When I umpire baseball games, I endeavor to be respectful and courteous.
From time to time, a coach has concerns over calls I make. When that happens, I listen carefully to what he has to say with an open mind. After all, sometimes coaches are right.
Once I've considered his point of view, consulting with my partner as appropriate, I make the ruling and give an explanation.
At that point, I do not permit further discussion because it's not my job to win arguments. If a coach persists in wanting to debate, there are various means at my disposal to gain his acquiescence so we can resume the game.
I take an analogous approach to moderating discussions at HSBaseballweb.com.
I endeavor to be respectful and courteous. I listen carefully when people raise concerns about the site or question moderator decisions. However, I don't feel the need to remain engaged in every debate until people see it my way because there are lots of times when people just won't agree.
Earlier this week, I closed a thread, gave an explanation, and invited people to continue the discussion in our private forums.
Soon thereafter, a respected member of our community posted a link to a news update, which, though it was not his intention, led to a re-kindling of the earlier discussion and a debate over my decision to close the earlier thread.
This discussion was akin to a coach continuing to push his point after I've made the ruling, given the explanation, and turned away to return to my position. If the explanation is still valid, I'm not obliged to defend it or keep repeating it.
It's bad form for the coach to continue pushing the point, and he has no valid basis for complaining of the consequences when he ignores the indications that the discussion is over.
He is free to complain in other times and places in whatever manner he chooses. But he can't use the ball field where a game is being played under my jurisdiction to publicly air his complaints about my decisions.