Add a contribution guide

docs/contributing.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+.. _contributing:
+
+Contributing to Paperless
+#########################
+
+Maybe you've been using Paperless for a while and want to add a feature or two,
+or maybe you've come across a bug that you have some ideas how to solve.  The
+beauty of Free software is that you can see what's wrong and help to get it
+fixed for everyone!
+
+
+How to Get Your Changes Rolled Into Paperless
+=============================================
+
+If you've found a bug, but don't know how to fix it, you can always post an
+issue on `GitHub`_ in the hopes that someone will have the time to fix it for
+you.  If however you're the one with the time, pull requests are always
+welcome, you just have to make sure that your code conforms to a few standards:
+
+Pep8
+----
+
+It's the standard for all Python development, so it's `very well documented`_.
+The version is:
+
+* Lines should wrap at 79 characters
+* Use ``snake_case`` for variables, ``CamelCase`` for classes, and ``ALL_CAPS``
+  for constants.
+* Space out your operators: ``stuff + 7`` instead of ``stuff+7``
+* Two empty lines between classes, and functions, but 1 empty line between
+  class methods.
+
+There's more to it than that, but if you follow those, you'll probably be
+alright.  When you submit your pull request, there's a pep8 checker that'll
+look at your code to see if anything is off.  If it finds anything, it'll
+complain at you until you fix it.
+
+
+Additional Style Guides
+-----------------------
+
+Where pep8 is ambiguous, I've tried to be a little more specific.  These rules
+aren't hard-and-fast, but if you can conform to them, I'll appreciate it and
+spend less time trying to conform your PR before merging:
+
+
+Function calls
+..............
+
+If you're calling a function and that necessitates more than one line of code,
+please format it like this:
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    my_function(
+        argument1,
+        kwarg1="x",
+        kwarg2="y"
+        another_really_long_kwarg="some big value"
+        a_kwarg_calling_another_long_function=another_function(
+            another_arg,
+            another_kwarg="kwarg!"
+        )
+    )
+
+This is all in the interest of code uniformity rather than anything else.  If
+we stick to a style, everything is understandable in the same way.
+
+
+Quoting Strings
+...............
+
+pep8 is a little too open-minded on this for my liking.  Python strings should
+be quoted with double quotes (``"``) except in cases where the resulting string
+would require too much escaping of a double quote, in which case, a single
+quoted, or triple-quoted string will do:
+
+.. code:: python
+
+    my_string = "This is my string"
+    problematic_string = 'This is a "string" with "quotes" in it'
+
+In HTML templates, please use double-quotes for tag attributes, and single
+quotes for arguments passed to Django tempalte tags:
+
+.. code:: html
+
+    <div class="stuff">
+        <a href="{% url 'some-url-name' pk='w00t' %}">link this</a>
+    </div>
+
+This is to keep linters happy they look at an HTML file and see an attribute
+closing the ``"`` before it should have been.
+
+--
+
+That's all there is in terms of guidelines, so I hope it's not too daunting.
+
+
+The Code of Conduct
+===================
+
+Paperless has a `code of conduct`_.  It's a lot like the other ones you see out
+there, with a few small changes, but basically it boils down to:
+
+> Don't be an ass, or you might get banned.
+
+I'm proud to say that the CoC has never had to be enforced because everyone has
+been awesome, friendly, and professional.
+
+.. _GitHub: https://github.com/danielquinn/paperless/issues
+.. _very well documented: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/
+.. _code of conduct: https://github.com/danielquinn/paperless/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

docs/index.rst

@@ -43,5 +43,6 @@ Contents
    customising
    extending
    troubleshooting
+   contributing
    scanners
    changelog