See this is why we actually have it marked in the TOS that shoutbox and chat scripts are expressly prohibited.
* Shoutbox\Chat Scripts: Use of these scripts is strictly forbidden due to the amount of MySQL queries they take. Accounts found with chat scripts or shoutboxes will be suspended.
Based on that, I'm fairly sure this is gunna be considered zero tolerance since this is the perfect example of why they're marked as forbidden. If a higher up says otherwise though, that's up to the staff, but don't be surprised if it stays as zero tolerance.