When members have a sense of 'entitlement'

[MPDev]

Have you ever run a site where the long-time members start to feel a sense of entitlement in decisions on how you run your site? You know the types, been around a while and gotten to know the others; but never paid a dime towards hosting or spent a minute actually doing any work on the site like Moderating or Admining, quick to complain, impatient when it comes to updates or new features (one I installed an Arcade hack and was hammered for more games within hours of posting it.). Yeah, those guys (and gals).

It's seems enivitible that at some point someone (or a small group) will start demanding changes - or use the 'my way or I'm outta here' approach to address issues. As an admin of several boards I've encountered this problem many times; some of the most vocal of my members seem to get on a rage where the scorched earth approach is their solution - trash the owners, trash the moderators and, finally, trash other members. Make so much noise and then proclaim their exit in a thread titled, "I'm outta here" proclaiming their hatred for how the site is run.

I usually deal with these trouble makers with simple and polite notes which say something to the effect of, "Thank you for your time on our site, it's been a pleasure having you here, but it would seem you have outgrown our little community. I wish you the best as you persue your interests elsewhere." and wait for them to either change their tune or leave on their own before taking the step of banning them.

I'm curious how others handle people like this on their site - it has to be the least enjoyable aspect of running a forum - dealing with unappreciative members; so when you are confronted with members who feel entitled to a say in how you run your site, how do you respond?