Why not garant gold boosts when someone DC's?
The title says it all: When somebody DC's (because mom finished cooking dinner too soon, or something else happened - i'm sure EVERYBODY had to DC atleast once because of that) the team gets a bonus to gold income, and maybe lower respawn times aswell. This will not replace another player, i know, but that's waay better than banning people who will DC anyways. I'm suprised that this mechanic isn't in such a popular game yet - it's fair. YES, then people might DC on purpose to boost gold for their team, but let's be realistic - they'll get punished, and gold won't replace them.
While we're talking about penalties, im suprised how MEAN this game is about DC's. I get your idea, but why not include the idea i proposed and lower penalties? People like me, who sometimes MUST leave whenever they like it or not, will be happy, and their team won't lose the game because of that.