I occasionally open up posts for comments, if I think moderating a conversation on the topic will be useful. When I do this, my rules are pretty simple. Your comment should contribute to this being a welcoming and constructive space. To steal a page from Hoyden About Town, be either friendly or insightful. Both is better.
Moderating the comments is an important part of keeping this space welcoming and constructive. I reserve the right to publish, edit, and delete comments as I see fit.
If you need introductory social justice concepts explained to you, try the Feminism 101 blog and Derailing for Dummies. Asking folks to stop having the conversation they’re having and explain the background reading to you is a form of derailing, and derailing violates my rule on being constructive. No matter how well-meaning you are, asking others to do your homework for you is rude.
If you need more specific guidelines for how to behave in a comment thread, there are a host of good resources available online, such as John Scalzi’s “How To Be A Good Commenter,” and Hoyden About Town’s guidelines on dissent. I encourage you to seek those resources out and avail yourself of them.
For commenters who aren’t contributing to this being a welcoming and constructive space, my rules are even simpler: Go away. This site is my private property. I am under no obligation to provide a platform to people who are trolling, derailing, abusive, or obtuse. You are not entitled to my attention, and being tiresome is not a particularly good way to attract it.