarely used, but you can always ask a group of people to move their discussion to another room such as Political Asylum. This can allow a conversation that may be interesting to a small group, but generally off-putting to others, placing it somewhere with a smaller audience and less chance of a permanent record.
I'm going to withhold my personal views on the functioning of chanops, as I cause them enough headaches as is.