Before we dive into the whole open/closed misunderstanding/fight it would be good to look at the different roles in a project and who has the power to say yes/no at each level.
admin
mod
producer
user
reader
“closed” the power is concentrated at the top.
“open” it is shifted down to the producer.
The reader is not given power as they have no buy in – the “user” gets a little power to post/comment from their account. The “producer” should likely be promoted to “mod” as soon as they are trusted.
The “mod” should have as much power as possible without endangering the instance.
The “admin” should have strong power BUT a VERY strong social rule not to use it. The running of the instance is in the hands of the “mod/producer”
All actions are socially mediated by the #4opens with audit logs to bring transparency to the process.