That's it. Our instance requires us to stop responding if you explicitly ask us to. It's right here buried in our Code of Conduct
Any discussions may be opted out of by disengaging.
In the past, this rule has only applied to the specific user you say it to. I'd like to suggest going forward that if someone on another instance uses it, we treat it as applying to all of us.
Unfortunately this rule wasn't communicated clearly before, so I'm making this post for visibility.
Edit: As the comments clarify, this has to be done in good faith, typically just a one word "disengage" comment. If you add more stuff to the discussion and then say "disengage" at the end, you're not disengaging, it's a way to put a stop to a toxic argument not to get the last word in.
Tough break, them's the rules.
If someone's interpreting everything I saw in the worst possible way, and if I'm also upset, I'd rather have a simple one word exit button rather than have to craft a whole explanation and hope that there's no way to interpret as adding something else that would legitimize a response.