Decision rule: reply, ignore, or remove

Decision rule: reply, ignore, or remove
Treating every comment as requiring a response is how moderators burn out and how threads get worse.
Reply when:
— A genuine question is asked and the answer helps everyone reading.
— A factual error would otherwise stand uncorrected.
— Somebody contributed something good and a reply will encourage more of it.
Ignore when:
— It is an opinion you disagree with that breaks no rule. Disagreement is not a problem to be solved.
— A reply would exist only for your own satisfaction.
— The thread is already handling it. Letting the community answer is how a community forms.
Remove when:
— It breaks a rule you published.
— It is spam or a scam aimed at your readers. That one is urgent, not optional.
— It exposes somebody's private information.
Never remove something purely because it criticises you. That single exception is what makes the whole policy credible.