CONTRIBUTING.md
# Introduction
Since RIMS is a fully open-source app, we would appreciate if you dive in and start adding features, fixing bugs, and cleaning up the code.
If you’re going to contribute code then we need you to sign our [Contributor License Agreement](http://www.clahub.com/agreements/DamageStudios/rims)
(hereafter referred to as CLA) which is modeled after the one that [NodeJS](http://nodejs.org) uses.
A CLA is a legal document in which you state you are entitled to contribute the code/documentation/translation
to the project you’re contributing to and are willing to have it used in distributions and derivative works. This
means that should there be any kind of legal issue in the future as to the origins and ownership of any particular
piece of code, then that project has the necessary forms on file from the contributor(s) saying they were permitted
to make this contribution.
The CLA also ensures that once you have provided a contribution, you cannot try to withdraw permission for its use at
a later date. People and companies can therefore use that software, confident that they will not be asked to stop
using pieces of the code at a later date.
# How to contribute
Third-party patches are essential for keeping RIMS great. We simply can't access the huge number of platforms and
myriad configurations for running RIMS. We want to keep it as easy as possible to contribute changes that get things
working in your environment. There are a few guidelines that we need contributors to follow so that we can have a chance
of keeping on top of things.
* Make sure you have a [GitHub Account](https://github.com/signup/free)
* Submit a ticket for your issue, assuming one does not already exist.
* Clearly describe the issue including steps to reproduce when it is a bug.
* Make sure you fill in the earliest version that you know has the issue.
* Fork the repository on GitHub
# Making Changes
* Get the latest code from Github
* Fork the Main RIMS repository.
* Clone your fork of the RIMS repository.
* Add a remote for the main RIMS repo
* To make things easier to integrate and to keep your fork up to date then you need to add the main RIMS repo as a remote reference.
* `git remote add upstream https://github.com/DamageStudios/rims.git`
* Then, when you need to pull the latest from the main RIMS repo, you just fetch and merge the MASTER branch:
* `git fetch upstream`
* `git merge upstream/master`
* You can also use `git pull upstream master` if you want it all in one step.
* Make a branch for your changes
* Create a branch from where you want to base your work.
* Generally you'll want to branch from __MASTER__
* Please use the naming convention "rims-[issue-num]" for your branch name to help us keep track of what your patch actually fixes
* Push your code and make a pull request
* Sign the [Contributor License Agreement](http://www.clahub.com/agreements/DamageStudios/rims)
* One pull request per issue. Do NOT try and fix multiple issues with a single pull request.
* Please make your commit messages and pull requests informative. i.e. `moved version string to git_revision Fixes #123`. By using the Fixes/Fixed #Issue-Number in the commit message it will allow for closing of issues once the pull request is merged. For more information please read [this](https://github.com/blog/831-issues-2-0-the-next-generation).
* Push your changes to your fork of the repository.
* `git push origin tims-[issue-num]`
* Submit a pull request to the RIMS main repository.
At this point you're waiting on us. We like to at least comment on, if not accept, pull requests within three business
days (and, typically, one business day). We may suggest some changes or improvements or alternatives.
# Additional Resources - More information on contributing
* [Issue tracker](https://github.com/DamageStudios/rims/issues)
* [Contributor License Agreement](http://www.clahub.com/agreements/DamageStudios/rims)
* [General GitHub documentation](http://help.github.com/)
* [GitHub pull request documentation](http://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/)
# Additional Notes on CLA and Pull Requests
When we have multiple PRs for the same issue. We will choose the best or if equal the first. In the event the PR
requestor has not signed the CLA, we'll give you at least 48 hours to sign and if we don't here back we'll take the
PR from someone who has.