If the mods want to enforce “no one comments on topic X”, they can easily do so.
The two alleged alternatives you list are not at all symmetric. In the former case, there’s simply a disagreement with a moderator decision; the response to that is “yep, you’re entitled to your opinion, but this is the way it is”, and further discussion after that can simply be disallowed. If anyone doesn’t like that, they can leave; but everyone knows where everyone stands.
Whereas in the latter case, you’re eroding the trust of your user base, in a quiet way, a way that will slowly corrode the administration’s relationship with the users, lead to interminable, vague arguments (because there’s no clear, public, specific decisions and actions to talk about—just suspicion, innuendo, suppositions, and conjecture), and take up far more energy and use up far more good will than simply a firm but public stance.
I’m afraid this really makes very little sense.
If the mods want to enforce “no one comments on topic X”, they can easily do so.
The two alleged alternatives you list are not at all symmetric. In the former case, there’s simply a disagreement with a moderator decision; the response to that is “yep, you’re entitled to your opinion, but this is the way it is”, and further discussion after that can simply be disallowed. If anyone doesn’t like that, they can leave; but everyone knows where everyone stands.
Whereas in the latter case, you’re eroding the trust of your user base, in a quiet way, a way that will slowly corrode the administration’s relationship with the users, lead to interminable, vague arguments (because there’s no clear, public, specific decisions and actions to talk about—just suspicion, innuendo, suppositions, and conjecture), and take up far more energy and use up far more good will than simply a firm but public stance.