#Contributing to CSH

Hello! We love contributions, members who contribute are the best!

When you start working with any repository, your first step should always be reading that repository's README.md for specific instructions on how to setup and run a service locally so that you can make your super cool awesome changes!

All contributions must follow the contributions policies and CSH Code of Conduct. Please use commit messages that align with both policies. We also recommend (but do not mandate) the use of Conventional Commits for commit message syntax. As for merging the prs, please choose squash when you merge so that our git history stays clean

##Generative AI Policy

Using AI tools to help write your PR is acceptable, but as the author, you are responsible for understanding every change. If you used AI tools in preparing your PR, you must disclose this in the description of your PR. Listing AI tooling as a co-author, co-signing commits using an AI tool, or using the assisted-by, co-developed or similar commit trailer is not allowed.

Large AI-generated PRs and AI-generated commit messages are not allowed.

Do not leave the first review of AI generated changes to the reviewers. Verify the changes (code review, testing, etc.) before submitting your PR. You are responsible for checking bugs, checking user experience, ensuring no side effects occur, that the code passes linting. Reviewers can and will ask questions about any part of your PR, and if you cannot explain why a change was made, the PR will be closed.

When responding to review comments, you must do so without relying on AI tools. Reviewers want to engage directly with you, not with generated responses. If you do not engage directly with reviewers, the PR will be closed.

This policy was created to encourage learning and experimentation with generative AI (GenAI). To outright ban GenAI would bar CSHers from learning about it and the associated tooling and workflows present in the CS industry. However, the purpose of CSH is to foster learning about computers, so all source code created by us should be understood by its author(s). Additionally, GenAI can't sign a CoC, so it can't contribute to house services.

##Documentation

All contributors are expected to document their software so that future contributors can easily understand what the code does and how to contribute to it. If you make changes to any services, and those changes make existing documentation outdated, you are expected to update the relevant documentation as part of your changes. This includes setup of the environment for testing and production, e.g. Compose files, environment variables, database configuration, and more.

##Pull Requests

All changes should be submitted in a pull request (PR) to the development branch (should it exist, otherwise the default branch) of the relevant repository. If you make a PR to the wrong branch, you will be asked to change it before it gets reviewed. Additionally, all repositories have a default PR template that should be filled out when creating the PR. If you do not fill the template out, we will ask you to do so before it gets reviewed. In general, more frequent, smaller PRs are preferred, and you can make use of github's stacked prs to make this easier!

##Questions

If this document or a README is too confusing, reach out! You can make an issue on the GitHub repository or ask in #opcomm on Slack. #opcomm will probably have faster response time than opening an issue. If you make an issue on GitHub, it never hurts to drop a link in #opcomm as well!