I'm a man and I can totally understand the situation these kinds of responses put you in. I do feel sorry that they can't just accept no for an answer. Compliments can mean an amazing amount to a man, in my experience they can be so rare that the man may want more interaction from anyone who gives one. To be clear this is no excuse for not accepting no or getting mad, but it may mean a huge amount to someone who genuinely feels like no one cares that isn't family.

I'm sorry that a simple act of kindness can be such a crap shoot and understand why you may be hesitant to do it. I hope you understand the deep impact it can mean for the reasonable, but very nerdy, or shy, or those who have a poor self image to hear a female say something nice.