Warp harassment was an issue for quite some time. I guess the history needs infilled a little here. It used to be possible for a single quad to stop an entire large ship from warping with a single shot. The issue here was not so much that, but a design flaw in the range of the large ships guns. Being much slower, and not having suitable range, the large ship was limited in how to deal with the pestering pirate.
Warp harassment would consist of pirates with no intention in engaging in battle, utilizing this design flaw in order to disrupt the game play of others. Not for PvP purposes.
It is there for quite right that those who partake in such activities are discouraged from doing so.
I think the issue here is simply the line between genuinely wishing to engage in PvP, or just being a pest. The decision would lie in the intent to PvP, and the factors surrounding that. Such as time warp interrupted for, shots fired etc.
The big issue then arises around "intent". We could all claim to have certain intents in hind sight. Hence it is hard for support to gauge which side the action lies on.
From each side, Pirate and MS, it could be seen as either way. Xane felt he had intent as they were trying to warp mine to engage in battle. Ms clearly doesn't know this, so from their point all they have is a single pirate pestering them with warp harassment. Its interesting what MA are saying about the battle being over. It would be interesting to hear from the other side also and what went on.
In any event, it is actually ludicrous that a single little quad can stop an entire mothership from departing with one shot... a complete design flaw. I presume the banning of people who utilize that is to address that issue.
I would not like to think that the support system would be abused in such an instance where harassment was not involved. Gives a terrible sense of the boy who cried wolf, and support may not be so quick to respond to genuine cases in the future.
An important point to consider is that MA did introduce a leveler for Motherships to begin to combat this issue.
In any event, there are 3 sides to every story. His, theirs, and the truth.