Aw c'mon, it's the internet! You don't need to "earn the right to be a community site". You just swagger on in, set up comments, filter the spam, and see if eno

Aw c'mon, it's the internet! You don't need to "earn the right to be a community site". You just swagger on in, set up comments, filter the spam, and see if enough others show up to make a flamewar. :) Sink or swim, just like a startup! (That said, I totally understand getting content rolling before adding comments)