Add basic CONTRIBUTING guidelines.

Some additional detail would be helpful, such as
that this project (now) uses hatch, which is why it's on
this branch, but this is a start.

1 files changed, 60 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rst b/CONTRIBUTING.rst
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+============================
+Contributing to `jsonschema`
+============================
+
+Found a bug?
+------------
+
+If you suspect you may have found a security-related vulnerability, please follow the instructions in `the security policy <https://github.com/python-jsonschema/jsonschema/blob/main/.github/SECURITY.md>`_.
+
+Otherwise, it is extremely helpful if you first search to see whether your bug has been `previously reported on the Issues tab <https://github.com/python-jsonschema/jsonschema/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3ABug>`_.
+
+If it doesn't appear to be a known issue, please `file a new one <https://github.com/python-jsonschema/jsonschema/issues/new>`_, and include a **title and clear description**, along with as much relevant information as possible.
+Including a *minimal*, *self-sufficient* bit of code (often an instance and schema) is the fastest way to get attention, along with a description of the behavior you expect, and if you're able, a link to where in the specification contains the behavior you're noticing is incorrect.
+
+Pull requests to fix your issue are of course very welcome.
+
+
+Fixing a Bug?
+-------------
+
+Please open a new GitHub pull request with the change, along with new tests.
+
+Ensure the PR description clearly describes the problem and solution. Include the relevant issue number if applicable.
+
+Continuous integration via GitHub actions should run to indicate whether your change passes both the test suite as well as linters.
+Please ensure it passes, or indicate in a comment if you believe it fails spuriously.
+
+
+Adding New Functionality?
+-------------------------
+
+Please discuss any larger changes ahead of time for the sake of your own time!
+
+Improvements are very welcome, but large pull requests, disruptive ones, or backwards incompatible ones, can lead to long back and forth discussions.
+
+You're welcome to suggest a change in an issue and thereby get some initial feedback before embarking on an effort that may not get merged.
+
+
+Improving the Documentation?
+----------------------------
+
+Writing good documentation is challenging both to prioritize and to do well.
+
+Any help you may have would be great, especially if you're a beginner who's struggled to understand a part of the library.
+
+Documentation is written in `Sphinx-flavored reStructuredText <https://www.sphinx-doc.org>`_, so you'll want to familiarize yourself a bit with Sphinx.
+
+Feel free to file issues or pull requests.
+
+
+Have a Question?
+----------------
+
+Please do not use the issue tracker for questions, it's reserved for things believed to be bugs, or new functionality.
+
+There is a `discussions tab <https://github.com/python-jsonschema/jsonschema/discussions>`_ where general questions can be asked.
+
+Answers on it are best-effort.
+
+Any help you can offer to answer others' questions is of course very welcome as well.