Add contribution guidelines to documentation

docs/contributing.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+Contributing to Instaloader
+===========================
+
+As an open source project, Instaloader heavily depends on the contributions from
+its community.  In this document, we advise on how you may help Instaloader to
+become an even greater tool.
+
+Instaloader's development is organized on 
+`GitHub <https://github.com/Thammus/instaloader>`__, where Issues and Pull
+Requests are discussed.
+
+Reporting Bugs
+--------------
+
+If you encounter a bug, do not hesitate to report it in our
+`Issue Tracker <https://github.com/Thammus/instaloader/issues>`__. Since
+Instaloader is actively developed, the majority of bugs is fixed within only
+**4 days** after being reported. When reporting a problem, please keep the
+following in mind:
+
+- Ensure you **use the latest version** of Instaloader. The currently-installed
+  version can be found out with ``instaloader --version``.
+
+- Briefly **check whether the bug has already been reported**. If you find an
+  issue reporting the same bug you encountered, comment there rather than
+  opening a new issue. However, if unsure, it is advised to create a new issue.
+
+- State **how the bug can be reproduced**, i.e. how Instaloader was invoked
+  when the problem occured (of course, you may anonymize profile names etc.).
+
+- Include all **error messages and tracebacks** in the report.
+
+- If not obvious, describe **which behavior you expected**
+  instead of what actually happened.
+
+- If you think an issue has been closed accidentally or inappropriately, feel
+  free to reopen it.
+
+Writing Code or Improving the Documentation
+-------------------------------------------
+
+Changes of the Instaloader source can be proposed as a
+`Pull Request <https://github.com/Thammus/instaloader/pulls>`__. There are only
+few things to consider:
+
+- Sometimes, the most current code is not in the ``master`` branch. Check that
+  you forked from the most recent branch.
+
+- We use `Pylint <https://www.pylint.org/>`__ for error and syntax checking of
+  ``instaloader.py``. The file ``.travis.yml`` in the project's root directory
+  shows how it is invoked. Note that sometimes it might be better to disable a
+  warning rather than adapting the code to Pylint's desires.
+
+- The documentation source is located in the ``docs`` folder. The file
+  ``cli-options.rst`` is merely an RST-formatted copy of ``ìnstaloader --help``
+  output, of which the source is near the bottom of ``instaloader.py``.
+
+- Feel free to contact us, even if you "only" have Proof-of-Concepts or
+  not-fully integrated changes. They already might be an advance for the
+  project.
+
+Suggesting Features
+-------------------
+
+If you have an idea of how Instaloader should be enhanced, but do not want to
+implement the feature yourself, feel free to open a ticket in our 
+`Issue Tracker <https://github.com/Thammus/instaloader/issues>`__.
+Please consider the following:
+
+- Instaloader already has plenty of features. **Check the documentation**
+  beforehand to ensure your desired suggestion is not already implemented.
+
+- Briefly **ensure that your idea has not already been suggested**. If you find
+  an issue suggesting the same or a similar feature, share your thoughts in a
+  comment there, instead of opening a new issue.
+
+- If possible, provide us a **use case of the feature**: How could the user
+  invoke the new function? Which problem would it solve? If new information is
+  obtained, how would it be further processed?
+
+- **Be patient**. Naturally, bugs and pull requests have a higher priority than
+  feature suggestions. Keep in mind that this is a free software project, and
+  unfortunately we only have limited time to work on it.

docs/index.rst

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ Table of Contents
    basic-usage
    cli-options
    as-module
+   contributing
 
 Useful Links
 ------------