SourceMod Too Late to Ban Plugin: Setup, Configuration, and Troubleshooting Guide

Too Late To Ban is a SourceMod plugin for selecting a recently disconnected player from a menu and banning that player after the disconnect. Install its .smx file in the server’s SourceMod plugins directory, reload the map, then use sm_tltb (or !tltb//tltb) to open the menu.

The plugin’s original release is version 1.0.0a from 2009. The available documentation does not establish compatibility with current SourceMod or game builds, so test it on a staging server before enabling it on a busy production server.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Counter-Strike: Source - PC	$38.89	Buy on Amazon
2		Half-Life: Counter-Strike - PC	$20.00	Buy on Amazon
3		Half-Life 2 - PC	$18.99	Buy on Amazon
4		Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition - PC	$64.99	Buy on Amazon
5		Half Life 2 Holiday Collection DVD (Half Life 1, Half Life2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, Counter Strike:...	$49.98	Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What Too Late To Ban does

Administrators normally lose the in-game target when a suspected cheater or abusive player disconnects. Too Late To Ban keeps a short list of recently disconnected players, including their names and Steam IDs, and presents that list in a ban menu. You can then select the player, choose a duration and, if enabled, choose a reason.

The author, Shenton, described the purpose in the AlliedModders release thread as: “Store players that disconnected recently, allowing you to ban them with a menu.” The plugin is not a detector and does not decide whether someone should be banned. It only preserves recent disconnect records and passes your selection to the server’s ban command.

#1 Best Overall

Counter-Strike: Source - PC

• Single-elimination, team-based online shooter
• Completely overhauled with better graphics, new characters, items, and environments
• Package includes Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Day of Defeat: Source
• Real-world physics adds depth the gameplay
• Internet connection required for online play

$38.89

Buy on Amazon

Before installing: requirements and compatibility

• A running Source engine game server with MetaMod:Source installed.
• SourceMod installed and functioning for that game.
• Access to upload files to the server’s game/mod directory and reload a map.
• An administrator account with the ban permission required by the ban backend you use.

The release is version 1.0.0a, dated 2009. A current compatibility guarantee is not documented. SourceMod, game, and ban-backend changes since then can affect loading or permissions, so keep a backup and test the plugin on a non-public instance first. The release page displayed “Servers with this Plugin: 9” at the time shown in 2009; that historical count is not a current adoption or reliability measure.

Install Too Late To Ban step by step

1. Confirm the base stack. Verify that MetaMod:Source and SourceMod load normally before adding this plugin. If either framework is broken, troubleshoot that first.
2. Upload the binary. Copy TooLateToBan.smx to <mod_dir>/addons/sourcemod/plugins/. Keep the filename and the .smx extension unchanged.
3. Load the plugin. Restart the server or load the plugin through your normal SourceMod administration method. Nitrado’s installation guide recommends reloading the map after uploading the file; a map reload is also a useful way to ensure a clean load without waiting for a full machine restart.
4. Check generated files. On its first successful load, the plugin creates cfg/sourcemod/too_late_to_ban.cfg and addons/sourcemod/data/tltb_ban_options.txt. Confirm that both files exist after the reload.
5. Reconnect as an administrator. Join the server with an account that has the ban access required by your configured backend, then test the menu with a disposable test account rather than a real player.

If the two generated files do not appear, treat that as a load or path problem rather than a configuration problem. Recheck the directory, filename, SourceMod load logs and the server console for plugin errors.

Open the disconnected-player menu

Console command

From a permitted client console, run sm_tltb. The plugin opens its disconnected-player menu.

Chat shortcuts

In chat, type !tltb or /tltb. Both aliases open the same menu; the slash form is normally silent to other players, while the exclamation form follows the usual SourceMod chat-command behavior.

Rank #2

Half-Life: Counter-Strike - PC

$20.00

Buy on Amazon

SourceMod admin menu

When tltb_use_admin_menu is enabled, the plugin adds Ban disconnected player under the Player Commands section of the SourceMod admin menu. This is useful for administrators who prefer menu navigation or do not remember the chat alias.

Clear the stored list

Run sm_tltb reset to clear all currently stored disconnected players. This is useful after a test session, a staff change or an incident in which you no longer trust the old list.

Reset the ban options file

Run sm_tltb resetmenu to reset the ban-menu options file. Use this when an edited tltb_ban_options.txt prevents the duration or reason menu from displaying correctly. Back up your custom file first because a reset replaces the customized options with the plugin’s defaults.

Configure the generated cvars

The generated file is cfg/sourcemod/too_late_to_ban.cfg. Edit the values there, then apply the file through your normal server configuration workflow. The documented settings are:

Rank #3

Half-Life 2 - PC

• Sequel to the hit first-person shooter
• Scientist-with-a-crowbar Gordon Freeman joins a ragtag human resistance fighting extradimensional invaders for the survival of a conquered Earth
• Unnervingly realistic graphics the likes of which have not been witnessed outside of a motion picture or pre-rendered cut scene
• Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties
• For 1 player

$18.99

Buy on Amazon

Choosing a sensible storage size

The documented maximum is 20 and the default is 7. A small value keeps the menu readable and reduces the chance of selecting an old target. Increase it only when your staff regularly needs to review more than seven recent disconnects. If the menu is empty, check this cvar first; a value of zero deliberately disables storage.

Ordering and disconnect filtering

With the default ordering value of 1, the newest entries appear first, which is normally the safest arrangement during a live incident. The reason-check setting determines whether the list is limited to self-disconnects. The original documentation does not provide a more detailed reason taxonomy, so verify the behavior on your particular game and SourceMod build with a controlled test.

Customize ban durations and reasons

The file addons/sourcemod/data/tltb_ban_options.txt defines the labels shown in the ban menu and the values passed to the ban command. The release example includes a Permanent entry whose time value is 0, and a reason entry such as Abusive.

Open the file with a plain-text editor and change labels or values while preserving the existing key/value structure. Do not add comments, quotation marks or nesting that the original format does not use. If the menu stops loading after an edit, restore the backup or run sm_tltb resetmenu, then make one change at a time.

Rank #4

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition - PC

• Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties
• Sequel to the hit first-person shooter
• Scientist-with-a-crowbar Gordon Freeman joins a ragtag human resistance fighting extradimensional invaders for the survival of a conquered Earth
• Unnervingly realistic graphics the likes of which have not been witnessed outside of a motion picture or pre-rendered cut scene
• Special Edition includes Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, plus Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Half-Life: Source.

$64.99

Buy on Amazon

A duration of 0 in the documented permanent example is passed as the permanent-ban duration. Other duration values should follow the convention expected by your SourceMod ban command and backend; the release does not publish a complete list of accepted units or a validation scheme.

How to ban a player who disconnected

1. Open the menu with sm_tltb, !tltb, /tltb, or the admin-menu item.
2. Review the names and Steam IDs in the list. Use the identity information, not the display name alone, before selecting a target.
3. Select the disconnected player you intend to ban.
4. If tltb_use_ban_reason is enabled, choose a reason from the configured reason menu.
5. Choose the duration option, such as the documented Permanent entry.
6. Confirm the action and verify that your configured ban backend records the ban.

The stored record is only a recent-disconnect convenience. It does not prove misconduct, and the list can contain a player who left for an innocent reason. Apply the same evidence and staff-review standards you use for a live ban.

SourceMod basebans and SourceBans integration

The plugin calls sm_addban. Its author states that this works with SourceMod basebans and SourceBans. The practical requirement is permission: the administrator executing the menu must have whatever ban access the active backend demands.

There is no modern permission matrix in the original material for every SourceMod or SourceBans release. If the menu opens but the ban is rejected, inspect your backend’s permission assignment, the executing admin’s flags and the server log. A successful menu selection does not override a missing ban flag or a backend policy that blocks the request.

Best Value

Half Life 2 Holiday Collection DVD (Half Life 1, Half Life2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, Counter Strike: Source) - PC

• Electronic Arts 9853 Half Life 2006 Collection PC

$49.98

Buy on Amazon

Troubleshooting checklist

The plugin does not appear after upload

• Confirm the file is exactly TooLateToBan.smx and is in <mod_dir>/addons/sourcemod/plugins/, not a parent directory or a download folder.
• Reload the map or restart the server after uploading.
• Check SourceMod’s plugin status and server logs for a load error.
• Verify that MetaMod:Source and SourceMod themselves are running for the game.
• Confirm that the generated cfg and data files were created. Their absence indicates that the plugin did not complete its first load.

The menu is empty

• Have a test player connect and disconnect; the plugin only lists recent disconnects.
• Check that tltb_stored_players is not set to 0.
• Review tltb_check_reason. A self-disconnect-only setting can exclude players removed by a kick or another server action.
• Run sm_tltb reset only when you intend to clear the list; resetting immediately before testing removes your test target.

The admin-menu item is missing

Set tltb_use_admin_menu to 1, reload the configuration or map, and verify that the account has access to the SourceMod admin menu. You can still test the plugin directly with sm_tltb.

The duration or reason choices are wrong

Inspect addons/sourcemod/data/tltb_ban_options.txt for an editing error. Restore a known-good copy or run sm_tltb resetmenu. Then add custom entries gradually, testing after each change.

The ban command fails

• Confirm the administrator has the ban permission required by the active backend.
• Check whether SourceMod basebans or SourceBans is the backend actually handling sm_addban.
• Read the server log for a denied command, malformed option or backend connection problem.
• Test a normal live-player ban through the same backend. If that also fails, fix the backend or permissions before troubleshooting Too Late To Ban.

It loads but behaves unpredictably on a modern server

Because version 1.0.0a dates from 2009 and no current compatibility result is documented, isolate the plugin on a staging server, record the SourceMod and game versions, and test connect, disconnect, menu, reason and ban flows. Do not assume that a clean file load proves every workflow is compatible.

Too Late To Ban versus Ban Disconnected Players

A later AlliedModders project named Ban Disconnected Players was created in response to reported issues with the older plugin, including an RCON requirement and admin-immunity handling. It uses the command sm_bandisconnected and requires the administrator’s ban flag.

Choose the older plugin when its simple, configurable menu matches your workflow and you have verified it on your server. Consider the later project when the documented RCON or admin-immunity concerns are specifically relevant, but test that project as well rather than treating “later” as a compatibility guarantee.

Operational checklist for server owners

• Back up the server configuration and the original tltb_ban_options.txt before editing.
• Install on a staging server first because the release is from 2009.
• Test both self-disconnect and kick scenarios if you use tltb_check_reason.
• Verify that the menu identifies the correct Steam ID before confirming a ban.
• Confirm a test ban appears in the backend you actually operate.
• Keep tltb_stored_players high enough for your staff workflow but low enough to avoid an unwieldy list.
• Document who may use sm_tltb reset and sm_tltb resetmenu; both commands can remove information or settings used by other administrators.

Bottom line

Too Late To Ban provides a focused workaround for post-disconnect bans: install one .smx file, let SourceMod generate its configuration and data files, then select a recent disconnect through sm_tltb. Its configurable list, reasons and durations make it practical with SourceMod basebans or SourceBans when permissions are correct. The decisive limitation is age: version 1.0.0a is from 2009, and current compatibility is not documented. Treat staging verification, log checking and a controlled ban test as mandatory before relying on it in production.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

Counter-Strike: Source - PC

Single-elimination, team-based online shooter; Completely overhauled with better graphics, new characters, items, and environments

$38.89

Bestseller No. 2

Half-Life: Counter-Strike - PC

$20.00

Bestseller No. 3

Half-Life 2 - PC

Sequel to the hit first-person shooter; Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties

$18.99

Bestseller No. 4

Half-Life 2: Game of the Year Edition - PC

Realistic physics: objects have varied and appropriate mass, density, physical properties; Sequel to the hit first-person shooter

$64.99

Bestseller No. 5

Half Life 2 Holiday Collection DVD (Half Life 1, Half Life2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, Counter Strike: Source) - PC

Electronic Arts 9853 Half Life 2006 Collection PC

$49.98

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.