I've begun to appreciate peer review as gatekeeper as well. Another common situation for me is more or less arguing over a certain method/experimental design. I

I've begun to appreciate peer review as gatekeeper as well. Another common situation for me is more or less arguing over a certain method/experimental design. If a colleague thinks a method is garbage, all I have to say is "yes, it's not optimal, but we published in <American Chemical Society journal> using it." It effectively ends the discussion, because ACS doesn't publish nonsense and everything is nitpicked to death. It may turn out to be garbage later on, but at the time it was sufficient.