If you have the last word, then you're correct?

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How many people have the attitude that having the "last word" in an argument means anything other than being the last person to flap their mouths?

That's a tough habit to break, especially when a debate turns heated. It takes a lot of practice and discipline to look at someone else's "last word" post and go "nah, I don't actually need to refute that, my argument stands as is". The one that I still have a hard time with is replying to junk attack posts; I know that even responding is giving them more respect than they deserve, but it's sometimes hard to simply trust in the abilities of my peers to separate the wheat from the chaff without me there to guide their hands.

To simply answer the question, no, I don't think the last word means much of anything as far as "winning" or "losing" a debate, but I occasionally fall into the trap it can present.

The last word often means that the others got disgusted and left.

the best way to win an argument is to shout so loud that you cannot hear what the other person is trying to say. i cannot win many arguments because i do not like loud noise. there are other ways, however. i once won an argument by throwing a cup of coffee at someone.

It seems that most of the escarmouches on WP are done according to that statement

Last word isn't really any indicator of winning a debate, only that somebody's gotten tired of the whole affair.

But leaving a point, however small, unanswered does leave a visceral "unfinished business" feeling in me.